By Mark Blentlinger
Golden Eagle grapplers hit the mats at the regional championships on February 18, and by the end of the day, four wrestlers earned their way to the state individual championship at Ford Field March 3 and 4. Five wrestlers hoped to stand on the championship platform: Tagg Gott, Ryan Ling, Isaac Noora, Gavin Hart and Treasure Fox. Treasure will wrestle in the girls’ division after placing 4th in regionals.
Two regional champions were crowned. Senior Tagg Gott pinned his first opponent, Isaac Shively, a junior from Jones, at the 4:20 mark. Gott’s next match with Jacob Dixon of Bronson went the distance. Again, Gott came out the victor, winning 2-1. The final match of the 190-pound weight class saw Gott face off against Eli DeYoung of Gobles. At the 3:27 mark, Gott pinned DeYoung and won the regional championship in his weight class. In the 157-pound class, Ryan Ling won his first match by a 13-6 decision against Caleb Wendt. Mason Lindsey of Bronson was next up for Ling. After three periods, Ling was ahead 4-3 for the win. In the championship round, he faced off against Brody Meade from Decatur. After a full three periods Ling was the victor, 3-2.
Isaac Noora had a bye in the first round of the 165-pound class, giving him a chance to prepare for his second-round match with Caleb Lane of White Pigeon. Noora came out the victor, winning the match 7-5. This sent Noora to the championship round with hopes to make it three Eagle champions. His opponent was Carter Cosby from Lawton. Unfortunately for Noora, Cosby pinned him at the 2:20 mark. Gavin Hart won his first match against Luke Watson of Delton but then lost by pin to Jacob Britton from Bronson. Hart then moved into the losers’ bracket and faced off with James Lux of Mendon. Hart came out the victor. His match for 3rd place went just into the 3rd period, when he fell to Harley Robinson of Homer at the 0.48 second mark.
Results of the state Individual championship will be in next month’s issue.