By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Competing at the prestigious U.S. Marine Corps Junior & 16U Wrestling Nationals in Fargo, N.D., last month, incoming Plainwell High School freshman Dylan Nieuwenhuis finished one win shy of being an All-American in the freestyle division.
That prompted a text from PHS varsity coach Rodd Leonard.
“When Dylan didn’t make top eight in the country in freestyle , I sent him a text to see how he was mentally,” Leonard said. “I also wanted to ask if he was going to finish the tournament by doing Greco, which he’d also qualified for.
“His text back to me was, ‘Coach, I’m all in … I have a goal to achieve.’
And Nieuwenhuis achieved that goal, placing sixth in the 94-pound division to earn All-American status.
The top eight in each weight class are named All-American.
Nieuwenhuis wasn’t the only PHS wrestler to earn that lofty recognition.
Junior Austin Gyorkos placed seventh at 138 pounds in Greco. Nieuwenhuis’ older sister Madison, who will also be a junior at PHS, placed second at 100 pounds in the girls freestyle division the previous week.
Senior Adin Young (4-4 combined in freestyle and Greco in boys heavyweight) and Avery Lynch (1-2 in freestyle at girls 130 pounds) also represented Plainwell as part of team Michigan.
“Our kids were outstanding,” Leonard said. “Until you qualify, you will never know what it takes to even get to Fargo.
“Most kids go there hoping to win at least one match. And our kids went a combined 30-16 for Plainwell and Team Michigan, which is pretty remarkable. And to have a brother/sister All-American combo is really special for Dylan, Madison and their family.”
Leonard praised Gyorkos’ tenacity.
“Austin just didn’t stop wrestling,” Leonard said. “He trailing in a few matches, but dug deep with short time to go and came from behind to get the win by big four-point throws and getting pins with them.”
Leonard made it clear that the success of the Plainwell contingent was no accident and that it didn’t come easily.
“These particular kids and a total of 16 Plainwell wrestlers train three to four days a week all spring and summer at Michigan Premier with JJ Johnson as their off-season coach,” he said. “So these kids are the ones who will lead our team and get all team members to “believe in the process with these kind of results.”
And while this group of grapplers does work exceedingly hard, their success isn’t theirs alone.
“Not many times does credit get paid to who deserves it, but the parents of these kids have bought in the process as well and have gone above and beyond. And the community support has been unbelievable as well.”
