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Twenty-One U.P. Wrestlers Qualify For State Finals
 Twenty-one Upper Peninsula high school wrestlers finished in the top four at their individual regional tournaments on Saturday, and have qualified for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's individual state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The U.P. ended up with four regional champions: Escanaba's Hunter Larson in Division Two, Iron Mountain's Aaron Bolo in Division Three, and in Division Four, Manistique's Tanner Gonzalez and Munising's Zach McGowan both took home first place brackets. The results: DIVISION TWO AT MARYSVILLE---Escanaba's Larson, a 130-pound freshman, pinned Andy Runstorfer of Flint Kearsley in 2:59 to take home first place. Earlier in the day, Larson beat Wyatt Scribner of Holly in the quarterfinals on an 11-1 major decision. Then in the semifinals, Larson edged Cody Orcutt of Goodrich on a 3-2 decision. Marquette's Beau Caster also qualified for the state finals, finishing second at 160 pounds. He lost in the championship match to Dylan Terrence of Flint Kearsley on an 11-2 major decision. DIVISION THREE AT CHARLEVOIX---Iron Mountain's Bolo, a 171-pound senior, defeated Eric Cassidy of Beaverton, 10-1, in the championship match. And Mountaineer teammate Braydon Fitzpatrick qualified third at 215 pounds, pinning Gladstone's Jared Demeuse. Gladstone will send five wrestlers to the Palace. Braves sophomore Adam Bruce leads the way at 135 pounds. He finished second, losing to Nolan Saxton of Remus Chippewa Hills in the championship match on an 8-4 decision. Saxton, a senior, is 50-0 this season. Braves senior Austin Demeuse qualified third at 171 pounds. He beat Robert Granberry of Remus Chippewa Hills in the third place match, 5-0. Demeuse pinned Graberry during the team regionals last Wednesday night. Demeuse's brother, Jared, despite his loss to Fitzpatrick, still qualified fourth. Braves freshman Lane Matzke qualified fourth at 103 pounds, and Gladstone senior Mason Frederick finished third at 285 pounds. Frederick pinned Negaunee's Michael Pizziola in 3:22 during their third place match. Pizziola will also be at the Palace with his fourth place finish. Menominee sophomore Devon Bournoville also made it, taking third place at 145 pounds. DIVISION FOUR AT ROGERS CITY---Manistique's Gonzalez, a 160-pound senior, defeated Joe Rigling of Leroy Pine River in the championship match on a 13-3 major decision. Emeralds teammate Louie Berry took third place at 140 pounds to also qualify. Munising's McGowan won the 119 championsip by pinning William Dominek of Roscommon in 1:26. Mustangs teammate Nick Miles will also be at the Palace, fnishing second at 125 pounds. Other qualifiers from the U.P. include Rudyard's Tyler Spencer (third at 152 pounds), Ethan Parsons of Gwinn (fourth at 103), and Sam Giles of Westwood (second at 215 pounds). The U.P. gets two qualifiers in the Division Four bracket at 189 pounds (pictured above). Gwinn senior Kevin Roberts lost a heatbreaking 2-1 decision to Raden Holmes of Leroy Pine River in the championsip match. But Roberts, who will play football at Northern Michigan Univesity, still qualified. Bark River-Harris's Tyler Labadie also qualified in fourth place. Newberry's Alex Henry also qualified for the Palace, taking third at 160 pounds. The MHSAA Individual State Finals are March 2-4 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  |
