AUBURN HILLS — Dowagiac senior Tristan Howard capped off a brillant four-year career by placing fifth at the Division 3 MHSAA Individual State Wrestling Championships at The Palace of Auburn Hills this weekend.

Howard (41-6) defeated Trent Montambo of Shelby 11-2 in the fifth place match Saturday afternoon.

Howard opened up tournament action with an 8-2 win over Austin Morley of Carrollton, but lost in the championship quarterfinals in overtime to Montambo 5-3.

The senior heavyweight, who finished seventh in the state in 2014, rebounded to pin Taylor Dean of Battle Creek Pennfield (3:49) and Kyle Vandenbrooks of Remus-Chippewa Hills (4:24).

In the consolation semifinals, Howard was defeated by Adam Boyd of Richmond 3-2 on a tiebreaker.

Dowagiac freshman Gage Williams (23-12) was 0-2 on Friday, while senior Scotty Hassle (15-11) was also 0-2.

In Division 4, Brandywine’s Charlie Rodriguez finished eighth and Cassopolis’ Tymari Brown placed fifth.

Rodriguez (39-11) was pinned by Lutheran Westland’s Thomas Krueger.

Brown (41-6) defeated Marti/Climax-Scotts’ Ethan Simmons 3-1 in overtime.