×

Mountaineers win 3 medals at state wrestling

IM sophomore McGuire places third; Kingsford’s Wilcox reaches podium in Division 3

GRAND RAPIDS — Three Iron Mountain wrestlers earned medals at the MHSAA Division 4 state wrestling finals, including sophomore Shawn McGuire, who placed third at 119 pounds.

The others were junior Parker Stroud, fifth place at 145, and sophomore Evan Haferkorn, sixth at 140.

“After the craziness with COVID and all the delays it was great to see three come home with medals at the state tournament,” said Iron Mountain coach Cory McLaren.

Kingsford junior Toby Wilcox medaled in Division 3, taking seventh place at 145 pounds at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo.

Wrestling at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Iron Mountain’s McGuire, 33-2 on the season, lost only in the semifinals to Zak Shadley of Clinton, 3-2.

“Shawn was up 2-1 when the referee awarded the Clinton wrestler a penalty point for stalling, which tied the score up at 2-2,” McLaren said. “In the confusion, the Clinton wrestler was able to escape and score the go-ahead point.”

McGuire thought the match was tied after the escape, McLaren said. “Hate to see the match end that way but Shawn bounced back and won his next two matches to place third.”

A consolation semifinal went to McGuire, with a 16-1 technical fall over Daniel Dani of Bark River-Harris. In the match for third place, McGuire pinned Jared Shepler of Carson City-Crystal in the second period.

Shadley placed second, falling to Aydan Sturtevant-Roes of Hesperia 2-1 in the finals.

Iron Mountain’s Stroud (24-2) reached the semifinals before losing 5-3 to eventual and now two-time state champion, Caden Natale of Hudson, 5-3.

Stroud lost a close decision in the consolation semifinals before rallying for a 15-0 technical fall over Anthony Ward of Oscoda in the fifth place match.

“This is Parker’s third year in a row that he has made the semifinals,” McLaren said. “Parker is real close on breaking through to make it to the finals. He knows what he has to do to make it and it should be a busy off-season for him.”

Haferkorn (22-6) lost in the quarterfinals to eventual state champion Cole Stone of Carson City-Crystal, 16-4. He won two matches in the consolation bracket before bowing out.

Iron Mountain freshmen wrestlers Tyler Winch and Fulton Stroud went 0-2.

“It was an eye-opening experience for them,” McLaren said. “Hopefully they have seen what they need to do to advance at the state finals. Not many freshmen make it this far and they should be proud of their accomplishment. To send five kids to the state finals and have all five return next year makes our next season look very promising,” he added.

Wilcox lost 13-2 in the second round to former state champ and this year’s state runner-up, Dametruis Castillo of Alma.

“His third-round match was a rematch of regionals with Tanner Gaw of Shepherd,” said Kingsford coach Darren Groleau. “It was a close battle with the winner making it to the podium. Tanner came in the match with some adjustments and pushed Toby, who hit two beautiful switches in the third to put him up 5-4 for a hard-fought win.”

A stalling call with only a few seconds remaining kept Wilcox from advancing through the consolation bracket.

“I am proud of him, how he fought through the controversy and finished strong by defeating Mathew Dwyer of Almont 3-1 with a very last-second takedown to take seventh place,” Groleau said.

Wilcox finished the season at 22-6.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today