Whitehall and Montague enjoyed terrific performances from its individual qualifiers at Saturday's Division 3 regionals in Belding, as 13 of the 15 reached Ford Field.
Ten of 11 Vikings to wrestle in Belding advanced to the state meet, and three of the four Wildcats did so too.
Leading the way for the area were three regional champions, all Vikings: Liam Leeke at 157 pounds, Cody Manzo at 126 and Max Krukowski at 132.
Krukowski's road to the top of the podium proved to be toughest of the three, as he went to overtime in his championship match against Tri-County's Isaac Gitchel before pulling out a thrilling 2-1 victory. Krukowski also battled out a hard-fought 8-5 win over Luke Klinge of Hopkins in the semifinals after earning a technical fall in his opening match.
Leeke dominated his bracket, scoring two pins - including one over Ryan Sparks of Allegan in the championship match - and a technical fall. Manzo picked up a pin in his first-round match, then had to defeat teammate Isaac O'Boyle in the semifinals before beating Sammy Anderson of Kent City, 12-6, for the title.
The Vikings had two regional runners-up as well. Robert Belinger scored a major decision and a pin before taking second place at 106 pounds, and Blake Wallace earned a pair of pins on his way to a runner-up spot at 113.
Montague also had two regional runners-up. Isaac French rolled past his first two foes by technical fall and major decision before taking second at 175, and Maverick Osborne pinned each of his first two opponents and was second at 285.
Viking third-placers were Tanner Woodworth (190) and Dom Zygmuntowski (120), who each went 3-1. Woodworth scored two pins in the tournament, and Zygmuntowski won matches by decision and by major decision. Montague's Fletcher Thommen (150) also took third to extend his high school career, posting a pin, a technical fall, and a decision.
Three Vikings finished fourth with 2-2 records: Kolten Weiler (150), Billy Darke (215) and O'Boyle, who won two major decisions to sandwich his loss to teammate Manzo. Weiler won a major decision and a decision in his bracket, and Darke earned his way to state with a tough 2-0 decision over Kaden Smith of Grant in the blood round, as well as picking up a first-round major decision.
Montague's Gavyn Maddox reached the blood round of 144 but was unable to get the final win he needed, and Whitehall's Colten Kyser (157) ended his wrestling career with an 0-2 record at regionals.
In another highlight of the regional tournament, Montague assistant coach Andrew Nold received the Division 3 Regional Assistant Coach of the Year award, marking the second straight time Nold has earned the honor.
Landon Learn wins regional title
Reeths-Puffer freshman star Landon Learn roared back from a tough loss in the team regional semifinals, his first as a high schooler, with a dominating performance in the Division 1 individual regionals at Portage Northern to win the 113-pound title.
Learn dispatched all three of his opponents by pin, including Hastings' Hunter Sutfin in the finals. That ran Learn's remarkable record to 48-1 for the season as he'll head to Ford Field with high expectations.
The Rockets' Micah Mills, who also wrestled at 113, scored a first-round technical fall but went 1-2 at the meet, ending his season. Devin Welch, at 215, also wrestled at the regionals, going 0-2.
