VANDALIA — Piqua 182-pound freshman Landen Martin is guy who follows instructions.

And Troy sophomore Nolan Fox (113) had a strong tournament for the Trojans at the MVL wrestling tournament Friday night at the Vandalia-Butler SAC.

PIQUA

When Martin, the second seed, had talked to his grandfather Glen Hollopeter on the phone Thursday night, Hollopeter told him to go win the title.

While, Martin laughed at the time, he did exactly that to improved to 26-8 on his impressive debut season and led Piqua to a tie for sixth in the tournament.

“I thought it was a realistic goal,” Martin said about winning the MVL as a freshman.

And in doing it, he turned the tables on a loss from earlier this season.

Martin had advanced to the championship match with a pin and major decision and faced top seed Dan Johnson of Stebbins.

Martin wasted little time evening the score with Johnson, taking a quick 2-0 lead and pinning him at 1:38 of the first period.

“He had pinned me in the first period (the first time they wrestled,” Martin said with a smile. “I just came out more aggressive. This gives me a lot of confidence going to sectionals.”

Scott Kaye was not surprised by Martin’s performance.

“He has put the hard work in,” Kaye said. “He had a great tournament.”

Isaac Bushnell (152) continued an amazing senior season to finish second.

Bushnell, 21-15, opened the tournament with a pin of Brice Hughes of Sidney.

Bushnell then showed his toughness in the semifinals.

He was trailing second seed Cael Liette 9-4 late in the second period.

Liette then appeared to become ill. After a short break, Bushnell took over the match when the action resumed.

He hit a five-point moved to end the second period and another to start the third period to take a 14-9 lead and went on to win an 18-12 decision.

“Isacc’s (Bushnell) hard work and conditioning paid off,” Kaye said. “It has all season. He had a really good tournament.”

That advanced Bushnell to the championship match, where he battled top seed Thomas Hicks of Butler before losing a 15-4 major decision.

Avery Wiley (106) and Brady Mikolajewski (120) both finished fourth.

Wiley, 18-18, recorded a major decision before being pinned in the third-place match.

Mikolajewski, 7-14, recorded a pin, before being pinned by Josie Davis of Sidney in the third-place match.

“They both had good tournaments,” Kaye said. “Brady (Mikolajewski) was able to upset the fourth seed (Devin Dodge of Xenia 7-4) in the first round.”

Jonathan Stavinoha (285) recorded one pin for the Indians.

TROY

Fox led the Trojans to an eighth-place finish.

Fox, 11-9, recorded two pins to advance to the finals, before he was pinned by top seed Noah Moreland of Vandalia-Butler.

“He doesn’t get a lot of work in the (wrestling) room,” Troy coach Doug Curnes said. “We don’t have a 120 and our 106 is pretty light. So, I had to get my hands on him (wrestle him) and do some work with him. He did (have a really good tournament) and he is just a sophomore.”

Nathan Brewster (138), Xavier Poffenberger (170) and Joe Cusick (182) all finished fourth.

Brewster, 12-11 and a freshman, recorded two pins, before losing by pin to Kanden Pitman of Xenia in the third-place match.

Poffenberger, 12-10 and a sophomore, recorded two pins before losing by pin to Owen Johnson of Sidney in the third-place match.

Cusick, 8-10 and a junior, recorded a tech fall to get to the third-place match.

It looked like he would finish third as he held a sizeable lead over Wyatt Biddle of Sidney in the third period before getting pinned.

“Nathan (Brewester) is just a freshman,” Curnes said. “Xavier (Poffenberger) came to us from Tippecanoe. He is just a sophomore and we are glad to him. Joe (Cusick) finished sixth last year, so this is an improvement for him.”

Breyden Lester (132) recorded a pin for the Trojans, who will wrestle in a tri-match at Covington Wednesday.