WHITEHALL —Whitehall had 11 wrestlers qualify from Saturday's Division 3 individual district tournament, which the Vikings hosted, to reach the regionals, including nine district finalists.
Montague added four individual regional qualifiers, led by a pair of district champs.
The Vikings had three champs, highlighted by a 157-pound bracket that produced two teammates as finalists. Liam Leeke and Colten Kyser, however, did not wrestle one another, as Kyser forfeited to Leeke in the championship match. Leeke scored a pin and a technical fall in his prior two matches, while Kyser eked out an impressive 1-0 win over Russell Hopkins of Belding as part of three consecutive wins to get to the championship match.
Max Krukowski, who like Leeke was the No. 1 seed in his bracket, won the 132-pound title, and he did it the hard way, with two one-point wins to end the day. After a major decision win to start things off, Krukowski had to fight off Brayden Peak of Central Montcalm in a 3-2 victory, then had to dig even deeper in the finals, which came down to ultimate tiebreaker. In the end, Krukowski was able to pull off a 3-2 thriller against Isaac Gitchel of Tri-County, whom the Vikings will face in the regional semifinals Wednesday night, to be on top of the podium.
Whitehall's Max Krukowski (right) grapples with Central Montcalm's Brayden Peak in a semifinal match during Saturday's district tournament in Whitehall. Krukowski won the district title.
Cody Manzo was Whitehall's third champ, coming from the No. 3 seed at 126 to do so. Manzo pinned his first two opponents, then pulled off a 12-7 upset of top seed Sammy Anderson of Kent City in the finals match.
Montague champions were seniors Fletcher Thommen, at 150, and Isaac French, at 175. Thommen ran his gaudy record to 43-1 by pinning all three of his opponents in the bracket. French's mark is now 41-4 after he picked up one win by pin, followed by a tough 10-6 victory over Jonze Geldhof of Comstock Park before dispatching Orchard View's Ca'Mari Reese 14-3 in the title match.
Whitehall's list of runners-up was deep, as five other Vikings besides Kyser reached the finals and took second. Kolten Weiler pulled out a 4-2 win over Brody Sikkema of Comstock Park after pinning his first two opponents at 150, with only Thommen of Montague stopping him from getting a district title. Billy Darke, too, earned a tight win on his way to the finals, edging Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Malachai Young 6-4 and then scoring a pin before taking second.
Robert Belinger earned two pins at 106 and then went to overtime before defeating Jordan Apps of Central Montcalm 19-11. Perhaps the extra energy in that match kept Belinger from the district title, as he dropped a close matchup to top seed Dylan Russo of Kent City in the finals, 5-3.
Blake Wallace scored two pins at 113 to take second place, and Dom Zygmuntowski continued an impressive freshman season by adding a pin and a major decision to his record at 120 before a close decision loss in the finals.
Montague's Isaac French keeps Orchard View's Markel Johnson on the mat during Saturday's district tournament in Whitehall. French rolled to the 190-pound title, advancing to regionals.
Montague's Maverick Osborne was also a runner-up, at 285, scoring three consecutive wins by pin before being bested in the championship match.
Viking third-placers were Tanner Woodworth at 190 and Isaac O'Boyle at 126. Woodworth picked up a pin and a win by injury default during his district run, and O'Boyle had a pair of pins and a decision win.
Montague's Gavyn Maddox closed out area regional qualifiers with a fourth-place finish at 144. Maddox had to defeat fellow area wrestler Hunter Peterson of Whitehall in the blood round to secure his position, pulling out a heart-pounding 10-9 victory.
Peterson was one of four area wrestlers to reach the blood round before bowing out. Pablo Lugo went 1-2 for Whitehall before his run ended, and the Wildcats' Michael Jones, Kaiden French and Tony Garcia each were eliminated in the blood round. Tommy Leeke of Whitehall and Chayse Maddox of Montague also each won a match before being eliminated.
