Iron Mountain’s Di’Angelo Saldana tries to escape from the bottom position on Jan. 13 at Kingsford High School. (Sean Chase/IMDN file photo)

DETROIT — Every wrestler dreams of making the trip to Ford Field for the MHSAA Individual state wrestling tournament, however, that isn’t always in the cards.

The story was different in Iron Mountain this season as the Mountaineers varsity wrestling team sent seven wrestlers to the MHSAA Division 4 Individual State tournament on Friday.

When all was said and done –Iron Mountain had six wrestlers reach the podium on Saturday, Fulton Stroud, Shayna Hruska, Daniel Manier, Alex Wilson, Bradon Walstrom and Tyler Winch.

“To get 6 out of 7 on the medal is a great accomplishment for these kids,” Mountaineers head coach Cory Mclaren said.

Stroud finished second in 165-pound action. He lost a majority decision, 9-1, to Sebastian Martinez of Riverview Gabriel Richard in the state championship match.

Hruska brought home a fifth place medal in the girls 105-pound division. She secured her third state medal by pinning Sparrow Centeno of Southgate Anderson.

In 138-pound action, Manier finished sixth overall after losing an 8-3 decision to Chase Nickerson of Vassar.

Winch, Wilson and Walstrom all ended the weekend in seventh place.

Winch secured his medal by way of a 9-4 decision over Bronson’s Owen Kimmons. He has placed three times at the state tournament in his Iron Mountain career.

Wilson took down Devin Doorlag of Gobles in a 7-4 decision while Walstrom secured his place on the podium with a pin over Ithaca’s Owen Mikulka. This is Wilson’s second time placing at the state tournament.

Di’Angelo Saldana (126-pounds) also qualified for the state tournament. He was eliminated from medal contention on Friday after going 0-2.

“It has been a crazy two weeks with all the travel for team states and individual states and the kids handle it great,” Coach Mclaren said. “4,965 miles since Dec. 6, we have traveled for wrestling. The season is a meat grinder and to see these student athletes stand on the podium was an awesome sight.”

Team State

The Mountaineers also qualified for the MHSAA Division 4 Team State tournament on Friday, Feb. 23 in Kalamazoo at the Wings Event Center where they took on Benzie Central in the quarterfinals.

The match started with the 190-pound weight class sending Giovannie Saldana to the mat for Iron Mountain.

He ended up being pinned by Huskies’ Michael Pfeiffer.

The Mountaineers forfeited the 215 and 285-pound matches and fell behind 18-0.

Hruska was also pinned in 106-pound action by Cage Edingfield.

Things didn’t get better as the match progressed to the 113-pound match as Iron Mountain’s Brayden Rodriguez was pinned by Dayne Gillison and the Mountaineers fell behind 30-0.

Wilson turned the tide for Iron Mountain as he pinned Zavier Labonte at 120-pounds, making it a 30-6 match.

Di’Angelo Saldana couldn’t keep the momentum going in 126-pound action as he was pinned by Benjamin Deridder and the Mountaineers fell behind 36-6.

Winch put Iron Mountain back on the board with a 13-1 major decision over Nathan Higgins at 132-pounds.

However, the Mountaineers lost five of the next six bouts and fell to the Huskies, 59-13.

“59-13 wasn’t the outcome we were looking for against Benzie, but when you give up 18 points in forfeits, you better be perfect in all the other matches,” Mclaren said. “We see Benzie Central throughout the year and I have a lot of respect for their team and coaching staff.”

Iron Mountain only brought 13 wrestlers to the competition with most teams fielding full rosters.

“Six out of the eight teams in the finals had a full roster of 28 kids,” Mclaren said. “We were easily the smallest at 13. Our kids fought hard through all their matches and made me proud.

“Three years in a row, these seniors have traveled to the Wings Event Center, which should make for some great memories.”