CAPAC – The Clinton Redwolves ran the Division 4 wrestling gauntlet on Wednesday, Feb. 18, taking down Clarkston Everest Collegiate and Manchester to win the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 4 Regional 130 championship.
Clinton had little trouble at Capac High School’s Harry C. Moore Gymnasium, as neither Clarkston Everest nor Manchester gave the Redwolves any trouble in either matchup. Here is a recap of both the regional semifinal and the championship finale.
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Clinton 64, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 16
The regional semifinal kicked off at 132 pounds where Clarkston secured a 19-7 major decision, giving them a quick 4-0 lead.
That is the last time Clarkston would sniff the lead as Clinton rattled off 11 straight bonus point wins to race away with the semifinal win.
The Clinton run kicked off with three voids in the first four matches as Grady Aldridge (138), Austin Putnam (150), and Tanner Bolton (157) all secured voids, sandwiched around a Justice Arnett pin fall win over Paul McHugh of Clarkston in :54 seconds at 144 pounds.
Continuing Clinton’s run was three straight pins, beginning with a pin at 165 pounds for Shane Cook, followed by Jacob Pope with a pin at 175 pounds. Bo Fielder ended the run of pins for Clinton with a stick at 175 pounds over Clarkston’s Will Arkwright in just :23 seconds.
Clinton continued to run away with the regional thanks to three straight voids beginning at 215 pounds as Bryce Randolph (215), Gradyn Whelan (285), and Damion Fiveson (106) all secured wins via void.
Clinton’s final win of the semifinal came at 113 pounds as Ben Driscoll defeated Carson Munk via a 13-0 major decision.
Clarkston took the final two matches, a void at 120 and a pin at 126 although Clinton’s Khloie Miller did not make things easy, taking the fight right to her Clarkston counterpart Brooks Robinson who needed all three periods to secure the pin.
With the 64-16 win Clinton advanced on to the regional final to face Manchester who raced past the host team from Capac in the other semifinal.
Clinton 67, Manchester 9
The Division 4 regional finale at Capac featured the No. 3 ranked Redwolves facing off with the No. 10 ranked Manchester Dutchmen, with the winner advancing on to Wings Stadium for the state tournament.
Clinton had little trouble versus Manchester, taking bonus point wins in 12 of the 14 weight classes, including five voids, enroute to the 67-9 win.
The regional final kicked off at 138 pounds where Clinton’s Wyatt Cooley secured a pin fall win over Memphis Felzak in 1:19, giving the Wolves a quick 6-0 start.
Clinton went on to make it three straight bonus point wins to kick off the regional finale, adding to their 6-0 lead with a pin fall win for Brenden Benschoter at 144 pounds followed by a 13-1 major decision for Tanner Bolton at 150 pounds to give Clinton the 16-0 lead.
Manchester came back with a hard-fought 4-2 decision win for Blake Sloan over Braxton Randolph at 157 pounds, closing the score to 16-3.
Clinton rattled off two more bonus point wins to retake control, starting with a 19-4 tech fall for Cliff Jones at 165 pounds, followed by a pin fall win for Landon Lakatos at 175 pounds. Manchester went on to score what would be their final points of the finale with a void at 190 pounds.
Leading 27-9 after seven matches Clinton rattled off seven wins to cap off the regional title, starting with a pin fall victory for Bryce Randolph at 215 pounds over Jake Gautz of Manchester in just :20 seconds. Not to be outdone by his teammate, Gradyn Whelan secured a pin fall at 285 pounds over Emmett Tompkins of Manchester in a lighting quick time of :13 seconds, pushing the Wolves lead to 39-9.
Clinton then secured four straight voids to put things out of reach. Voids were accepted by Hudson Miller at 106, Ben Driscoll at 113, Khloie Miller at 120, and Zach Taylor at 126.
Clinton’s championship run ended at 132 pounds where Brock Worden defeated Vince Klapperick of Manchester via a 16-8 major decision, finding the final score of 67-9.
With the regional title firmly in hand Clinton returns to the state tournament for the eleventh straight season, a run that stretches back to 2016, with the last time the Wolves missing the state tournament coming back in 2015. Since then, Clinton has racked up three quarterfinal visits, four semifinal runs, and three championship final runs, including back-to-back state titles in 2020 and 2021.
Clinton’s state quarterfinal fate now rests in the hands of the MHSAA as officials will now reseed the remaining eight teams as the regional champions now head to Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo for the MHSAA Team State Finals. The Division 4 state quarterfinals will take place Feb. 27 at Wings Event Center beginning at 12 p.m., with the semifinals to take place on Feb. 28 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Stay tuned to The Daily Telegram for updates on the seeding process, which should be released on Saturday. Follow sports editor Troy Tennyson on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ttennysonTDR or follow The Daily Telegram at www.lennconnect.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Clinton wrestling wins 11th straight regional title