Wrestling Bring Home 9 All State Honors and 3 Finalist from Ford Field

Wrestling competed at the MHSAA Individual State Championships held at Ford Field on Friday and Saturday, March 4th and 5th.  For the first time ever all competitors from all divisions had to weigh in the day before at Birmingham Groves High School and it was over 1000 competitors and coaches in one place.  It was nice to get weigh-ins over, but it was very crowded for all.  The first competitor to have a match on Ford Fields 25 mats was Logan Badge as he picked up two takedowns before he got a pin in just 33 seconds over Nathan Tremble of Standish.  In Logan’s second match he wrestled Ethan Hammond of Otis Lakeville and earned a pin in the second period after picking up a takedown and some nearfall points in the first period.  That win put Logan in the semi finals against Sam Goethals of Kingsley and Logan was able to win 6-3 on the back of three takedowns.  This put Logan in his fourth state finals in his career.  After winning three state titles he was going after the elusive fourth title with a rematch from the team state semi final dual, Alma’s Jacob Munger.  Logan has been nursing an injury to his knee and has not been at 100 percent in a while, and during the state finals he injured his other knee and was not able to do the things he has been accustomed to while wrestling.  Logan lost 11-5 and placed second in the state, which is a huge accomplishment on its own.  Logan showed great courage as he continued to try to battle during the match and we are proud of him.  Next up was Freshman Braylon Long as he faced a familiar foe in Ashton Viers of Dundee in the opening round and was able to collect a second period pin after earning two takedowns.  In the quarterfinals Braylon downed Quinton Everett 5-0 with a reversal and a set of nearfall points to move in the semifinals.  In the semi finals match Bryalon was up 2-1 going into the third period but was unable to escape and was pinned in the third period.  Next up was Malachi HIll of Freeland and Braylon cruised to a 6-2 win after earning a couple of takedowns.  That win put Braylon in the match for third place where he faced Chris Campbell of Algonac and earned a 3-1 win to finish in 3rd place at 103 and all state as a freshman.  

At 112 pounds Connor Younts faced Lucky Gartin of Algonac and earned a 9-1 major decision after picking up two takedowns and some nearfall points.  Connor moved on to the quarter finals and came away with a pin in the second period over D’Angelo Compos of Corunna on the back of three takedowns.  Connor then lost a heartbreaker in the semifinals to Easton Moran of Yale 7-5.  Connor then dropped his next match by pin to Drew Hensen of Gladstone.  This put Connor in the match for 5th where he collected an injury default over Isiah Mullins of Alma to finish 5th in the state and all state honors as a sophomore.  Connor Busz competed at 119 pounds and opened his state tournament with a pin over Hunter Szemites of Birch Run in the first period.  In the quarterfinals Connor defeated Bryson Hernandez in a close match 2-1 to earn a trip to the semifinals.  In the semifinals Connor wrestled a great match that came down to the ultimate tie breaker.  In a tied match at 3 apiece Connor chose top and rode out Dominic D’Ambroseio of Imlay City and came away with a 4-3 win and another trip to the state finals.  In the finals Connor faced Braydon Davis of Dundee who is the number one wrestler in the nation at his weight and Connor battled but eventually lost to the now three time state champion.  Busz placed second in the state and earned his third all state honor.  

At 125 pounds Zak Shadley opened his tournament with a controlling 7-1 win over Nathan Hecht of Laker after picking up two takedowns and a set of nearfall points.  In the quarterfinals Zak lost to eventual finalist Fabian Fucundo of Alma.  Zak then wrestled Thomas Zielinsk of Grand Rapids West Catholic and dropped a close 4-2 decision to end his tournament run.  Chase Packard competed at 130 pounds and lost his opening match 3-2 in a heartbreaker at the end of the match to David Clemons of Algonac.  In his next match Chase fell short 5-3 to Aiden Tornburg of Birch Run to end his tournament and senior season.  Chase finished his career as an all stater in his sophomore year.  At 135 pounds sophomore Coy Perry dropped his opening match to eventual state champion Aiden Bernard of Montrose 6-0.  Coy then battled back with a 7-1 win over Luke Sherman of Millington with three takedowns and an escape.  Coy then defeated Mathew Starks of Saginaw Swan Valley 4-3 of a takedown in the second period and a reversal in the third.  In his next match Coy lost a heartbreaker 3-2 to Caleb Ishmael of Coloma that put him in the match for 7th place.  Coy won in his last match by injury default to take 7th in the state and earn his second all state honor.  Maurice Ames competed at 140 pounds and lost his opening match to Mark Adams of Swan Valley by fall after getting caught in an awkward position.  In his second match Maurice lost to Anthony Szubinski of Beldling in a back and forth match 10-4.  Maurice picked up two reversals during the match that had lots of action, but unfortunately ended his tournament run.  At 145 pounds Joey Preston lost to eventual finalist Mason Cantu of Hart by fall, then lost to Xander Korbes of Ogema Heights by fall in the second period to end his tournament for the sophomore.  Kent McCombs was at 160 pounds and picked up a an opening match pin after a takedown and two sets of nearfall points against Elijah Murphy of Freeland.  Kent then earned a 9-3 win in the quarters against Trent Behrenwald of Howard City Tri County by picking up three takedowns and a set of nearfall points.  In the semifinals Kent dropped a heartbreaker to eventual state champion Connor Owens of Flint Powers 3-2.  Kent picked up a pair of escapes in the third period but couldn’t finish on a couple takedowns.  Kent came back the way you would expect from such a high character and competitive student athlete does, with a vengeance.  Kent was a scoring machine before earning the fall against Ryan Fessenden of Kingsley.  Kent collected two takedowns, three sets of near falls and an escape on his way to the pin that put him in the match for third place.  In his final high school match Kent battled Peyton Brooks from Midland Bullock Creek through a scoreless first period only to score a quick escape and takedown in the second period before earning the fall to take third place.  Kent finishes his career at Clinton as a four time all state wrestler, three time captain and earning the automatic appointment into West Point where he will continue his education and wrestling career.  Job well done Kent.  

Clinton Girls wrestled at Ford Field alongside the boys for the first time in state history.  Clinton had four girls representing our school and community.  Sophomore Faith Blackburn was looking to finish on top after her runner up finish last season.  She started off with a quick first period pin over Lillian Ruessink of Three Rivers to open her tournament.  Faith then defeated Ann Marie Gessner of Eaton Rapids with yet another first period fall in just 34 seconds.  Faith earned her third pin of the tournament as she defeated Jerra Booe of Allendale to earn her second straight trip to the state finals.  In the finals Faith wrestled long time friend Tyler Swanigan of South Lyon East and got thrown to her back right away in the match.  Faith didn’t give up though and the toughness and fight she displayed as she eventually fought off her back was admirable.  Faith eventually earned a reversal and gave up an escape right before the first period ended.  At the end of the first period it was Faith 2 and her opponent 6.  Faith then scored four unanswered points and took control of the match.  Tied at 6 apiece the match went into overtime.  And just a couple of seconds into overtime Faith tripped and her opponent was able to get a takedown to end the match 8-6 in a devastating loss.  Faith had great fight and courage battling the way she did and has a lot to be proud of, as she finished as the state runner up at 130 pounds.  Raven Aldridge competed at 135 pounds as a freshman to earn all state honors as well.  Raven started her tournament with a back and forth loss 12-8 to Emily Medford.  In her second match, Raven earned a pin after scoring three takedowns and two sets of nearfall points.  In her third match Raven had Sienna Tovar of Jackson who she was 1-1 against on the season and losing to her in the regional tournament.  Not this time, as Raven put this one away with a pin in the first period.  Raven then defeated Kornya Espinoza 5-3 to put her in the match for 5th place.  In her placement match Raven lost a close 3-1 match to Morgan Bailey of Grand Ledge to take 6th place overall and earn all state honors in her freshman year.  At 155 pounds Leanne Mercier opened her tournament with a pin over Madison Kennedy after grabbing a first period takedown.  Leanne then lost by fall to Rihanna Venegas to put her in the consolation bracket.  Leanne had another wrestler from Jackson that had defeated her previously as well and the match was a constant battle from start to finish.  The match went scoreless through all three periods and started overtime at 0-0.  The match continued scoreless through double overtime and came down to the ultimate tiebreaker where Leanne was able to control her opponent for the last 30 seconds and earn a point for the ride out and earn the win 1-0.  In her next match Leanne lost to Carlee Osborn 8-3 to put her in the 7th place match. In her final placement match Leanne battled for two scoreless periods and entered the third and final period at 0-0.  But Leanne was unable to hold her off and lost by pin to Madison Ward of Brandywine to finish in 8th place and earn all state honors in her junior year.  Our last competitor was sophomore Jayden Rozsa at 170. Jayden was giving up quite a bit of weight but battled to the end.  Jayden dropped her opening match to Paige Willman by fall and lost to Hannah Hart of Owosso by fall after a scoreless first period.  She showed great improvement throughout the season and will be back again to try and earn her way on the podium.  

As this season comes to an end with competition we are grateful of the opportunities we had to compete.  Our team finished with another final four appearance and with a 31-4 record on the year.  We had 14 state qualifiers, 9 all state wrestlers, and three state finalists.  Congratulations to all on another great season for Clinton Wrestling.