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Wrestling: IM 12th, Kingsford 15th in Marquette Challenge weekend tournament

MARQUETTE — Iron Mountain and Kingsford each placed three wrestlers Saturday in the highly-competitive Marquette Challenge high school tournament.

New Lothrop (198 points) topped the 21-team field, followed by Gaylord at 195 points. Iron Mountain (42 points) placed 12th and Kingsford (36 points) took 15th.

Mountaineers sophomore Caleb Burklund (189) placed fourth, sophomore Jon Carrion (152) was fifth and freshman Parker Stroud (119) took sixth.

Burklund pinned Brice Isenhath from Mason in the second period to reach the semifinals. He lost to eventual champion Tim Rizor of Pine River by fall in the second period.

Carrion, after losing to the third-place finisher in the second round, pinned Escanaba’s Noah Weaver on the consolation side of the bracket. He also added a pair of major decisions.

Stroud was pinned by eventual champ Tyler Herrera of Grandville in the second round. Stroud bounced back with a fall to reach the medal round. Second-seeded William Sides of Gaylord pinned Stroud in the fifth-place match.

Mountaineers coach Cory McLaren noted that freshman Tre Sabotta (140) went 1-2; freshman Preston Roberts (145), 1-2; and sophomore Trevor Malburg (130), 0-2.

“Last year we only sent two wrestlers to this with no one placing,” McLaren said. “To come out of there with two medals and almost a third it was great to see our improvement as a team.”

The Flivvers’ Trevor Povolo (160) took fourth, Eddie Cardew (285) placed fifth, and August Early (125) was sixth.

Povolo edged Brock Gracyalny of Pulaski 1-0 in the quarterfinal but fell to Jacob McKnight of Gaylord in the semifinals. McKnight placed in the 2018 MHSAA Division 2 state tournament.

“It was a tough match but it’s the type of competition we want,” Kingsford Coach Darren Groleau said of Povolo losing by decision.

Povolo was pinned by D4 state qualifier Zach Riley of New Lothrop in the third-place match.

“It was a tight close match and Trevor just came up short,” Groleau said. “Trevor is right there with the best in the state. He needs to start scoring more from his feet in order to beat these guys. But overall I’m happy with his performance.”

Groleau said Cardew had a “solid day,” decisioned 2-0 in a “tough” quarterfinal match with Jordan Kaat of Grandville.

“This was the best Eddie looked all year,” Groleau said. “We can build from this and get ready for the mid-season stretch.”

Gladstone’s Nick Dawson pinned Early in the fifth-place match.

“Overall, it was an decent day for us,” Groleau said. “The Challenge has some tough wrestling there and it challenged our guys. And that’s what I want for my guys so we can see where we need to be in order to get where we need to be.”

Michael Hill-Scott, Ethan Wilcox, Toby Wilcox and Elliot Johnson also wrestled for the Flivvers

The Mountaineers wrestle Thursday at Bark River. Kingsford visits Munising on Dec. 28.

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