A Dutch wrestler prepares to overcome his opponent. Photo courtesy Emma Woods.

by Marsha Chartrand

Last weekend the wrestlers traveled to Hudson with 12 regional qualifiers, who were trying to qualify for Individual State at Ford Field this coming weekend.

"All 12 kids won at least one match, and we had eight kids qualify for states," said Coach Steve Vlcek.

Vince Klapperich, who has had a great season, lost a tough 2-0 match to make it. Vince still finished with more than 35 wins on the season. Chase Conklin also came up one short in one of the toughest classes, we thought. Chase has also been a major contributor for the team, winning 30 matches on the year. "Both he and Vince are Sophomores and are bright spots for the future," Vlcek added.

For the second straight year, Junior Adam Grebe was one match away; losing a tough 2-1 match to make it out. Adam has had more than 37 wins on the year and was very versatile in the middle of our lineup. Bubba Duffing had a tough route and came up one match short, a lot like Adam. "Bubba was a key in the middle of our line-up with over 30 wins. All four wrestlers will come back even harder next year to try and qualify for individuals, but as you can see they all are great for our team," Vlcek commented.

Onyx Ostrom will be making his third trip to Ford Field, going 2-1 and placing second. He's hoping to finish higher than last year's all State 8th place. Sammy Stewart continues his quest for another State Title going 3-0, and winning his second regional title. He now has over 50 wins on the year. Nathan Meyer, who in the previous two years was one match away, did a great job — going 2-1 on the day and earning his first trip to the big show. Nathan is closing in on 40 wins this season.

Blake Sloan, who has been wrestling very well despite two serious injuries, went 2-1 on the day to finish in second place as he seeks to earn his first State title. Blake has over 45 wins this season. Drake Neff continued his great junior season with probably our biggest surprise of the day: He defeated an East Jackson kid to make it to whom he had lost three times earlier this year! He finished with a fourth place and now has 28 wins on the season.

Gunner Carson continued his fantastic Junior year, going 2-1 on the day defeating a Bath wrestler who he lost to last year at regionals to advance to his 2nd trip to Ford Field. Gunner is second on the team with 48 wins as he tries to improve on his 8th-place finish from last year. Nathan Fletcher went 3-1 on the day to take third place and qualify for the second straight year. "Coming up one match short of All State last year, he has higher expectations this year," Vlcek said. "He has 36 wins on the year."

Dylan Gauss wrestled great after placing third at districts. He had a tough road, but wrestled great going 2-1 and finishing in second place, pinning the district champ in the process. "This is Dylan's second trip to Ford Field, and he has 34 wins on the season," Vlcek said.

Individual State will be held at Ford Field this coming Friday and Saturday, March 1and 2. Times are available on MHSAA's web site; hope to see you there!