Nine Grand Haven wrestlers advance to individual regional tournament

Senior+189-pound+wrestler+Nick+Mulcahy+breaks+down+Keenan+Montoya+of+West+Ottawa+during+the+semifinal+match+at+individual+districts+finals+on+Saturday%2C+Feb.+14.+Mulcahy+went+on+to+defeat+Montoya+in+a+4-2+decision+and+advance+to+the+finals.++

Tressa Bathke

Senior 189-pound wrestler Nick Mulcahy breaks down Keenan Montoya of West Ottawa during the semifinal match at individual districts finals on Saturday, Feb. 14. Mulcahy went on to defeat Montoya in a 4-2 decision and advance to the finals.

Brianna Moynihan, Sports editor

 What happened: On Saturday, Feb. 14 Grand Haven hosted the individual wrestling district tournament. The Buccaneer wrestling squad will be advancing nine wrestlers to individual regionals on Saturday, Feb. 21 located at Saginaw Heritage High School. Out of the nine advancing wrestlers, three of them claimed district titles – seniors Camden Bertucci (125), Antonio Reyes (135), and Chase Vanhoef (285).

Here’s how the rest of the regional qualifiers finished at districts:

2nd place:

senior Zac Marsman (112)

senior Aaron Cummings (160)

senior Nick Mulcahy (189)

3rd place:

senior Evan Johnson (130)

sophomore Bryan Batten (145)

4th place:

junior Jared Lancaster (215)

Key moment: Senior 135-pound wrestler Antonio Reyes defeated West Ottawa’s Jermaine Hall in a 7-4 decision. This allowed for Reyes to clutch the district title and advance to regionals.

Best match: Sophomore 145-pound wrestler Bryan Batten took down Caledonia’s Jordan Steiner. In the last seconds of the final period the score was tied, but Batten managed a one-point escape to defeat Steiner in a 5-4 decision and claim third place.

Quote: “We really just did what was expected of us,” Batten said. “We took out some weight classes and put some people in that we thought would do well. Really everyone that we expected to make it to regionals did.”

Up next: The wrestling squad travels to Rockford on Wednesday, Feb. 18 for the team regional tournament.