Gladstone Wrestlers Fall In D3 Regional Final 48-17

GLADSTONE---The season came to an end for the Gladstone High School wrestling team Wednesday night, as the young Braves lost to downstate powerhouse Remus Chippewa Hills, 48-17, in the Division Three regional championship match in Gladstone.

The Braves eliminated Iron Mountain earlier in the evening, 72-12, while Chippewa Hills throttled Kalkaska, 75-3, in the other regional semifinal.

"They had more depth and we were outclassed a little bit," Gladstone Coach Dan Seronko said. "They outmatched us, and we couldn't move too many guys around. But I thought the kids wrestled really good. The team score doesn't really show how hard they wrestled. I was really proud of them today. It's not the best way to end the season, but we'll take it."

Senior 171-pounder Austin Demeuse gave his team a boost with an emotional pin over Robert Granberry in the evening's first match.

Demeuse was behind after the first period before rallying to pick up the 101st victory of his varsity wrestling career. He won his 100th match earlier in the night against Iron Mountain.

The Warriors, with 38 wrestlers on the trip (28 on the official roster) to Gladstone's 18, won the next three matches. Then at 103 pounds, Gladstone freshman Lane Matzke picked up an 8-0 major decision win over the Warriors' Taylor Gibson.

That brought the Braves to within 12-10 on the scoreboard, but pins by Bray Haynes and Kaden Ellis put Chippewa Hills ahead, 28-10. Then at 125 pounds, the Warriors' Mason Hayes outdueled Gladstone's Vadym Torvinen to win on a 10-8 decision.

Gladstone picked up back-to-back wins at 130 and 135 p[ounds. First, Braves freshman Cole Hansen turned back Brandon Russell on a 9-3 decision.

Then, Gladstone sophomore Adam Bruce dominated Jake Justice, but couldn't quite get the pin. Bruce won on a tech fall, 15-0, but the team was docked a point because of an unecessary roughness call.

The Braves were within 31-17, but did not score another team point the rest of the match.

The Warriors' top wrestlers, Nolan Saxton (140), Austin Young (145), Jaycob Sharp (152), and David Spedowski (160) all cruised to victories. Gladstone sophomore Alex Chouniard wrestled well to avoid a pin from the All-Stater Young, losing on a 7-0 decision.

For Young, however, it was his 100th career varsity victory.

While the season ended for the Braves as a team, eight boys will travel downstate this Saturday to compete in the Individual Regional tournament, with the goal of advancing to the state finals in March at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

DIVISION FOUR---Munising won a regional championship for the second straight season on its home mat Wednesday night. The Mustangs beat Gwinn, 48-24, in the semifinals, and then topped St. Ignace, 45-30, in the championship. St. Ignace beat Manistique, 49-23, in the other semifinal. Munising advances to the state finals.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and video highlights from the Gladstone-Remus Chippewa Hills match.