Bronson wrestling qualifies 12 to MHSAA Individual State Finals, including 2 regional champs
MENDON, MI. — This past week the Bronson Viking wrestling program took care of business in the MHSAA Team Regional tournament, winning their second straight Regional title, thereby punching their return ticket to the MHSAA State Finals. On Saturday an astonishing 12 Hammerin Vikes booked the same ticket, as 12 of the 13 Bronson wrestlers that qualified for the regional round of competition have advanced on to the biggest stage in high school wrestling in the state of Michigan, the MHSAA Individual State Finals to be held at Ford Field.
Bronson sent 13 wrestlers to the regional tournament and 12 finished in the top four of their respective weight bracket to earn their trip to the finals.
For a squad to have the skill set, grit, and heart to advance all the way to the D4 Team State Finals while also qualifying an astonishing 12 individual wrestlers to Ford Field, well that team needs some good coaching, and wouldn’t you know it Bronson has just that. At the conclusion of all the wrestling festivities Bronson head coach Chad Butters was honored by his fellow coaches as the D4 Region 16 Coach of the Year while coach Tony Turner was honored by his fellow coaches as the D4 Region 16 Assistant Coach of the Year, both very well deserved honors.
As for the work on the mats, this year Bronson boasts two regional champions, three runner-up finishes, six bronze medalists and one fourth place finisher.
Bronson senior Perry Lake (42-5) secured his first career regional championship on Saturday, winning the 126 pound weight class. Lake started his run to the gold medal with a pin fall win over Logan Simpson of Three Oaks River Valley in 3:20, followed by a semifinal victory over his teammate Logan Long via pin fall in 4:18, setting up a championship meeting with Gage Vincent of Delton Kellogg. Lake controlled the final match nearly from start to finish, going on to take the decisive 9-4 decision to win the 126 pound regional crown. In a bit of history Lake also secured his 150th career victory in his run to the regional title.
As senior Perry Lake earned a regional crown in his final trip to the MHSAA postseason, freshman Gabriel Erwin earned a regional crown in his first, as Erwin (35-12) brought home the regional title at 144 pounds. Erwin, who qualified in third place out of the district, made a solid run through the bracket, defeating three very good wrestlers on the way to the gold. Erwin started off his day with a 5-2 decision win over Rowan Bradford of Decatur, followed by a very hard fought 4-2 decision over Alex Miller of Homer in the semifinals. In the championship it was Erwin defeating Big 8 foe Derek Ballinger of Jonesville via a dominant 11-2 major decision, earning his first regional gold medal and a trip to the MHSAA State Finals in his rookie season.
Three Bronson grapplers earned runner-up honors in their respective weight classes, as Owen Kimmons took silver at 120 pounds, Jacob Britten took second place at 175 pounds, and Matthew Blankenship took second at 215 pounds.
At 120 pounds it was Owen Kimmons (35-13) taking home second place at the regional level after falling to Jayce Ritchie of Martin in the finals. Kimmons kicked off his run to the silver medal with a first round bye after a wrestler was forced to withdraw. In the semifinal it was Kimmons taking a pin fall win over Austin Owens of Homer in 3:37, punching his championship finals ticket to face Ritchie (40-9). Ritchie controlled the pace of the match, hitting and early takedown and a three point near fall to lead 5-0 early. Ritchie never looked back, going on to take the 15-0 technical fall. With the loss Kimmons earned a very respectable runner-up honor and now advances on to the MHSAA Individual State Finals.
Britten, 45-5 on the season, brought home the silver medal at 175 pounds after dropping a tough match up with JR Hildebrand of Martin in the finals. Britten started his run to second place with a first round pin fall win over Landen Swetz of Decatur in 1:11, followed by a semifinal victory over Gavin Hart of Schoolcraft via pin fall in 3:04, setting up the championship bout with Hildebrand. After some early jockeying Hildebrand hit a takedown and took Britten to his back to earn the pin fall win in 1:09, giving Britten the very respectable runner-up spot.
Bronson’s final runner-up finish came at 215 pounds as senior Matthew Blankenship (41-9) booked his trip to the state finals with second place in a tough weight class. Blankenship kicked off his run to the finals with a first round pin fall win over Sam Bleeker of Martin in 3:20, followed by a very close and hard fought 3-2 decision win over Tanner Shugars of Decatur in the semifinals. Blankenship trailed 2-1 after one period in the semifinals and hit a two point reversal in the second period to take the 3-2 lead. Neither wrestler would score in the third and final period as it was Blankenship taking the victory, booking his trip to the finals to take on the top seeded Grady Iobe of Union City (35-1). Iobe controlled the championship bout, going on to defeat Blankenship via a 13-0 major decision, giving the Bronson senior second place and his first trip to the MHSAA State Finals.
Seven other Bronson Vikings grapplers earned the right to represent the purple and gold at Ford Field in two weeks with a top four finish in their weight class. Earning a spot in the MHSAA Individual State Finals are Jacob Dixon, third place at 190 pounds; Aiden Fill, third place at 113 pounds; Logan Long, third place at 126 pounds; Layne Knisely, third place at 138 pounds; Drew Seekman, third place at 150 pounds; Carson Norton, third place at 157 pounds; and Mason Lindsey, fourth place at 157 pounds.
Bronson’s Everado Lozada also wrestled at the regional level, doing battle at 285 pounds. Lozada dropped two tough matches to see his stellar individual run come to a tough end.
The Bronson Vikings will now turn their focus to this coming week’s MHSAA Division Four Team State Finals as the Hammerin Vikes are one of the final eight teams remaining. They will take to the mats for the state quarterfinals on Friday at 12 p.m. at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, with opponent yet to be determined as the MHSAA seeds the final eight teams in the sport of wrestling, a seeding format that will be unveiled on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Vikings will look to advance on to the state semifinals which will take place next Saturday at 9 a.m., followed by the state finals later that day around 3:30 p.m.
Congratulations goes out to the 12 Bronson Vikings who all booked their trip to the MHSAA Individual State Finals.
Final Results
106 pounds- Logan Gilbert of Martin (42-3) over Mazzy Lambert of White Pigeon (47-3) via pin fall in 1:22113 pounds- Austin Garcia of Lawton (48-1) over Logan Mears of Union City (33-7) via 2-1 decision120 pounds- Jayce Ritche of Martin (40-9) over Owen Kimmons of Bronson (35-13) via a 15-0 TF126 pounds- Perry Lake of Bronson (42-5) over Gage Vincent of Delton Kellogg (41-10) via a 9-4 decision132 pounds- Haylen Buell of Martin (46-4) over Landyn Crance of Union City (40-3) via a 14-7 decision138 pounds- Dustin Mallory of Lawton (53-2) over Aidan Taylor of Union City (32-8) via a 7-2 decision144 pounds- Gabriel Erwin of Bronson (35-12) over Derek Ballinger of Jonesville (26-7) via an 11-2 MD150 pounds- Colton Russell of Union City (41-5) over Mason Mansfield of Gobles (27-5) via a 7-1 decision157 pounds- Ryan Ling of Schoolcraft (39-6) over Brody Mead of Decatur (32-15) via a 3-2 decision165 pounds- Carter Cosby of Lawton (52-3) over Isaac Noora of Schoolcraft (31-10) via pin fall in 2:20175 pounds- JR Hildenbrand of Martin (31-2) over Jacob Britten of Bronson (45-5) via pin fall in 1:09190 pounds- Tagg Gott of Schoolcraft (29-3) over Eli DeYoung of Gobles (25-5) via pin fall in 3:27215 pounds- Grady Iobe of Union City (35-1) over Matthew Blankenship of Bronson (41-9) via a 13-0 MD285 pounds- Zachary Hayes of Bangor (43-3) over Braydon Ross of Decatur (39-4) via a 3-1 decision
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Bronson wrestling qualifies 12 to MHSAA Individual State Finals
