You are Winning or Learning
By Dan Ward

Whatever you do, take pride in it and be great at it.-Nic Nemeth (AKA Dolph Ziggler)

The St. Johns Redwings took to the mats again this week, wrapping up competition for 2025 (except the Girls wrestle once more on Monday in Mt. Morris).

Monday, the JV Boys traveled to Eaton Rapids for the first JV Jamboree of the year. The idea behind these jamborees is to get the JVs’ mat time. Most wrestlers got three matches on Monday. Getting wins for the Redwings were: Johnny Infante (3-0), Noah Demo (3-0), Zander Dallide (1-1), Keegan Hamilton (3-0), Alex Shepard (2-1), Roman Berkhousen (1-2), Austin Clark (2-0), Aedin Besonen (2-0), Michael Grow (2-1), Kael Whitaker (3-0) and Graysen Elison (1-2).

On Wednesday, St. Johns hosted Haslett, Eaton Rapids, and Ionia. St. Johns wrestled Haslett first.

This one was all Redwings. Tristan Densmore got things rolling with a 1:51 fall. Hayden Billings earned a tech fall as the 2nd period came to a close. Doug Thurston, Brady Heibeck, and Logan Finn followed up with falls at 1:44. :023. and 2:47 respectively. Bridger Haviland earned a tech fall in 3:40. Abram Matice, Gavin Moreno, and Jackson Armstrong recorded falls of their own at 0:35, 0:35, and 0:52, shutting the door on Haslett’s chances. Anabelle Longoria took a void, and Haley Prohaska was inches away from turning her opponent, but couldn’t quite get him turned. Donovan Quinn, Corey Heck, and Jameson Halsey closed out the match with falls at 1:18, 0:18, and 0:33. The Final Score was 71-6.

The Redwings didn’t fare as well against the Greyhounds of Eaton Rapids. Eaton Rapids is ranked # 7 this year, and they don’t have a weak point in their line-up. Earning wins for the Redwings were Elliot Lor (Forfeit), Donovan Quinn (Fall 2:27), Abram Matice (6-5), and in an overtime thriller, Regan Ward survived the Ultimate Tiebreaker by riding his opponent out for 30. The final score was 49-18, with Eaton Rapids getting the win.

In Girls’ wrestling, St. Johns wrestled girls from Eaton Rapids, Ionia, and Haslett. Winning for the Redwings were: Lori Morris over Eaton Rapids (Fall at 3:36, Haley Prohaska over Ionia (Fall 1:31), Peyson Sova over Ionia (Fall:54), Annabelle Gothburg over Eaton Rapids (Fall 2:28), and Olivia Pettigrew over Haslett (Fall 1:04).

On Saturday, the Boys traveled to Ionia High School for the Mike Adamson Invitational. St. Johns placed 2nd, just 3 points behind Delton-Kellogg with two fewer scoring wrestlers. Placing for St. Johns were: Abram Matice (3), Austin Clark (4), Brady Heibeck (2), Donovan Quinn (1), Doug Thurston (2), Gabe Mares (4), Gavin Moreno (1), Greyson Osborne (2), Hayden Billings (2), Jackson Armstrong (2), Jaxson Densmore (3), Logan Finn (3), Tristan Densmore (2).

Picking up his 100th career win and earning a first-place finish was Reagan Ward. Achieving 100 wins in high school wrestling is an extremely challenging milestone that requires years of dedication, discipline, and resilience. Wrestlers must manage intense daily practices, demanding conditioning, and strict weight control while staying healthy. Injuries and illnesses can slow progress or even end a season early, making every match important. The mental challenges are just as tough as the physical ones. With a limited number of matches each season, reaching 100 wins takes not only talent, but also consistency, perseverance, and continuous improvement through setbacks year after year.

I asked Reagan what getting 100 wins meant to him. “100 wins means a lot to me, something I’ve been chasing since my freshman year. It shows the successes through all the hard work and dedication I’ve put into the sport over all the years in and out of practice. I couldn’t be more grateful and thankful for the coaches, teammates, and family that have pushed me to make this moment possible.”

I also asked him if he had a most memorable win, he replied, “My most memorable watch was my triple overtime win against Eaton Rapids. Having the whole team and crowd into the match made it an incredible feeling to get the win.”

Congratulations Reagan!

So that wraps up the boys’ competition for 2025. The Girls travel to Mount Morris on Monday for an invitational, and they travel to DeWitt on January 2nd for another invitational. The whole team is back in action on Wednesday, January 7th, with the Varsity and the Girls heading to Lansing Eastern and Varsity B heading to Charlotte.

Thanks for following along. Happy 2lb weight allowance to all the wrestlers. Have a great holiday season!