Page 12 — Thursday, March 21, 2024 — The Hastings Banner
Top county grapplers among state’s best
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There was one county wrestler competing
for a state championship at the end of the
MHSAA Division 3 Individual State Finals at
Ford Field in Detroit the first weekend in
March.
A handful of others had already secured
their final spots on the state medal stand.
In all, a total of 13 guys were a part of the
Grand March at the start of the state finals
thanks to their status as individual state qual-
ifiers.
It was a pretty good season for most of
their teams too.
Lakewood had the best state run of anybody
in the county as a team. The Vikings beat their
district nemesis Portland at the start of the
Division 3 team state tournament and fol-
lowed that up with a regional championship.
The Vikings got to compete in the
MHSAA Team State Finals at Wings Event
Center in Kalamazoo, falling to the perenni-
al state champions from Dundee in the state
quarterfinals.
Lakewood got the chance to compete with
rival Portland more than once this season as
the two teams also battled in the newly
reworked Capital Area Activities Confer-
ence White Division. The Raiders got the
best of the Vikings during their conference
dual though.
Strings of conference dominance were sty-
mied all across the county this winter. Hast-
ings was edged out for the Interstate-8 Athlet-
ic Conference Championship and the Thor-
napple Kellogg varsity wrestling team went
through its first major rebuilding season in
quite some time in the OK Gold Conference.
All five of the county’s varsity wrestling
teams were represented at those state finals in
Detroit at the end of the season.
Here are the 2023-24 All-Barry County
Wrestling First and Second TeamsAll-Barry County
Wrestling First Team
106: Troy Hokanson, Hastings: A junior
with a record of 119-22 wrestling for the
Saxon varsity, Hokanson was 50-4 this sea-son and is just the fifth Saxon ever to reach
50 wins in a season. He set a new Saxon sin-
gle season record for falls with 47.
Hokanson was a state qualifier this season
in Division 1. He is a three-time Interstate-
Athletic Conference champion.
113: Christien Miller, Thornapple Kel-
logg: Miller put together a record of 37-3 in
his junior season for the Trojans this winter
and was the OK Gold Conference champion
at 113 pounds.
Miller was third at districts before his state
tournament run came to an end.
120: Vincent Stamm, Lakewood: Stamm
wrestled to a 34-11 record and a seventh
place finish in Division 3’s 120-pound weight
class at the MHSAA Individual State Finals.
Stamm won his weight class at the Elks
Wrestling Tournament in January and scored a
third-place finish at the CAAC Champion-
ships in February. He was third at both dis-
tricts and regionals to earn his state finals spot.
126: Kade Boucher, Lakewood: A junior,
Boucher was 30-14 overall this season and
earned a spot in the individual state finals.
He was a runner-up at districts and placed
third at regionals to earn his state finals spot.
132: Gauge Stampfler, Delton Kellogg:
Now a two-time state medalist, Stampfler
closed his winter by placing fifth in Division
4’s 132-pound wight class. He wrestled to a
record of 53-7 this season.
He placed third at the SAC Tournament,
districts and regionals as a junior.
138: Colton Smith, Hastings: Smith fin-
ished his senior season with a record of 45-
and his varsity wrestling time with an overall
mark of 111-36.
Smith was an Interstate-8 Athletic Confer-
ence Champion, a regional qualifier in Divi-
sion 1 and one of the saxons’ team captains
this winter.
144: Jonathan Krebs, Lakewood: A
senior, Krebs fought though the leftover pain
of old injuries and the new pain of a torn ACL
to get all the way to the 144-pound champi-
onship match in Division 3 at the MHSAA
Individual State Finals where he earned the
runner-up medal.Krebs was 40-3 on the year. He won dis-
trict and regional championships on his way
to the state finals and second a new team
record for technical falls in a season.
150: Keegan Sutfin, Hastings: A state
medalist as a junior this winter, Sutfin placed
fifth in Division 1’s 144-pound weight class.
He had a record of 47-7 this season and
now is 119-20 as a varsity wrestler in three
seasons at Hastings. He was the runner-up at
his weight class in the I-8 this season.
157: Haiden Simmet, Hastings: A senior,
Simmet finished his year with a record of
39-8. He capped his varsity wrestling time
with 98 total wins.
Simmet was a team captain for the Saxons
and the runner-up at his weight in the I-8 this
season.
165: Jayce Curtis, Thornapple Kellogg:
The lone guy from TK to qualify for the indi-
vidual state finals this season.
Curtis, a junior, put together an overall
record of 42-10. He was the OK Gold Con-
ference champion at his weight class and won
a district title in Division 2 too.
175: Luke Watson, Delton Kellogg: A
senior, Watson qualified for the MHSAA Indi-
vidual State Finals for the first time this sea-
son thanks to a third place finish at regionals.
Watson was 30-15 on the season. He was a
runner-up at his team’s individual district
tournament.
190: Jackson Burpee, Maple Valley: An
individual state qualifier for the first time as
a sophomore this winter, Burpee compiled an
overall record of 35-6.
He took victories at four tournaments this
season including the Lions’ own Jesse Snow
Memorial Tournament and the Saxons’ LH
Lamb Tournament. He was a district run-
ner-up and qualified for the state finals with a
third-place regional finish.
215: Isaac Friddle, Hastings: Friddle, a
junior, is a three-time state medalist after
placing eighth in Division 1’s 215-pound
weight class this season. He is just the fifth
Saxon to ever be a state placer and can look
to become the program’s first four-time wres-
tling state medalist next season as a senior.
Friddle was 49-9 this season and now has
a career mark of 139-31 overall. He won the
Interstate-8 Athletic Conference champion-
ship at his weight class this year.
215: Joel Simon, Lakewood: A junior
two-time state medalist, Simon wrestled his
way to a fourth-place medal in Division 3’s
215-pound weight class at the state finals.
Simon put together a record of 38-4 this
winter. He was a district champion and a
regional runner-up.
285: Mitchell Swift, Delton Kellogg: A
sophomore, Swift wrestled his way to a fifth-
place finish in Division 4’s 285-pound weight
class at the individual state finals to earn his
first state medal.
Swift put together a record of 47-9 this
season. He was a district champion and
placed third at regionals. He was also the
runner-up at heavyweight this season at the
SAC Tournament.All-Barry County
Wrestling Second Team
106: Kayle Mclellan, Delton Kellogg:
One of a handful of outstanding freshmen for
the Panthers this season, Mclellan was a
regional qualifier this year thanks to a run-
ner-up district finals in Division 4.
He placed fourth at the SAC Tournament at
106 pounds
113: Jordan Humphrey, Hastings: Hum-phrey was a regional qualifier in Division 1
as a junior this season.
He compiled a record of 38-16 this season
and now has 98 varsity victories overall.
132: Dylan Pauline, Thornapple Kel-
logg: A sophomore, Pauline piled up 22 wins
this season for TK.
He had a 4-1 day at the Grandville Chal-
lenge, one of the Trojans’ tough early season
tournaments, and placed fifth at the Hopkins
Invitational later in the season.
138: Bryson Boucher, Lakewood: A
freshman, Boucher was 34-15 overall this
season and qualified for the state finals in
Division 3.
He placed third at both districts and region-
als to earn his state finals spot.
138: Colten Denton, Hastings: A sopho-
more, Denton wrestled to a record of 34-
this winter.
He took the championship this season at
the Saxons’ own LH Lamb Tournament and
was the runner-up at his weight class in the
Interstate-8.
144: Griffyn Harmon, Delton Kellogg:
Harmon took a step up during his sophomore
season wrestling to a record of 35-11.
He was a regional qualifier in Division 4
thanks to a third-place district finish. Harmon
was the runner-up at 138 pounds at the SAC
Tournament this season.
150: Chris Webb, Lakewood: A senior
for the Vikings this season, Webb saw his
individual state tournament run end in the
blood round at districts.
Webb was eighth at the CAAC Champion-
ships this winter and had an overall record of
29-20.
157: Aden Armstrong, Hastings: A soph-
omore, Armstrong huge impact for the Sax-
ons. He compiled a 30-16 record and won the
I-8 Championship at his weight class.
Armstrong was a team captain this year
and won his weight class at the LH Lamb
Tournament.
165: Blake Bossenberger, Thornapple
Kellogg: A sophomore, he put together a
record of 30-18 this season for TK.
He had his season ended in the district
blood round in Division 2 a week after plac-
ing third at his weight class at the OK Gold
Conference Tournament. He was fifth at his
weight class at the Kent County Classic early
in the season.
175: Calder Villanueva, Lakewood: Vil-
lanueva had a solid junior season for the
Vikings wrestling his way to nine victories.
He had a win in the Vikings’ team district
championship win over Portland and finished
the season strong.
190: Kyle Echtinaw, Hastings: A sopho-
more who missed a chunk of time due to an
injury, he still came up big for the Saxons. He
wrestled to a record of 19-13.
Echtinaw finished as the runner-up in his
weight class at the Interstate-8 Athletic Con-
ference tournament.
215: Michael Bhola, Delton Kellogg:
One of two seniors on the DK roster this win-
ter, Bhola put together a record of 26-24 this
season.
Bhola was a regional qualifier this season
in Division.
285: Jaden Manhart, Lakewood: Man-
hart wrestled his way to a sixth-place finish at
his weight class at the CAAC Championships
at the end of the year.
A senior, he jumped around the heavy-
weight spots as needed for the Vikings wres-
tling at 285 pounds, 215 and 190. He closed
the year with a 26-11 overall record.Holy Week Events
at
Green Street Church!
Palm Sunday, March 24
➢10:00 am “What are You Wasting on Jesus?”
Tuesday, March 26
➢5:00 pm Seder Meal
➢6:00 pm “Last Supper” Drama
Good Friday, March 29
➢7:00 pm “The Nails”
Located in the Heart of Hastings for a Purpose! We Feed People!
Green Street Church is located at 209 West Green Street
For more info: [email protected] or 269- 945 - 9574
All-Barry County Wint er 2023-2 4
Isaac FriddleMitchell SwiftJonathan Krebs