By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
When the Individual Wresting State Finals get underway at Ford Field on Friday, Feb. 28, Allegan County will be well-represented.
A total of 36 local grapplers punched their tickets to the Finals by virtue of finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes at individual regionals on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Martin led the charge with eight state qualifiers, followed by Allegan with seven. Hamilton and Plainwell are each sending six; Hopkins is sending four; Otsego is sending three; and Wayland is sending two.
Of Martin’s eight qualifiers, two claimed regional championships at the Division 4 tournament hosted by the Clippers: Haylen Buell at 144 pounds and Logan Gilbert at 120 pounds.
Three other Clippers—Urijah Joostberns at 113, Jack Bagwell at 157 and Sam Bleeker at 215—were runner-up.
Cole Reitz (132) and Jayce Ritchie (138) earned third-place finishes, while Jakub Tomyslak (165) was fourth.
Rysten Williams secured the one regional championship for Allegan, which competed in the Division 3 tournament at Olivet. Williams competed at 175.
Treydan VanderKooi (144) and Ryan Sparks (157) were third for the Tigers, while Jacob Collier (106), Sullivan Morgan (113), Luke Wedge (138) and Landon Fance-Coulson were fourth.
“It was a big day for us,” Allegan coach Chase Beard said. “We brought 13 wrestlers, seven of which punched their tickets to the Individual State Finals.
“What stood out to me was Sully Morgan becoming the first freshman State Qualifier for Allegan since 2014. Additionally, Luke Wedge and Landon Coulson are only in their second year of wrestling and have become great enough in such a short time to make it to the Finals.”
Hopkins joined Allegan at the Olivet regional and came away with two regional titles among its four qualifiers: Luke Klinge at 120 and Cooper Anderson at 132.
Wyatt Runkel (113) and Caden Brown (144) were each second for the Vikings.
Hamilton, Plainwell, Otsego and Wayland were among the participants at the Division 2 regional at Gull Lake High School.
Plainwell was guaranteed a regional title at 106, as Tyler Cooper and Dylan Nieuwenhuis both made it to the finals representing the Trojans. Cooper prevailed via pin in the second period to take the title.
Austin Gyorkos (138) and Adin Young (285) joined Cooper in winning a regional championship, while Rickey Lynch was third at 157 and Marco Vega was fourth at 150.
Like Plainwell, Hamilton had three wrestlers finish in first place: Bryce Morrison (144), Jacob Chase (157) and Shane Dams (215).
Chase Morrison and Malachi Kapenga finished second at 120 and 138, respectively, while Tyler Block was third at 175.
“I anticipated these six wrestlers would qualify for state,” Hamilton coach Trenton Holyfield said. “This is the most state qualifiers Hamilton has had in a very long time.
“The three wrestlers who won their regional set themselves up very nicely for a great run at the state tournament. Although, I believe all of our wrestlers could find themselves placing at the tournament. It’s a fun weekend full of emotion and we’re excited to part of it.”
For Otsego, Lane Blanchard (157) and Kole Engleright (190) secured runner-up showings, with Zeke Andrina (126) placing fourth.
Lane Button won a regional title for Wayland at 150. He’ll be joined at Ford Field by teammate Trent Sikkema, who was third at 190.
