The Muskegon area has 34 wrestlers still in the running for a state championship after the first day of the MHSAA Individual State Wrestling Finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Thursday.
Every state finals participant wrestled one match on Thursday and the winners moved into Friday’s quarterfinals.
The top-eight wrestlers in each weight class earn all-state, so any wrestler that lost on Thursday can still finish as high as third place, which would earn them all-state honors.
In Division 1, Grand Haven’s Camden Bertucci (112), Antonio Reyes (130), Dakota Juarez (160), Connor Moynihan (171) and Matthew Mulcahy (215) all advanced into the quarterfinals with wins as did Mona Shores’ Adam Pawlowski (135).
Fruitport’s Austin Fialek (152), Reeths-Puffer’s Tyler Stenberg (140) and Spring Lake’s Billy Belcher (285) are still in the running for a state title in Division 2 after opening round wins.
Whitehall had six wrestlers win their first round matches in Division 3.
Reiley Brown (103), Logan Irey (112), Zach Cooper (125), Steven Sika (160), Joe Sika (171) and Logan Morningstar (285) all moved into the quarterfinals with wins for the Vikings.
Mason County Central’s Trevor Skinner (119) and Doug Wyman (285), Grant’s Niko Guajardo (135) and Shelby’s Austin Felt (112) also won first round matches in Division 3.
In Division 4, Hesperia had eight wrestlers still in the running for state championships after opening round wins.
Davian Gowens (103), Zack Yates (119), David Jacobs (130), Chase Siersema (135), Mark Workman (140), Cash Bolles (145), Lee Siersema (160) and Eldon Graham (189) all wrestled to first round wins for the Panthers.
Hart’s Spencer Reterstoff(152), Jonathan Zarzoza (189) and J.R. Hinojosa (215), Kent City’s Shane Rodenburg (171) and Konner Wolter (215), Montague’s Sawyer Smith (152) and Holton’s Hayden Cregg (135) also are all still alive in their bids for Division 4 state titles.
Championship round quarterfinal round matches begin at 11 a.m. on Friday and the semifinals begin at 7 p.m.
The state championship matches begin on Saturday at 4:45 p.m.
