Eight Bees placed at the Battle in the Bluegass, led by Anthony Sartori's third-place finish at the tournament in Corbin, Ky., Friday. St. Ambrose finished sixth with 91.5 team points. Top-ranked Life won the 12-team event.

Sartori made his run after dropping his first-round match at 174 pounds. He came back with a 9-5 decision and then pinned his next opponent in 2:25. After advancing on a medical forfeit, Sartori earned an 11-4 decision in the third-place match to complete his afternoon.

Three SAU wrestlers finished fifth. Diego Machado, Colin O'Grady and Dylan Meiners reached the championship semifinals in their respective weight classes.

Machado cruised through his first two bouts at 157 pounds, needing just a combined 2:44 to pin his first two opponents. A 2-1 tiebreaker setback in the semifinals pushed him to the consolation bracket, where he earned a medical forfeit to take fifth.

O'Grady also earned bonus points in his first two matches at 184 pounds. He picked up a 16-8 major decision and a win via fall in 1:03 to reach the semifinals. He ultimately placed fifth after pinning his final opponent in just 30 seconds.

Meiners needed just one win, a 5-3 decision, to reach the championship semifinals at 197 pounds. He dominated the fifth-place match by earning a 13-1 major decision.

Mick Chagnon and Guiseppe Guerra also reached fifth-place matches before settling for sixth. Chagnon pinned back-to-back opponents in 1:28 and 2:48 on his way to sixth place at 125 pounds. Guerra posted a 12-4 major decision during his run at 141 pounds.

Reese Finch and Kayden White each placed seventh. Finch had a 15-13 win and collected a 21-7 major decision in the seventh-place match at 149 pounds. White won by fall in 3:57 and took down his opponent in 1:07 for seveth at 184 pounds.

Two other Bees each won a single match. Josh Zeman won by fall in 6:35 in the 149-pound bracket, and Slade Dias picked up a 4-2 decision at 165 pounds.

Riece Graham (125 pounds) and Abdullah Razzak (heavyweight) also competed for St. Ambrose.

The Bees will next wrestle at the Battle for the Helmet in Mason City, Iowa, on Jan. 4.