Clinton Wrestling traveled to Martin High School for a team tournament on Friday, Dec. 22nd.  Clinton went 4-1 on the day only losing in the finals by 1 point.  In the opening round Clinton competed against Allegan and started out with a dominant win 54-21.  Earning pins were Wyatt Hicks(215), Hamza Rafferty(Hwt.), Nate Arntz(106), Zach Taylor(112), Joe Hodges(120), Braylon Long(126), Maurice Ames(138), and Bryce Randolph(165).  Other winning wrestlers were Will Hawkins(190) with a 5-3 decision and Cliff Jones(150) with a 7-4 decision.  In round two Clinton competed against St. Joe who is a top ten division 2 team.  Clinton battled and came away with a close 36-33 win.  Landon Lakatos wrestled a great match at 175 pounds to help secure the win for the Redwolves.  Wyatt Hicks started out with a 3-1 win at 215 pounds.  Hamza Rafferty picked up a second period pin after a scoreless first period at Heavyweight.  Nate Arntz earned a 9-3 decision at 106 pounds.  Zach Taylor dropped his match against the number 2 kids in the state with a score of 6-13.  Zach wrestled a great match and realized how close he is to where he wants to be.  Connor Younts picked up a pin at 132 pounds and Maurice Ames followed that up with another pin at 138 pounds.  Cliff Jones picked up a second period pin at 157 pounds and Bryce Randolph grabbed a first period pin at 165 pounds.  

In round three Clinton cruised by Kent City 56-18.  Earning pins during the dual were Maurice Ames(138), Cliff Jones(150), Bryce Randolph(165), and John Keibler(175).  Braylon Long(126) and Connor Younts(132) both earned technical falls.  Others winning matches were Hudson Miller(106) 2-1, Zach Taylor(113) 5-3, Landon Lakatos(190), Will Hawkins(215), and Wyatt Hicks(Hwt.).

Round four had Clinton continuing to dominate against Lakeview with a final score of 64-16.  Winning by pin were Braylon Long(126), Jake Halchishak(132), Dylan Badge(150), Cliff Jones(157), Bryce Randolph(165), and Wyatt Hicks at 215 pounds.  Connor Younts(132) and Maurice Ames(144) both earned technical falls.  Others with wins were, Zach Taylor(113), Hamza Rafferty(Hwt.), and Nate Arntz(106).  

In the finals Clinton competed against Whitehall who was the division three finalist in 2023 and currently ranked 3rd in D3 and Clinton is ranked 5th is D3.  The match started at 120 pounds with Joe Hodges losing a close match 1-5.  Braylon Long earned a technical fall at 126 pounds 17-2 and Connor Younts picked up another technical fall 18-3 at 132 pounds.  Maurice Ames picked up a much needed pin at 138 pounds.  At 144 pounds Dylan Badge lost a tough 7-11 match.  Austin Putnam lost his match at 150 pounds.  Cliff Jones competed at 157 pounds and found himself in overtime tied 1-1.  Cliff picked up the takedown in overtime to win the match on a gutsy effort.   Owen Wright was put in the mix at 165 pounds and nearly pulled it off for the Redwolves but lost his match late in the third period.  Bryce Randolph bumped up to 175 to chase their state ranked wrestler and picked up a major decision at the end of the third for the team 10-2.  Three weights in a row lost by pin, Will Hawkins(190), Wyatt Hicks(215), and Hamza Rafferty(Hwt.).  But Nate Arntz pinned a previously undefeated wrestler and highly ranked at 106 pounds.  Then Zach Taylor followed that up with another pin at 113 pounds.  But in the end the Redwolves fell just short to Whitehalll 36-35.  That was the reason we traveled all the way to Martin was to see great competition.  Our youth showed at times and we fell just short.  That experience will help our team down the road and we will be better prepared in the future for matches of that magnitude.  We travel to Salem High School for an individual tournament on Friday, Dec. 29th and our JV are at Salem the day before for an individual tournament as well on Thursday, Dec. 28th.  Our girls travel to Montague High School for an individual girls showcase tournament on Friday, Dec. 29th as well.  We are back at home on Wednesday, Jan.3rd for a single dual against Hanover Horton starting at 5:30.  Thank you for the continued support and we look forward to another packed gym on Jan. 3rd.