After a tough loss in team districts earlier in the week, the Sault High Blue Devils made their way to Gaylord on Saturday to compete in the MHSAA District 9-2 individual tournament. Wrestlers from ten teams in northern lower Michigan and three teams in the UP battled it out, knowing only the top four in each weight class would advance to the next level. Four Sault High Blue Devils wrestlers will advance to the individual regional tournament next weekend in Cadillac.
Senior Chris Kiekhaefer (30-7) started out with a first round bye, then advanced to the next round with a win by pin over Colton Pugh of Gaylord (3:56). In the semifinals, he lost to Curtis Houghton of Marquette by points (5-2). Kiekhaefer fought his way back to the podium, by pinning Ronaldhino Portillo of Escanaba (2:37) and clinched third place by beating Lucas Frost of Mt Pleasant (7-5).
Junior Sawyer Kuenzer (38-5) started his day off with a first round bye, and followed that with a quick pin over Thomas Benoit of Escanaba (0:34). He then lost to Dasan Smith of Marquette by points (7-1) in the semifinal round. Kuenzer rallied, pinning Talon Smith of Marquette (3:27) and in the third place match, he won by decision over Adam Goodwin of Petoskey (7-0).
Senior Will Ohman (38-7) won his first match of the day with a first period pin over Jack Prewo of Mt Pleasant (0:47). He followed that with a win by decision over Garrett Hilborn of Bay City John Glenn (7-3). Ty Fournier of Freeland won the semifinal match in a tie breaker (5-2), but Ohman came back with a win by decision over Ryan Cook of Petoskey (6-2). In the third place match, he was paired up with Hilborn again, with the match going in Hilborn’s favor this time (8-3).
Junior Cody Russo (35-9) won his first match, pinning Ethan Ingebrigsten of Escanaba (1:35), and advanced to the semifinals with a major decision over Mitchell Gregory of Petoskey (9-0). Russo was then pinned by Elijah Murphy of Freeland, but won his next two matches to take third place. He had a tech fall over Zack Clark of Freeland (15-0) and pinned Logan Wolf of Gaylord (2:00).
The Sault grapplers have their work cut out for them, going against wrestlers from a pool of 25 schools to determine who will qualify for the state tournament at Ford Field. The top four wrestlers at regionals will advance to the state tournament. The team is coached by Jacinto Arreola, Brendon Cryderman and Matt Vieira.
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