Division 1
Recap: As expected, Detroit Catholic Central cruised through the quarterfinals. We had them +50, and they won by 46. We figured they would rest a few goes, while getting some deserving Seniors some mat time at the team state tournament. The match of the dual was the final bout, where 3x state champ Wyatt Lees teched state placer Nihranz up at 138. DCC also won the battle of state qualifiers at 106 and 113, while Dakota picked up bonus at 144, 157, and 190. DCC will see the Rockford Rams in the semis tomorrow morning.
Recap: We had Rockford avenging their loss, but we didn’t think it would be this dominant. The Rams peaked at the right time this year, winning all the toss ups, and getting the matchups they wanted. Martin beat Duvendack in a thriller in OT at 120lbs, while Welmerink beat T. King in a battle of top-10s at 132lbs. Rockford will now see #1 Detroit Catholic Central in the semis.
Recap: Hartland was firing on all cylinders for this one, beating a very solid Rochester Adams team by 49 points. By far, the match of the dual was #1 Bodie Abbey beating #2 Deacon Morgan by a 6-3 decision. Although it wasn’t super high scoring, there was a lot of action and scrambling in the match. Obviously, we will not see that rematch next week, as Abbey bumped up to 144 to chase this match today. Jackson Harris and John David Quinlan were the lone winners for Adams, with Harris winning by tech fall. Up next: Hartland takes on rival Brighton in a rematch of a KLAA regular season dual, which Hartland won.
Recap: This was perhaps the most anticipated match of the day. We weren’t exactly sure how this would go, as the statuses of numerous wrestlers (Wood, Savage, T. Pacheco, etc.) were unclear. However, both teams were mostly at full strength. Not having Wood at 113 was costly for Brighton, but L. Wood and Bergmooser did their job by limiting bonus points. The match of the dual came at 126lbs, where state champ Steve Vaughn was down 6-1 in the third before rattling off 6 straight to beat all stater Pollins 7-6. That win kept Davison in the dual, but Ethan Smith would shut the door in the final contested match with a first period fall. We now look forward to the Hartland vs Brighton battle!
Division 2
Recap: There’s a reason Lowell has won a dozen straight titles! They’re loaded from top to bottom, and they’ve got depth the whole way through. Shout out to Fruitport to making their first ever quarterfinals, especially with a young team. We’re sure we will be seeing them again soon. Fruitport’s big win of the dual came at 132lbs, where Murphy Lengkeep picked up a 5-4 win over Carson Blum in the tiebreakers. Lowell will now see a solid New Boston Huron team in the semis.
Recap: Without Tyler Sage, this was always going to be an uphill battle for Linden. Still, great season for Linden, as they made it a step further than last year. New Boston Huron got exactly what they needed out of guys like Gemmel, Downs, Banko, Hall, and Matsos. That’s a brutal stretch, where it’s tough for most teams to pick up a win. They’ll now see the ultimate test in Lowell in the semis.
Recap: We knew Freeland wouldn’t go down without a fight, but we did not expect them to hold a 29-12 lead over halfway through the dual. However, because of the starting weight, Three Rivers would end where they are strongest. They’d win the last 6 matches, picking up 30 straight points, to advance to another semifinals. TR will see the 6-seed Eaton Rapids in tomorrow’s semis.
Recap: Eaton Rapids did exactly what they needed to do to pull off an upset in this one. They got creative with their lineup, won the matchups they needed, and they’re heading into their first semifinals in quite some time. ER picked up much needed toss up wins at 106, 120, and 138, and Pickott and Chapates would essentially put the dual away with massive wins at 150 and 157. They’ll now see Three Rivers in the semis!
Division 3
Recap: We knew this would be all Dundee, as are most duals, and that’s exactly what happened. Dundee won the first 12 matches, 11 of them by bonus, before Allegan would get on the board with a solid win at 165lbs. Ryan Sparks beat Avery Lane in a thrilling 12-10 match between state qualifiers. Stone Redmon won the other big match of the dual, beating state qualifier T. Vanderkooi by an 11-9 decision. Dundee will see Lakewood tomorrow afternoon.
Recap: This was up there as one of the best duals of the way. This was a back-and-forth dual for the first 11 matches, as Montrose held a 27-20 lead heading into the final three matches. Winning just one of the three would pretty likely lock up the win for the Rams. In the match of the dual, with the dual essentially on the line, #2 Boucher beat #4 Cummings by a 1-0 decision, keeping Lakewood alive. They’d then pick up a pin at 175, before Prowdley would win 9-6 in the final match, sending the Vikings to the semis. They’ll see Whitehall in the semis.
Recap: Hart jumped out to an early 15-0 lead, winning the first three matches, before Whitehall would pin in three straight. Hart responded by winning three of four matches and taking a 25-22 lead into the late stages of the dual. Whitehall, however, had too much firepower in the middle weights, ending with three pins and a tech. Those 23 straight points gave Whitehall a convincing 45-25 win in this one. They’ll see Yale in the semis.
Recap: This was very close to how we thought the dual would go. Ogemaw Heights would score some points, as they’re a really tough team, but Yale’s studs would be just too much. Moran, Soucy, M. McClelland, A. Rhodes, and K. McClleland picked up vital bonus points, just as we’d expect. Ogemaw Heights did win three straight at the end to make this a respectable 39-27 dual. Yale will see Whitehall in the semis!
Division 4
Recap: Not the result Powers North Central would have preferred in this dual, but the real story is them making it to the team state tournament. Not only was this the first time the Jets have ever made it to the state quarterfinals, but they did it in just the third year in their program’s history. To be fair, any team in the state is going to struggle to keep it close with Hudson, as they hare loaded from top-to-bottom. Match of the dual was at 138, where 3x state champ Nick Sorrow picked up the fall over state placer Cooper Raab. Hudson will now see Decatur in the semis.
Recap: Good dual early here, as Union City took a quick 10-0 lead. Three straight pins for Decatur, and then a pin for Union City made this a tight 18-16 dual almost halfway in. However, Decatur would then pull away as they scored 28 straight points, putting the dual out of reach. The pin by Kolton Burns at 120 officially put the dual away. Great season for Union City! Decatur will now see #1 Hudson in the semis.
Recap: We had St. Louis winning by 30ish points, but they outwrestled even those expectations. The Sharks won 6 of the first 7 matches, and then they won 5 of the last 6, cruising to a 60-14 win. New Lothrop’s biggest win came as Knox Severn beat state qualifier Russell at 285lbs, while Kyler Campbell picked up a forfeit, and Conner Eickholt earned a tech. However, everything else was all St. Louis, who will see Clinton in a highly anticipated semifinal tomorrow morning.
Recap: We saw this dual being a little closer, although Clinton would not ever be in trouble. However, Clinton won all the should-be tough matches, and they did so with bonus points. Freshman phenom Cael Tyler picked up a tech for Roscommon, which could have given them some momentum with Crew Tyler and Toby Bigford coming up, but Clinton won both those matches by bonus points and put the dual out of reach early. Clinton vs Decatur in the morning!
