The Sun and News, Saturday, March 23, 2024/ Page 9Top county grapplers among state’s best
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There was one county wres-
tler 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 qualifiers.
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 tourna-
ment and followed 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
perennial state champions
from Dundee in the state quar-
terfinals.
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 Conference
White Division. The Raiders
got the best of the Vikings
during their conference dual
though.
Strings of conference domi-
nance were stymied all across
the county this winter.
Hastings was edged out for the
Interstate-8 Athletic
Conference Championship
and the Thornapple Kellogg
varsity wrestling team went
through its first major rebuild-
ing season in quite some time
in the OK Gold Conference.
All five of the county’s var-
sity wrestling teams were rep-
resented at those state finals in
Detroit at the end of the sea-
son.
Here are the 2023-24 All-
Barry County Wrestling First
and Second Teams
All-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 season and is
just the fifth Saxon ever to
reach 50 wins in a season. He
set a new Saxon single season
record for falls with 47.
Hokanson was a state qual-
ifier this season in Division 1.
He is a three-time Interstate-
Athletic Conference champi-
on.
113: Christien Miller,
Thornapple Kellogg: Miller
put together a record of 37-
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 Championships in
February. He was third at both
districts 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 indi-
vidual state finals.
He was a runner-up at dis-
tricts 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 finished his
senior season with a record of
45-7 and his varsity wrestling
time with an overall mark of
111-36.
Smith was an Interstate-
Athletic Conference
Champion, a regional qualifier
in Division 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
championship 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 district 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 sea-
sons 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 run-
ner-up at his weight in the I-
this season.
165: Jayce Curtis,
Thornapple Kellogg: The lone
guy from TK to qualify for the
individual state finals this sea-
son.
Curtis, a junior, put together
an overall record of 42-10. He
was the OK Gold Conference
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
Individual State Finals for thefirst time this season thanks to
a third place finish at region-
als.
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
runner-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 plac-
ing eighth in Division 1’s 215-
pound weight class this sea-
son. He is just the fifth Saxonto ever be a state placer and
can look to become the pro-
gram’s first four-time wres-
tling state medalist next sea-
son as a senior.
Friddle was 49-9 this sea-
son and now has a career mark
of 139-31 overall. He won the
Interstate-8 Athletic
Conference championship at
his weight class this year.
215: Joel Simon, Lakewood:
A junior two-time state medal-
ist, Simon wrestled his way to
a fourth-place medal inDivision 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.Give us a call!
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Caledonia
American Legion #Fundraiser
GOOD FRIDAY
FISH FRY
Friday, March 29, 2024
5-7p.m. or until goneDinner Includes: 3 pieces (adults)
Battered Fresh Pollock Loins prepared: with
Tartar Sauce, French Fries, Coleslaw &
Homemade Bread & Butter.
Dessert: Soft Serve Ice Cream.
No other Food Menu Available. For those who
do not want fish dinner, outside food may be
brought in.
All proceeds goes to
West Michigan Veterans Assistance Program
9548 Cherry Valley, Caledonia, MI
Call 616.891.1882 for more info$14.00 Adults (3 pcs. fish) &
$8.00 Children 12 and under
(2 pieces of fish)Jayce CurtisSee GRAPPLERS, page 11