Whitehall senior Cody Manzo and Reeths-Puffer freshman Landon Learn provided the highlight finishes among White Lake area boys wrestlers at the weekend's state finals at Ford Field, each taking third.
Manzo was the No. 4 seed in the Division 3 126-pound bracket for the Vikings but defeated Grass Lake's Brandon Rohde in the third-place match, 16-2, to end his high school career with a dominant victory. Manzo drew a first-round bye and then picked up a pin in the quarterfinals, matching up with eventual state champion Bryan Sterling of Dundee in the semis. There Manzo gave Sterling his closest match of the tournament, taking him the distance in a 7-0 defeat (Sterling scored technical falls in his other three bouts). Manzo rebounded with a technical fall win in the consolation semifinals before earning his third-place spot.
"He had a really good weekend," Whitehall coach Justin Zeerip said of Manzo. "He had a great tournament and peaked at the end of the season."
Learn competed in the Division 1 finals at 113 pounds and ended his terrific freshman season with a record of 52-2. Seeded No. 4 in the bracket, Learn earned pins in each of his first two matches and took on Cass Tech's Cyrus Woodberry in the semifinals. Woodberry beat Learn in a close 9-5 decision, but Learn wasn't done. He picked up his third pin of the tournament in the consolation semifinals, then outfought Detroit Catholic Central's Gabriel Ryzyi in a thrilling 1-0 ultimate tiebreaker match.
In congratulating Learn, R-P's Facebook page cited an old wrestling adage that the toughest wrestler in a weight class is the one that finishes third, due to the mental fortitude it takes to bounce back from the disappointment of not being a state champ to win the rest of their matches.
Whitehall had two other boys reach the podium at the state meet, as Max Krukowski was sixth at 132 and Liam Leeke took seventh at 144.
Krukowski took a dramatic blood-round match against Central Montcalm's Brayden Peak, 8-7, to secure his position on the podium. The Viking senior grew used to high-octane finishes in his final tournament, as all his matches were decisions and three were decided by two points or fewer. He also edged Adrian Madison's Paul McClure by a point, 5-4, before falling by 4-0 and 4-2 decisions in his final two matches.
Leeke's three wins were all dominant ones, as he picked up a first-round technical fall before later winning a pair of consolation matches, including his seventh-place match, by major decision. Leeke, a junior, will be among the more heralded wrestlers in Division 3 headed into next season.
It was a tough blood round for the Vikings, as Robert Belinger, Blake Wallace and Dom Zygmuntowski each were one win away from the podium. Belinger and Wallace won consolation matches by pin, and Zygmuntowski won a decision.
Vikings to compete and go 0-2 were Isaac O'Boyle, Kolten Weiler, Tanner Woodworth and Billy Darke. Of the Vikings to miss the podium, all but Weiler will be back. Weiler unfortunately missed out on a consolation victory, Zeerip said, when opponent MJ McDonald of Gladwin was able to score a third-period pin after Weiler took a 10-1 lead.
Zeerip said Whitehall gained valuable experience as a program throughout the weekend and is looking forward to their success next season.
"I thought they showed tremendous growth throughout the year and got a lot better," Zeerip said. "You always want to have success down at state, and it gives us something to work for next year. They worked really hard and did all the right things. They did all we asked of them."
Montague's three wrestlers at state, all seniors, each competed hard, but missed out on the podium. Fletcher Thommen and Isaac French each won one match; Thommen earned an impressive technical fall against Stone Redmon of superpower Dundee, and French scored a pin. Unfortunately, each fell in tough blood-round matches. Osborne posted an 0-2 record to finish up his mat career.
