DETROIT---Two Dickinson County wrestlers won MHSAA individual state wrestling championships on Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit, while four other U.P. boys had to settle for runners-up.
It's the second year that multiple boys brought hardware back to the Upper Peninsula.
For the second straight year, in Division Four, Iron Mountain's Shawn McGuire won a state championship in the 126-pound weight class. This time, he didn't have to beat his teammate, Tyler Winch, in the title match (Winch reached the podium, though, finishing fourth).
McGuire defeated Perry Lake of Bronson High School on a 12-3 major decision to become the first back-to-back state champion for the Upper Peninsula.
The other state champion came in Division Three, where 215-pounder Eli Rouse of Kingsford won a title over Bennett VandenBerg of Constantine High School. Rouse's victory was a nailbiter, winning a 5-3 decision in "sudden victory", the wrestling term for overtime.
Rouse becomes the first state champion in Kingsford High School wrestling history. He came into this state tournament as the eleventh seed in the 16-team field.
“I knew the seeding wasn’t right. They haven’t watched me wrestle,” Rouse told MHSAA.com of his seeding. “It’s no hate to them, they were just doing their job, but I had to prove them wrong.”
Bark River-Harris/North Central senior Drew Allgeyer lost in his bid to be a repeat state champion. Allgeyer won his state championship in 2022 in overtime, but this time, he lost in a "sudden victory" in Saturday's final to Evan Wakefield of Michigan Lutheran Seminary, 4-2.
Another BR-H wrestler, 157-pounder Dillon Raab, had a rematch with Sebastiian Martinez of Gabriel Richard. The result was the same as last year, with Martinez winning on a 10-2 major decision. It was the third straight year that Raab finished as state runners-up.
Iron Mountain wrestler Evan Haferkorn lost a heartbreaker in the 150-point championship match to Marcus Bennett of Marlette High School, on a 5-3 decision. Bennett won his third state championship. This match was tied at 3-3 until Bennett got a reversal with 28 seconds left to win it.
Another Iron Mountain wrestler, 165-pounder Fulton Stroud, also wrestled for a state championship but came up short, losing to Robert Cann of Whitmore Lake, on a 15-6 major decision. Stroud is the younger brother of last year's state champion, Parker Stroud.
UPPER PENINSULA WRESTLERS ON PODIUM
DIVISION THREE
Eli Rouse, Kingsford, state champion
Drew Hansen, Gladstone, third place
Austin Solis, Gladstone, fourth place
Cole Potier, Gladstone, fourth place
DIVISION FOUR
Shawn McGuire, Iron Mountain, state champion
Fulton Stroud, Iron Mountain, state runner-up
Evan Haferkorn, Iron Mountain, state runner-up
Tyler Winch, Iron Mountain, fourth place
Shayna Hruska, Iron Mountain, seventh place
Dillon Raab, Bark River-Harris, state runner-up
Drew Allgeyer, Bark River-Harris, state runner-up
Shawna Sundholm, Gwinn, fifth place
It's the second year that multiple boys brought hardware back to the Upper Peninsula.
McGuire defeated Perry Lake of Bronson High School on a 12-3 major decision to become the first back-to-back state champion for the Upper Peninsula.
“It was quite a bit of difference,” McGuire told MHSAA,com. “I think last year, it was bittersweet to go into the Finals with my best friend and also my teammate. It was different this year. It’s just sweet this year. It’s better than ever. It feels good to come out on top.”
The other state champion came in Division Three, where 215-pounder Eli Rouse of Kingsford won a title over Bennett VandenBerg of Constantine High School. Rouse's victory was a nailbiter, winning a 5-3 decision in "sudden victory", the wrestling term for overtime.
Rouse becomes the first state champion in Kingsford High School wrestling history. He came into this state tournament as the eleventh seed in the 16-team field.
In the extra period, Rouse got the victorious takedown.
“We were both tired. I could hear him breathing heavy, and I know I was breathing heavy,” Rouse said. “I was just trying to push through to represent the boys from the U.P.”
Bark River-Harris/North Central senior Drew Allgeyer lost in his bid to be a repeat state champion. Allgeyer won his state championship in 2022 in overtime, but this time, he lost in a "sudden victory" in Saturday's final to Evan Wakefield of Michigan Lutheran Seminary, 4-2.
Another BR-H wrestler, 157-pounder Dillon Raab, had a rematch with Sebastiian Martinez of Gabriel Richard. The result was the same as last year, with Martinez winning on a 10-2 major decision. It was the third straight year that Raab finished as state runners-up.
Another Iron Mountain wrestler, 165-pounder Fulton Stroud, also wrestled for a state championship but came up short, losing to Robert Cann of Whitmore Lake, on a 15-6 major decision. Stroud is the younger brother of last year's state champion, Parker Stroud.
UPPER PENINSULA WRESTLERS ON PODIUM
DIVISION THREE
Eli Rouse, Kingsford, state champion
Drew Hansen, Gladstone, third place
Austin Solis, Gladstone, fourth place
Cole Potier, Gladstone, fourth place
DIVISION FOUR
Shawn McGuire, Iron Mountain, state champion
Fulton Stroud, Iron Mountain, state runner-up
Evan Haferkorn, Iron Mountain, state runner-up
Tyler Winch, Iron Mountain, fourth place
Shayna Hruska, Iron Mountain, seventh place
Dillon Raab, Bark River-Harris, state runner-up
Drew Allgeyer, Bark River-Harris, state runner-up
Shawna Sundholm, Gwinn, fifth place
