YALE — The opponent was familiar to the Yale High School wrestling team.
So, too, was the result.
The Bulldogs beat conference rival Richmond, 67-4, in a MHSAA Division 3 regional final at Yale Junior High School on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
With the win, they advanced to next week’s state quarterfinal at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo.
“It was a great performance overall,” Yale coach Rob Majcher said, whose team clinched its third straight regional championship. “We talk about not giving up any bonus points and then, in the finals, we didn’t give up any bonus points, only losing one match.”
“(Our kids) wrestled tough,” Richmond coach Brett Burg said. “That’s what I asked of them was, ‘Hey, let’s go out there, wrestle tough and show them that we’re not going to roll over.’ We had a bunch of really close matches. It just didn’t go our way. But I’m super proud of them.”
Both teams won their respective regional semifinals, which were held earlier in the day. Yale topped Warren Lincoln, 72-12, while Richmond rolled Detroit Voyageur College Prep, 71-9.
In the regional final, the Bulldogs took the first seven matches and grabbed a 32-0 lead. Then, Ryan Bennett got the Blue Devils on the board when he defeated Noah Davis in the 215-pound tilt.
But any momentum for Richmond quickly faded, as Yale reminded everyone why it’s the among the class of Division 3.
“We knew (Richmond) could make something happen, but we do good (under pressure),” said Yale senior Kersten McClelland, who won his match at 144 pounds. “It’s been preached (to us) that you have to wrestle six minutes and can’t give up pins — we did that wonderfully.”
Though heavily favored, the Bulldogs felt it was imperative to bring home another regional title Wednesday.
“We lost 12 seniors last year,” said current senior Caiden Hackett (175 pounds), who was also victorious against Richmond. “Coming in (this season), everyone is thinking, ‘They’re not going to be as good this year.’ We want to show who we really are and that we’re a great program.”
“Our kids have been laser-focused all year,” Majcher said. “They did what they were supposed to do (today). And sometimes, that’s hard — to have that target on your back and come in knowing you’re a favorite but still going out there and doing what you have to do.”
The Division 3 quarterfinals are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 27.
“We’re just going to keep soaring,” McClelland said. “Keep going.”
Division 2
Regional 110 at Freeland (Wednesday, Feb. 18)
Semifinal 1: Freeland 44, St. Clair 22
Semifinal 2: Bay City John Glenn 61, Flint Kearsley 24
Final: Freeland 36, Bay City John Glenn 27
Regional 116 at Warren Woods-Tower (Wednesday, Feb. 18)
Semifinal 1: Woods-Tower 55, Melvindale 15
Semifinal 2: Algonac 76, Madison Heights Lamphere 0
Final: Algonac 53, Woods-Tower 12
Division 3
Regional 121 at Yale
Semifinal 1: Yale 72, Warren Lincoln 12
Semifinal 2: Richmond 71, Detroit Voyageur College Prep 9
Final: Yale 67, Richmond 4
Division 4
Regional 130 at Capac
Semifinal 1: Manchester 42, Capac 6
Semifinal 2: Clinton 64, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 16
Final: Clinton 67, Manchester 9
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Yale wrestling subdues Richmond, clinches MHSAA regional championship
Reporting by Brenden Welper, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
