KALAMAZOO — The next chapter of the Brighton-Hartland wrestling rivalry will happen in the state semifinals.
Hartland (25-1) cruised past Rochester Adams 57-8 while Brighton (25-2) pulled out a 37-31 win over Davison in the Division 1 quarterfinals at Wings Events Center on Friday, Feb. 27.
They will clash at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Ethan Smith delivered a pin at 132 pounds to clinch the win for Brighton. That gave the Bulldogs an insurmountable lead. They forfeited the final match of the day.
Brighton got off to a fast start as a forfeit, a major decision by Xander Courneya (150) and a fall by Kaden Tindall (157) produced a 16-0 lead.
Davison fought back with a major decision and a technical fall before the Bulldogs went on a another run with pins by Mason Gardner (190) and Alexander Salmon (285) sandwiched around a victory by Dominic Nauss (215) pushed the Bulldog advantage to 31-9.
Davison won the next four matches before Smith’s fall ended the drama.
Hartland was not challenged.
The Eagles led 24-0 with a pin and three technical falls in the first five matches.
Rochester Adams got on the scoreboard with a technical fall at 190, then Hartland dominated the next five matches with two falls and three major decisions.
Pinning for the Eagles were James Kozsa (150), William Tobin (285), Jace Sensor (113) and Bo Biggart (138).
Ashton Jewell (157), Dallas Korponic (165) and Joseph Cappellano (175) logged technical falls, Lucas Bates (215) and Brodie Dunbar (106) and Jordan Alejos (120) won by major decision and Bohdan Abbey (144) and Caleb Cappellano (132) also won.
The other semifinal will feature No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central and Rockford.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton wrestling wins thriller, Hartland rolls in state quarters
Reporting by Niles Kruger, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
