Manchester wrestlers gearing up for state tournament
Photo credit: Kathleen Clark.
submitted by William Gross
The Manchester Varsity Wrestling team just completed two weeks of competition in the state wrestling tournament and now look toward the individual State Finals at Ford Field, where seven Manchester wrestlers have advanced.
On February 8, Manchester High School hosted MHSAA individual wrestling districts, where the host Dutchmen came away with strong results. Five individual wrestlers won district titles and 12 wrestlers advanced to regionals.
On February 16, the regional tournament was hosted at Leslie High School. Two Manchester wrestlers won a regional title in their weight class, while five other Dutchmen placed high enough to advance to the state tournament.
Sammy Stewart (120 lbs) and Nathan Fletcher (215 lbs) have yet to lose a match this post season, each winning district and regional titles in their weight class. Stewart won a state title in 2023 and was runner-up in 2024, while Fletcher placed fifth in last year’s state tournament.
Nathan Meyer (144 lbs) and Blake Sloan (150 lbs) each won district titles and placed third at regionals, qualifying them for the state tournament. Sloan defeated fellow Dutchman Vince Budd in both the 3rd-place match at regionals and the district title match. Budd will also advance to the state tournament along with Easton Magnusson (157 lbs) and Dylan Gauss (285 lbs), who both placed fourth at the regionals.
Dutchman Bubba Duffing (165 lbs) also scored a district title but had his victory upset in the regional tournament.
In the team competition, Manchester won their 20th consecutive district title on February 5, defeating Lutheran Westland 77–0. At team regionals on February 12, Manchester beat Memphis 76–6 in the semi-finals, but lost a heartbreaker to local rivals Clinton, 47–24.
Manchester’s individual wrestlers now head to Ford Field from February 28 through March 1 to compete for a state title. Good luck, Dutchmen!
Photo credit: Kathleen Clark.
Photo credit: Kathleen Clark.
Photo credit: Kathleen Clark.
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