The Sharks varsity wrestling team competed twice within the last week one of these being Wednesday, Feb. 12, in Lakeview for team regionals and the other being Saturday, Feb. 15, at home for individual regionals.
First the Sharks travelled to Lakeview in the frigid weather to face North Muskegon in the first round of regionals and Lakeview in the finals. The Sharks kept the winning streak going with a 66-15 blowout of North Muskegon and a 45-26 final over Lakeview. The team has now qualified for their fourth straight team state tournament and fifth all time.
Wrestlers picking up two wins for the Sharks at regionals were Owen Fogel, Alex Rodriguez, Colin Kuhn, Nado Soto, Laythan Haworth, and Drew Challender.
Wrestlers picking up one win for the Sharks at regionals were Devanz Svelti-Cruz, Cole Grollimund, Javier Anger, Maddox Cline, Trent Farkas, Karson Tweh, and Raman Frye.
Challender, a junior for the Sharks, has put together a solid season so far and he had this to say about winning four team regional titles, “It feels like we just get better every year to the point that it is expected of us to win.”
The Sharks also had 13 guys compete Saturday for a chance to punch their ticket to Ford Field. Out of those 13 that competed, 10 made it to the state tournament and that is good enough to be the third most in division four. The Sharks who made it include Owen Fogel, Alex Rodriguez, Colin Kuhn, and Laythan Haworth who all took first, Cole Grollimund and Drew Challender took second, while Maddox Cline was third, and the fourth place finishers were Rudy Clapp, Raman Frye, and Justin Rodriguez. These 10 will fight for all state status Feb. 28, and March 1.
Kuhn, a senior for the Sharks, became the first St. Louis wrestler in history to win four district and four regional titles. He said, “Becoming the first one from St. Louis is a crazy feeling. I mean I feel like I’m part of St. Louis history now.”
