The Shark wrestlers competed at the Michigan High School Athletic Association team state meet in Kalamazoo Friday, Feb. 24. 

They won their match Friday against Benzie Central, 39-26 which allowed them to wrestle Bronson in the semifinals Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the Sharks fell short and ended up losing to Bronson, 38-29. Coach Kevin Kuhn expressed, “Overall, we were in position to win a semifinals match, which would have put us in the state championship Saturday night. It is really hard to get that far, and even harder to deal with the let down when you don’t achieve that goal.”

Coach Kuhn shared, “We did not wrestle our best matches while there, but still managed to get through the semifinals.”

This was a back-to-back final-four appearance for the Sharks. When Coach Kuhn was asked about this he expressed, “Getting to the final four in back-to-back seasons was important so we could prove last year was not a fluke. We are now an established program that people statewide can respect.”

The lower-weight classes did what they needed to do and what they’ve been doing all year. “They’ve been winning consistently and almost always getting pins which gets us extra bonus points which can be helpful in close meets,” Coach Kuhn expressed. “However, close duals are won when someone unexpectedly steps up to contribute big time and that was something we just didn’t get in that final dual.”

Colin Kuhn stepped up with two big pins. Alex Rodriguez had a pin and a technical fall as did Owen Fogel. Laythan Haworth and Martine Wiggins both had a pin and a win by decision. Justice Onstott had a major decision and a void, which counts as a pin.

Coach Kuhn said, “We have a lot to work on this week heading into individual state, number one being to rest up as last weekend was exhausting.”

Junior Ben March said, “Although I wasn’t needed to wrestle, I still enjoyed being there and it was a really cool experience. I’m glad I was able to be there and cheer the team on to support them. I’m excited to watch the individuals this weekend.”