Mountaineers run away with M-PC title | News, Sports, Jobs

IRON MOUNTAIN — Securing individual titles was a difficult task for area wrestlers in the Mid-Peninsula Conference Championships here Saturday.

Iron Mountain’s success was a major reason for that as it ran away with the team title with 183 1/2 points.

“This was nice to see, especially at home,” said Iron Mountain coach Cory McLaren. “There was no long bus trip, and the kids sleeping at home and getting here early worked well for them.”

Defending champ Gladstone squeezed past Bark River-Harris 127-126 for runner-up honors, and Manistique placed fourth at 106.

All three area teams were missing a few key wrestlers Saturday.

Seven Mountaineers earned titles, including sophomore Shayna Hruska who’s believed to be the first Iron Mountain girl to be crowned M-PC champion.

She made that possible by taking a 14-0 decision from Manistique freshman Johnathan Weber in the 103-pound final.

“This feels real good,” said Hruska. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work to get here, and I like seeing the work pay off. I think I did good on riding today. I was a little nervous about it at first, but I’m glad I did it. I knew if I worked hard, I would get where I want to be. I’ve been doing extra weight lifting at home. I think if I keep doing the extra work, I have a chance to get to the state tournament.”

It was a special day for junior teammate Shawn McGuire (119), who earned his 100th career win by pinning Negaunee freshman Will Helppi in three minutes, five seconds into the semifinal bout, then pinned Gladstone sophomore Drew Hansen at 3:27 in the title match.

“It felt great to get my 100th victory and even better to take the conference title, but I have bigger fish to fry,” he said. “I can enjoy this for the rest of the weekend, then it’s right back to work on Monday. This definitely gives me momentum going into the districts. Winning is contagious. We’re never satisfied. We’re always looking to improve.”

Gladstone’s champions were junior Eli Terrian (112), senior Michael Brazeau (125) and sophomore Austin Solis (130), who pinned Iron Mountain freshman Daniel Manier with .4 seconds left in the first period.

“I wrestled just one match, but this definitely gives me momentum going into the post-season,” said Solis. “Although, I have to clean some things up in the neutral position.”

Terrian edged BR-H senior Avry Corrigan 4-3 for his title and Brazeau pinned Iron Mountain sophomore Tyler Winch with seven seconds remaining in the 125 final.

Junior Drew Allgeyer (189) represented BR-H in the winner’s circle following a technical fall (18-3) over Gwinn sophomore Connor Dalton.

“I’m getting in stride for the post-season,” said Allgeyer, who won at 145 two years ago. “The time I put in the gym and weight room are paying off. Being a conference champion is nice, but it’s just another tournament. This one is not big on my list of goals. It’s still an important meet, but kind of a stepping stone for the post-season. The more matches I can get, the better.”

Iron Mountain senior Isaac Manier (140) pinned BR-H Ethan Messersmith in 1:25, and Mountaineers’ junior Evan Haferkorn (145) pinned BR-H sophomore David Mosse at 2:30.

“This is the first time Isaac won a bracket,” said McLaren. “He has been working real hard and has a chance to make it to the state tournament. Shawn earned his 100th win by avenging a loss from the U.P. Championships (in Marquette Jan. 22). This will set him up for the post-season.

“He can build off that. After a meet like this, there’s no doubt in your mind you’re ready. Shayna deserves to be conference champion. She has worked a long time for that.”

Additional area runners-up are BR-H (North Central) senior Lane Nehring (285) and Manistique freshman Griffin Maline (135).

Area third-place finishers include Gladstone freshmen Adam Belanger (135). Max Wilson (145) and Bret Seger (152) and sophomore Owen Mattonen (160), BR-H senior Jacob Wandahsega (171) and junior Corbin LaFave (215) and Manistique sophomore John Lund (189) and senior McKabe Swanson (285).

“I thought we did pretty well,” said Manistique coach Mat Gonzalez. “We had a young team here today. We’ve been striving for little victories. Hopefully, some of those will turn into big victories. We just have to keep working.”

Gladstone hosts its Division 3 team district, and Manistique visits BR-H for a D-4 district Wednesday. Iron Mountain goes to Gwinn for its D-4 event Thursday.

Iron Mountain 183 1/2, Gladstone 127, Bark River-Harris 126, Manistique 106, Negaunee 100 1/2, Westwood 66, Ishpeming 51, Gwinn 16.

152 — P. Stroud, IM, pinned Pizziola, W, :41

160 — Kivi, IM, dec. Reno, N, 6-2

171 — F. Stroud, IM, pinned McCollum, N, 2:30

189 — Allgeyer, BR-H, tech fall over Dalton, Gw, 18-3

215 — VanBuren, N, pinned S. Harvala, W, 3:51

285 — Dunstan, N, pinned Nehring, BR-H, 1:15

103 — Hruska, IM, dec. Weber, M, 14-0

112 — Terrian, Glad, dec. A. Corrigan, BR-H, 4-3

119 — McGuire, IM, pinned Hansen, Glad, 3:27

125 — Brazeau, Glad, pinned Winch, IM, 5:53

130 — A. Solis, Glad, pinned D. Manier, IM, 1:59

135 — Wilson, I, pinned Maline, M, 3:31

140 — I. Manier, IM, pinned Messersmith, BR-H, 1:25

145 — Haferkorn, IM, pinned Mosse, BR-H, 2:30.