Lewisburg wrestling dominates first Morgan Howell Invitational

OLIVE BRANCH, MS – The mats at Lewisburg High School were home to more than just high-stakes competition this past Saturday. Five teams gathered for the inaugural Morgan Howell Invitational Duals, a tournament established to honor the enduring legacy of a fallen Patriot wrestler and football player.  

The event proved to be a historic success for the home team. The Lewisburg boys’ wrestling team swept all four of their meets, clinching the tournament championship and extending their perfect season record to a dominant 13-0.

Honoring a Patriot’s Legacy

The tournament was created to remember Morgan Howell, a dual-sport athlete in wrestling and football who passed away in 2023. For Lewisburg coach Cody Gilbert, the event was about ensuring Howell’s impact on the program is never forgotten.

“His legacy will last forever here at Lewisburg and the wrestling community,” Gilbert said during the meet. “It’s a tournament that we wanted to put on and start doing every year… just to have a team tournament in honor of him.”

The inaugural field featured five competitive programs:

• Lewisburg High School
• Tupelo High School
• Oxford High School
• Corinth High School
• North Pontotoc High School

Patriots Stay Perfect

On the boys’ side, Lewisburg entered the day with high expectations and met every one of them. After securing early victories against Corinth and North Pontotoc, the Patriots capped off the afternoon with duals against Oxford and Tupelo to secure the inaugural title. The 4-0 performance on Saturday keeps the Patriots unblemished on the year at 13-0.

The Rise of Girls’ Wrestling

Beyond the memorial and the boys’ win streak, the tournament highlighted a massive shift in the sport’s landscape: the rapid growth of girls’ wrestling.

“Believe it or not, girls’ wrestling is the number one growing sport across the world right now,” Gilbert noted. The growth is reflected directly in the Lewisburg roster, which has jumped from a single female wrestler last year to seven this season.

While the girls’ team focused on gaining “mat time” and experience against diverse weight classes, Gilbert emphasized that the increased participation is part of a larger trend of the sport becoming sanctioned in more colleges and high schools nationwide.