Seven Livingston County wrestlers will compete for state championships and two have the opportunity to join select company when the MHSAA individual finals conclude on Saturday, March 7 at Ford Field.
Hartland seniors Bodie Abbey and Dallas Korponic will seek their third state championships. The only Livingston County male wrestler to win three state titles was Fowlerville’s Adam Coon, a 2024 Olympian, from 2010-13.
Abbey won state titles as a freshman and junior, losing in the state final as a sophomore. Korponic has won state championships the last two years.
Abbey won by three technical falls on Friday, March 6 to reach the Division 1 138-pound championship match. He won 16-1 over Romeo’s Valentino Adamo in the semifinals. He will face Carl Nihranz of Macomb Dakota for the title.
Korponic also won with three technical falls Friday, beating Marco Marino of Clarkston 21-5 in the 157-pound semifinals. He will face Detroit Catholic Central’s Alexander Buskirk for the championship. Buskirk won 4-2 in the other semifinal over Davison’s Julius Pacheco, whom Korponic beat for the state title last season.
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Hartland will have a third state finalist in Jase Sensor, who reached the final at 113 with a 3-2 victory over Gabriel Ryzyi of Catholic Central. Sensor will wrestle for the championship against Detroit Cass Tech’s Cyrus Woodberry, who won the title at 106 last year.
Brighton sophomore Dom Nauss was dominant in three matches, reaching the championship match at 190 with a 14-6 victory over Romeo’s Thomas Jaynes. He will take on Catholic Central’s Caden Krueger for the title.
Fowlerville senior Layne O’Neil will take on a familiar foe for the Division 2 heavyweight championship after pinning all three opponents Friday. He pinned Grand Rapids Christian’s Caleb Pugh in 3:05 in the semifinals to earn a championship match against Marshall’s Harland Begg. It will be the third postseason meeting between the two, with Begg winning the district final and O’Neil the regional final.
In the girls tournament, Howell freshman Olive DiMassa and Brighton senior Alexis Lazar reached championship matches in their weight classes.
DiMassa won 1-0 over Maizy Olson of Powers North Central in the semifinals. She will face nationally ranked Madison Nieuwenhuis of Plainwell in the 105-pound final.
Lazar, who is also nationally ranked, won 6-1 in the semifinals over Evangeline Coutu of Plainwell to reach the 140-pound title bout against Kylee Malloy of Olivet. Lazar pinned Malloy in the second period of the district and regional championship matches.
Seven other county wrestlers had their championship dreams end in the semifinals.
Brighton’s Ethan Smith was pinned in 1:32 by Catholic Central’s Wyatt Lees at 132.
Hartland’s Ashton Jewell upset top-seeded Liam Fitzpatrick of Rockford with a pin in 1:42 in the 144 quarterfinals before losing 12-4 to Deacon Morgan of Rochester Adams. Brighton’s Xander Courneya lost 12-11 to Nate Carter of Clarkston in the other 144 semifinal.
Hartland’s Kosza siblings reached the semifinals before losing. James Kosza lost a 16-6 decision to two-time state champion Grayson Fuchs of Catholic Central at 150, while sister Emma Kosza lost 15-5 in the 115 semis to three-time state champ Nakayla Dawson of Westland John Glenn. Dawson won her first two matches with pins in the first 23 seconds.
Hartland’s Joseph Cappellano lost 20-4 in the 165 semifinals to Jay’Den Williams of Roseville.
In Division 2, Fowlerville’s Jacob Hodge lost 15-7 in the 157 semifinals to Johnathan Ford of Bay City John Glenn.
Wrestling will continue with consolation matches at 9 a.m. Saturday at Ford Field. Placement matches will take place at 11 a.m., with the championship bouts scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Seven Livingston County wrestlers reach state championship matches
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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