The future is bright for St. Johns Wrestling
Dan Ward- Guy yelling for the corner

Another night in any town
You can hear the thunder of their cry
Ahead of their time
They wonder why
Shadows of a golden age
A generation waits for dawn
Brave carry on
Bold and the strong

The wrestling team squared off against Eaton Rapids in what would ultimately be the last match of the season.

Eaton Rapids placed 8 wrestlers in the Individual Regionals Tournament, so we knew it would be a tough road. Coach Pettigrew has been talking all year about never backing down from a challenge, and the Redwings came out looking for a fight.

Starting at the 120 weight class, Colton Robbins lost by pin to Regional Qualifier Nick Wade. Next up, Reagan Ward wrestled hard against another Regional Qualifier, Brayden Thorn, but lost 13-2, putting the Greyhounds up 10–0. Tristan Densmore got the Redwings on the board with a pin of Drew Blom in 5:20.

Photos by Glenn Armstrong

Tristan Densmore gets his hand raised

Tyler Riedel, in his last match as a Redwing, avenged his loss from Districts and added to the score with a 6-3 decision over Gavin Pickott another one of Eaton Rapids Regional Qualifiers. That victory brought the Redwings within one with a score of 10-9.

Tyler Riedel gets his hand raised for the final time in a Redwings Singlet.

Dan Riedel, Dan Ward, Andrew Quinn, Matt Pettigrew and Kevin Pettigrew watching Tyler Riedel.

Logan Finn was pinned by Logan Adleman and Hayden Billings by Michael Chapates, also both Regional Qualifiers for Eaton Rapids, putting Eaton Rapids up 22-9. Jaxson Densmore scored an 11-1 decision over Nolan Saltman, giving the Redwings 4 points, making the score 22-13.

Jaxson Densmore working for a victory.

Fletcher Whitford was beaten 17-1 by Matthew Wright, giving the Greyhounds a 27-13 lead. Brady Heibeck pinned Alijah Krauss in 3:35, and the Redwings were back within 8 at 27-19.

Brady Heibeck working on Nearfall points

Greyson Osborn was defeated by District Runner-Up Don Hoyt by a score of 18-3. That put the Greyhounds out in front with a score of 32-19. Brody Abendroth lost a close one to Ean Anderson 6-4, and the Greyhounds extended their lead to 35-19. Jackson Armstong lost his rematch to Jamison Browne, another Regional Qualifier. Connor Skaryd was pinned by the last Regional Qualifier, Drew Holevac, and with the score 47-19, the Greyhounds elected to void the last weight to Donovan Quinn. The final score was Eaton Rapids 47- St. Johns 25.

While nobody likes to get beaten, there is a bright side. St. Johns finishes the season 12-11 and only loses 4 seniors. Coach Pettigrew told me, “We wrestled tough all year. We are building something here. We have a lot of kids returning next year, and I hope we can build off the success we had this year. We took 2nd at two tournaments and won a district title. The future is bright for this young team as long as we stay hungry.” St. Johns also has 5 Regional Qualifiers of their own.

Abram Matice, Brady Heibeck, Olivia Pettigrew, Donovan Quinn and Brody Abendroth will wrestle this weekend for a chance to wrestle in the State Finals. Boys on Saturday in Chelsea and Girls on Saturday in Howell.