JACKSON ― Just like dual meets from the days of old, Thursday night’s Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 2 District 150 championship finale came down to the big men, as Adrian battled back to tie things up at 33-33 leaving only the 285-pound weight class left to decide which school’s trophy case the District title would reside in.
Unfortunately for the gritty squad from Adrian filled with all sorts of heart sometimes, in life, having heart just is not enough as Northwest sealed the Division 2 District championship with a dramatic pin fall win in :23 seconds to break the 33-33 tie, giving the Mounties the Division 2 District 150 championship by the score of 39-33.
What Happened?
Just like wrestling duals from yesteryear the MHSAA District title match started at 106 pounds, following the natural order of a traditional meet.
Adrian took advantage in the early going of this format, taking big wins in the first four matches, three via pin fall and one on a decision. At 106 pounds it was Joel Blaker of Adrian pinning Northwest’s Braxton Stoyk in 1:57, followed quickly by a pin fall victory for Micah Blaker over Northwest’s Sidney Beuerle in :31 seconds at 113 pounds.
The next match was nearly identical to the previous one as Evan Cousino of Adrian took a pin fall win over Amira Cannon in :31 seconds at 120 pounds. The opening scoring salvo for Adrian came to an end after Lee Nieto secured an exciting 15-9 decision over Thomas Fall of Northwest at 126 pounds, bringing the score to 21-0 in favor of the Maples.
That is when Northwest took control of the district final, winning the next five weight classes, all via pin fall.
The Mounties run started at 132 pounds where Franklin Banister pinned Anthony Will of Adrian in :37 seconds, followed by Dontez Eubanks earning a pin fall win over Karl Harju in 5:43 at 138 pounds. Northwest’s run continued at 144 pounds where Evan Beuerle took a pin fall win over Carson Andrews in :15 seconds, followed by Jeffrey Miller earning a pin over Adrian’s Dominic McCarley-Cates in :23 seconds at 150 pounds.
Northwest’s scoring barrage ended after the 157-pound bout which saw Juan Asla defeating Adrian’s Jace Miller via pin fall in :43 seconds, pushing the Mounties lead to 30-21 with five weight classes remaining.
It what may have been the effort of the night, Adrian got back on the scoreboard with a hard fought 9-4 decision at 165 pounds for Aaron Saunders. Saunders had trailed for much of the match until a late takedown propelled him to the lead and ultimately the dramatic win over Northwest’s Ashton Dack.
Northwest came back with a decision win at 175 pounds as Jack Edwards secured the 14-7 win over Keanu Tilton, pushing the lead to 33-24.
Adrian dug deep and brought the crowd at Northwest’s gymnasium to its feet with two big wins, starting with a come from behind clutch win at 190 pounds. At 190 it was Adrian’s Trevaris Tindall toeing the line versus Northwest’s Romeo Gibson. Gibson led for much of the match until Tindall hit an absolutely huge takedown with only moments left on the clock, giving Tindall the exciting 8-7 decision.
At 215 pounds it was Adrian’s big man, John Breckel, who stepped up in a huge moment, tying up the championship dual with a dramatic pin fall win over Jaeden Brewer in :44 seconds, tying up the score at 33-33 with only one match left on the docket.
Unfortunately for Adrian, the Mounties sent a buzzsaw to the scorers table for the final match as Aidyn Williams checked in sporting a season long record of 43-6. Adrian’s heavyweight came in the form of Yoari Morales-Avalos, a young man with plenty of heart. In the end, however, it was the power of Williams that won the day, taking the pin fall victory in :23 seconds, giving Northwest the dramatic 39-33 District Championship win.
What Is Next?
Both the Adrian Maples and the Northwest Mounties now look forward to Saturday’s MHSAA Division 2, District 13 Individual tournament to be held at Adrian High School.
As for Northwest in the team tournament, the Mounties now move on to the MHSAA regional round where they will face Chelsea next Thursday, Feb. 19.
Northwest 42, Tecumseh 24
Before getting their shot at Adrian in the district finals the Mounties had to take care of business versus a very scrappy Tecumseh squad in the D2 District 150 semifinals, a meeting Northwest won by the score of 42-24.
Earning wins for Tecumseh was Leonidas Walker with a dramatic 11-8 decision in Sudden Victory at 106 pounds over Braxton Stoyk; Jeremy Wines with a pin fall victory over Sidney Beurele at 113 pounds in :47 seconds; Cooper Lewis with a pin fall win over Amira Cannon in :25 seconds at 120 pounds; Brecken Ahearn with a pin fall win over Evan Beuerle at 144 pounds in 3:45; and Jaakob Runyon securing an 8-5 decision over Romeo Gibson at 190 pounds.
Results for Adrian’s semifinal win over Jackson High School were not reported as of the writing of this article.
All results from the bouts this evening were taken from the website www.trackwrestling.com. If you notice an error, please contact sports editor Troy Tennyson so a correction can be made as quickly as possible.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian wrestling bows out of D2 postseason, Maples fall to Northwest
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
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