Border Wars National brings post-season feel to Battle Creek
By Sean Garner
MichiganGrappler.com
11/8 - It was a preseason atmosphere with postseason
stakes for some of the best wrestlers in the Midwest
Saturday at Battle Creek.
Nearly 200 high school wrestlers convened upon Kellogg
Arena for the Border Wars National finals. A number of
states were represented, and the elite of Michigan acquainted
themselves pretty nicely.
Michigan wrestlers won 5 of the 14 weight classes.
Defending state champion Conor Youtsey of Mason won at
119, the same weight class he won at the Palace in March,
while Fenton's Buddy Poyner took second.
The 130lb bracket featured perhaps the deepest and most
exhilarating competition of the day, and it featured a pair of
Michiganders in the finals. Leon Shannon of Wyandotte
Roosevelt, who placed 3rd in the state at 119 a year ago, defeated two-time placer Anthony Pavlich 7-4 in the finals.
Earlier in the tournament at 130lbs, Pavlich scored one of the bigger upsets of the day with a 10-3 decision over 2x Division 3 state runner-up Darius Wass of Swan Valley.
Josh Houldsworth, a returning Division I 145 lb. state champion,
took home the Michigan-dominated chart at 152. Holly is moving
to Division II this season, so Houldsworth may likely run into either
sophomore stud Jordan Thomas of Greenville or Taylor Massa of
St. Johns. If Houldsworth wrestles the way he did Saturday, he
might give either one a better match than most think.
Nick Bohn of East Kentwood beat Dexter's Chase Baxter for true
second at 152, while Connor Brancheau of Fenton knocked off
Jacob Williams of Union City for fifth place.
The much-traveled Nick McDiarmid of Hartland dominated the
smallest bracket of the tournament, beating all three opponents on
the 215 lb. chart in a round robin format. McDiarmid also won the
heavyweight class in the open division.
At Heavyweight, Justin Dozier of Brownstown Woodhaven pinned teammate Darian Holmes in the first period of their finals match. Dozier said he plans on wrestling 215 during the season while Holmes goes 285.
Michigan wrestlers were involved in a number of close calls. Ben Matthiesen of Holt narrowly missed out on a late takedown on two-time Illinois placer Joey Gosinski in his finals match at 125. The takedown would have likely made the difference in their 3-2 match.
Zachary Garcia of Adrian and Ryan Watts of Ferndale also took second at 103 and 171 respectively.
Also of note, seventh-grader Mark Hall turned heads by knocking off Division II 103 runner-up Esteban Gonzales of Brandon. Surprisingly enough, neither wrestler placed in the 119 lb bracket.
Click here to view the list of placewinners from the High School and 13-14 Division.
Click here to go to the Border Wars Nationals Video Coverage Page.
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Youtsey defeated an Ohio and Michigan state placer en route to the 119lb championship
Houldsworth downed three Michigan all-staters
on his way to the 152lb title.
