SCOTTVILLE – Hart wrestling will compete for yet another regional title, earning that right with a convincing performance in the district tournament Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Scottville.
The Pirates snagged a district championship on Wednesday, taking down both Reed City and Shelby in a pair of hotly contested – but ultimately lopsided – bouts.
Hart started the night with a 150-pound fight between Logan Jorissen and Reed City’s Gabe Wolverton. Jorissen took care of that one rather easily, though Wolverton did escape a loss by pin, awarding Hart five points to a technical fall.
The Coyotes took their only lead of the night after that, claiming back-to-back matches with Blake Helenhouse (157 lbs.) falling by pin and Kai Miller (165 lbs.) dropping to technical fall. Down 11-5, Hart went on a three-match winning streak of their own that proved pivotal in claiming victory in the end.
During that stretch, Haegan Hansen (175 lbs.) and Eman Hertzler (190 lbs.) claimed two more wins by technical fall for the Pirates. Alex Hicks (215 lbs.) rounded it out, claiming a pin and pushing Hart in front, 21-11.
Reed City’s Wyatt Spalo (285 lbs.) defeated Adrian Lara by a 14-6 major decision, but those four points didn’t do much for the Coyotes. Jordan Thies (106 lbs.) and Kole Thomas (113 lbs.) each took matches by forfeit after that, giving the Pirates a comfortable 33-15 lead with just five weight classes left to wrestle.
Hart ended up winning four out of those five remaining weight classes. Caden VanGelderen (120 lbs.) won by major decision before Julian Vasquez (126 lbs.) fell to Damon Langworth by technical fall. Halen Boos (132 lbs.), Ty Thomas (138 lbs.) and Emmanuel Ortega (144 lbs.) closed out the night with consecutive wins. Boos and Ty Thomas each won by pin, while Ortega won in a narrow 17-15 decision.
With a 52-20 win under their belt, Hart advanced to the finals where rival Shelby awaited them.
The Tigers escaped host team Mason County Central (MCC) with a semifinals win by a final score of 42-31.
Shelby had a pretty dominant run to start their evening. Brody Fessenden (150 lbs.), Jaylin Henderson (157 lbs.), Ussiah Russell (165 lbs.) and Max Hagstrom (175 lbs.) added six points each in consecutive weight classes. Fessenden, Henderson and Hagstrom all pinned their opponent, while Russell won via forfeit. That had Shelby on top 24-0 in the blink of an eye.
MCC was able to stop the bleeding momentarily, claiming the next two classes with Santos Hinojsa (190 lbs.) and Axel Moritz (215 lbs.) falling. Hinojsa lost by a 5-1 decision, giving up just three team points while Moritz was pinned.
Adding to a now 24-9 lead, Shelby won four straight matchups to round out the victory. Colin Fenton (285 lbs.) pinned his opponent and was followed up by a win via forfeit from Antonio Cano (106 lbs.). Cesar Cadena (113 lbs.) and Juan Brito (120 lbs.) then took a pair of victories by decision.
MCC closed in after trailing 42-9, winning the final four matches of the night – two by pin, one by major decision and one by forfeit – but it wasn’t enough to make things interesting.
The championship round started favorably for Shelby. Henderson pinned Helenhouse, starting the Tigers off with a 6-0 lead. That dissipated quickly however, as Hart scored three straight wins, with Miller, Hansen and Hicks each pinning their opponent to jump in front 18-6.
Fenton broke up that streak, taking a win by pin in the 215 lb. weight class. The Tigers voided the heavyweight bout, leaving Lara with another six points for Hart.
In desperate need of a run in the lower weights, Shelby hoped to steal a few wins trailing 24-12. Hart proved to be too much however, claiming seven consecutive victories to gain an insurmountable lead. Sawyer Boos, Kole Thomas, Halen Boos and Ty Thomas all scored pins in that stretch, while Aiden Schaner scored a sudden victory in overtime over Brito of Shelby. Michael Chavira added a win by 11-10 decision over Devon Exton while Ortega won by forfeit.
The final match of the night between Shelby’s Fessenden and Hart’s Jorissen was a formality, but that didn’t stop the two from duking it out. Jorissen had been an unstoppable force for the Pirates, but Fessenden welcomed the challenge.
After exchanging blows, Fessenden ultimately came away with a pin. That left the final score in favor of the Pirates at 60-18.
Hart will now advance to the team regionals, which will take place Wednesday, Feb. 12. While the location of that tournament has yet to be decided, early indications point to a long trip east for the Pirates.
