HARTLAND — All streaks inevitably come to an end, but nobody wanted to be part of the Hartland wrestling team that failed to win a regional championship for the first time since 2001.
That was the burden the returning Eagles have carried for a year after the program’s 23-year run of regional titles ended with a loss to Clarkston last season.
If Hartland goes on another long run of regional titles, those wrestlers can now say they were the ones who started the new streak.
The second-ranked Eagles got revenge in a decisive manner, blowing out fourth-ranked Clarkston 52-18 in a Division 1 regional final on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at Hartland High School.
Hartland will head to the state quarterfinals Feb. 27 at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo against an opponent that will be determined Sunday, Feb. 22.
“It does feel a lot better, because obviously we lost the regional streak we had going for so many years,” senior Bodie Abbey said. “It’s almost like this feels so insignificant toward the streak, but we did start a new one. We’re the class to start a new one; we were the class to end it, too.”
Trips to the team finals were an annual expectation, perhaps one the Eagles had grown to take for granted. That isn’t the case after they sat home while the state’s best teams competed in Kalamazoo last season.
Seniors like Abbey and Dallas Korponic were not only accustomed to getting to the quarterfinals, but they helped Hartland reach the state championship match their first two years before the Eagles lost to Detroit Catholic Central.
“It’s just a good little comeback for us,” Korponic said. “Last year I know I was, I know a lot of kids on our team were heartbroken. We weren’t happy about it. Coming into this one, we just knew we wanted to get this one back and we wanted to send our team back to the state championships.
“We give respect to Clarkston. They outwrestled us that day. They’ve got a great program. They had a great team. I don’t think we wrestled our best then. I think it matters how we responded to that. I think we ran them out today.”
That response began while the disappointment of the regional loss was still fresh. As soon as the Eagles finished their season at the state individual finals, they were determined to never again experience the heartache of an early postseason exit.
“Last year was tough, obviously,” said Hartland coach Kyle Summerfield, who was part of the regional championship run as a wrestler and a coach. “We had a lot of injuries at the end of the year and tried to piece it together and it didn’t pan out. It was nice to get that tonight, especially wrestling the team that took it from us.
“But it’s about the kids. They were the ones who were hungry about it. They were the ones who, as soon as wrestling ended last year, wanted to be in the room, wanted to get back to work. That’s why our slogan this year was, ‘Back to work.’”
Hartland and Clarkston were close to each other in the state rankings, but the outcome was never in question.
Lucas Bates got things started with a 5-2 victory at 215 pounds, scoring late in the match after trailing 2-1.
William Tobin, Brodie Dunbar and Jase Sensor followed with pins. After Jonah McPherson and Michael Abbey won by decisions, Hartland had a 28-0 lead through six matches.
The score reached 46-5 before Clarkston won three of the last four matches.
“I don’t think anybody wants to go out and lose to a team again and not go to states,” Bodie Abbey said. “Team states is fun. My little brother and some of the sophomores and freshmen have never been to team states. I think it’s good they get the opportunity now.”
Hartland reached the regional final by winning 76-6 over West Bloomfield.
It was a milestone night for Hartland senior James Kosza, who earned his 200th career victory by pinning Clarkston’s Luke Schafer in 4 minutes and 42 seconds at 150 pounds. Kosza is in his first year at Hartland after moving from Florida where he was the Class 3A runner-up at 157 last season.
“It’s a lot of wins, honestly,” Kosza said. “I didn’t realize I was that close. I thought I had a few more to go. It’s nice to get it at home in a big dual like this. There’s a lot of history behind it.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland wrestlers avenge Clarkston heartbreak to win regional
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
