LESLIE – Of the 31 wrestlers on the boys side of the competition to qualify for the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) wrestling state finals, Division 3 had the smallest number as only three local grapplers will make that particular trip.
Blissfield sends two to MHSAA state finals, Rosas and Rothman secure silver
Blissfield sent three wrestlers to the regional round of wrestling in Leslie, and they came home with a pair of silver medals and two trips to the MHSAA finals.
At 144-pounds it was Gage Rothman taking second place in a trek that began with a 19-4 technical fall and a 10-5 decision to set up a championship match with top seeded Braden Broderick of Dundee. Broderick went on to take a 15-0 tech fall; however, Rothman did not get turned for a pin and qualified for the state finals in the process.
At 113-pounds it was Blissfield’s Jude Rosas overcoming the odds as the seventh ranked wrestler to start the tournament. Rosas started off hot, defeating the second seeded Cooper Mund of Laingsburg 10-4, followed by a dominant 20-3 tech fall over Austin Rohrbacher of Lake Odessa. With the win Rosas officially qualified for the state finals. In the championship it was supposed to be Rosas versus Braxton Shaffer of Ida however Rosas had to default due to injury, giving the Blissfield warrior a silver medal.
Also wrestling for Blissfield was Thomas Waigle at 106-pounds who came up just short of qualifying for the finals.
Madison’s McClure qualifies for state finals
The Madison Trojans sent a pair of wrestlers to Leslie, and one came back with a little bit of hardware and an invite to the state finals.
At 132-pounds it was Paul McClure who finished in third place, earning the right to fly his schools colors at Ford Field. McClure started off his trek to Ford Field with a first-round win via pin fall, followed by his first loss of the tournament in the semifinals, a technical fall loss to Mason Katschor of Dundee, sending McClure to the consolation bracket. McClure booked his ticket to Ford Field with a 14-3 decision, setting up a third-place match with Patrick McShane of Milan. McClure went on to win, taking home the bronze medal.
Also wrestling at regionals for Madison was Giovanni Briggs who wrestled at 157.
Division 4 regional wrestling results continued…..
Addison’s Olsofsky finishes third at regionals, qualifies for state finals in Division 4
Addison sophomore Caden Olsofsky (41-8) earned the right to represent Addison High School at the MHSAA Individual State finals thanks to a top four finish at 126 pounds. Olsofsky finished in third place at 126 pounds, punching his ticket to the state finals to be held at Ford Field.
Olsofsky started out his run to the bronze medal with a first round 9-3 decision over Brennen Borowski of Memphis, followed by his first and only loss of the regional, a razor thin 6-5 decision loss to Phineas Totten of Monroe St. Mary. Olsofsky fought his way back, battling out of the consolation bracket with a 6-4 decision over Christian Craanen of Monroe St. Mary, leading to a bronze medal battle with Nolan Curtis of Lumen Christi. Olsofsky made quick work of Curtis, winning in :46 seconds.
Also wrestling for Addison at the regional tournament was Trevor Ohm at 113-pounds and Heinz Szeve at 165.
Sand Creek qualifies two for MHSAA state wrestling finals
A pair of Sand Creek Aggies will represent their hometown on the big stage in two weeks as the pair finished inside the top four of their respective weight class to earn a trip to the state finals to be held at Ford Field.
Earning the right to wrestle at the state finals was Nathan Bennett with a third-place finish at 113-pounds while Tucker Hulett finished in fourth place at 285-pounds.
Bennett (28-8) finished the day at 3-1 to earn his bronze medal, beginning with a first-round decision over Zach Taylor of Clinton. The eventual weight class champion, Royce Beal of Hudson, then defeated Bennett via a 21-1 tech fall, sending Bennett to the consolation bracket. There Bennett took a dominant tech fall over Trevor Ohm of Addison via the score of 17-0, followed by 9-3 decision over Zach Taylor of Clinton in the consolation finals.
At 285-pounds it was Hulett (23-22) working his way through a tough bracket to take fourth place, punching his ticket to the finals. Hulett started off his day with a tough 11-3 loss to Anthony Emelue of Gabriel Richard, sending the Aggie big man to the consolation bracket. There Hulett won two straight, defeating David Ellis of Mt. Clemens 8-1 and Chris Lozada of Detroit Cristo Rey via pin fall in 3:50, setting up a rematch with Emelue from Gabriel Richard in the consolation finals. Emelue was able to turn Hulett in the consolation finals in :55 seconds, giving the Aggie a solid bronze medal and a trip to Ford Field.
Also competing for Sand Creek but falling short of the top four finish was AJ Murdico, 144-pounds; Noah Walters, 190-pounds; Nick Trame, 120-pounds; Wyatt Fox, 126-pounds; and Thomas Shanks, 132-pounds.
This write up only contained results from the Addison Panthers and the Sand Creek Aggies from Division 4, results from Blissfield and Madison in D3, and the rest of Division 4, especially the results from top ranked Hudson and third ranked Clinton’s efforts at Whitmore Lake, which can be found in a separate write-up that will be posted in a link here, along with results from Division 2 and Division 3.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Blissfield sends pair to state, Madison qualifies one
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
