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Five U.P. Boys To Wrestle For State Championships
 (IM wrestling photo) DETROIT---The MHSAA individual wrestling state finals began on Friday at Ford Field in Detroit, and when the dust settled, five Upper Peninsula boys advanced to the championship round of their brackets. And two of them will face each other for the state title. Iron Mountain 119-pounders Shawn McGuire and Tyler Winch both won all three of their matches on Friday, and will face each other in the state championship match Saturday night. Mountaineer 152-pounder Parker Stroud will also wrestle for a state title. Two Bark River-Harris/NCA wrestlers, 189-pounder Drew Allgeyer and 145-pounder Dillon Raab also won three matches will go for state championships. McGuire dominated his half of the 119-pound bracket, pinning Jeff Helzer of Capac in 2:36, beating Jared Bunn of Manchester on a 12-2 major decision, and then pinning Cole Marry of Hudson in a semifinal match. That came 22 seconds into the third period. Winch had a tougher path to the final. After an easy 9-0 win over Matias Escamilla of St, Charles, Winch pulled out a 11-8 decision over Matthew Slaught of Maple Valley in the quarterfinal, and then won a 6-5 nailbiter over David Felder of Hanover-Horton in the semifinals. Stroud also cruised to the championship of his bracket. He rolled Carson Norton on a 13-0 tech fall, did the same to Chasse Hertz in the quarterfinals (15-0), and then he wrapped up his day with a pin over Hunter Doyle of Leslie in 3:25. Allgeyer won all three of his matches by a wide margin, on a tech fall each time: Evan Wakefield of Saginaw Lutheran, 19-3; over Jacob Dixon of Bronson in the quarterfinal, 15-0, and over Mikey Brooks of Laingsburg in the semifinal, 24-9. Raab was also dominant at 145 pounds. He pinned Jack Kulhanek of New Lothrop in 3:38, beat Jack Davidson of White Pigeon in the quarterfinals on a 15-0 tech fall, and roared past Martine Wiggins of St. Louis in another tech fall performance, 22-6. Besides those five Yoopers, there are other local wrestlers who won two of their three matches on Friday, and can still earn a spot on the podium. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class, of each division, "place" between third and seventh. Gladstone has two guys still going: heavyweight Brett Boudreau and 112-pounder Drew Hansen. Hansen had to beat his own Braves teammate, Eli Terrian, in a consolation match Friday evening, getting the pin in 3:33. Iron Mountain, which brought nine wrestlers to the state finals, also has Alexander Wilson still alive at 103 pounds. Evan Haferhkorn at 145 pounds, and Mason Kivi at 152 pounds. Kingsford heavyweight Matthew Wilson won his first two matches, by 9-1 and 3-2 decisions, but lost his semifinal match to Levi Harber of Montrose on a pin at 37 seconds. Munising 140-pounder Reagan Bowerman was pinned in his first match, but won his second and third matches to make it to Saturday. He pinned Andrew Conlier of Decaur in 1:54, and then beat Olsen Moshier of Lutheran Westland, 1o-4. Newberry heavyweight Matthias Miller is also still alive. He was pinned in his first match on Friday, but came back to beat Ethan Hardy of Perry, 8-5, and then he pinned Alex Burhans of Evart in 45 seconds. Other U.P. wrestlers who qualified for states but were eliminated on Friday: DIVISION TWO 285: Chris Ricker, Marquette DIVISION THREE 112: Eli Terrian, Gladstone 119: Michael Brazeau, Gladstone 125: Austin Solis, Gladstone 145: Toby Wilcox, Kingsford 171: Josh Peterson, Kingsford DIVISION FOUR 130: Elliot Corrigan, Bark River-Harris 160: Wyatt Raab, Bark River-Harris 125: Daniel Manier, Iron Mountain 135: Hayden O’Neil, Newberry 140: Isaac Manier, Iron Mountain 171: Fulton Stroud, Iron Mountain 189: Dawson Delongchamp, Ishpeming 130: Jaeger Wilson, Ishpeming 215: Spencer Harvala, Westwood 285: Brandon Vickstrom, Westwood There was a girl's division for the first time, with six girls making it to Ford Field. Escanaba's Vanessa Reimer will be the first-ever Eskymo lady to get to the podium. She lost her first match on Friday, but rallied to win the next two. She pinned Elliot Gessner of Erie-Mason in just 17 seconds, and then pinned Tiffany Anderson of Frankenmuth in 3:27. Other Girls state qualifiers who were eliminated Friday: 125: Madalynn Corrigan, Bark River-Harris 125: Cassie Olson, Menominee 190: Aubree Croasdell, Escanaba 115: Linnea Britton, Escanaba 100: Keira Wilson, Ishpeming |
