Two Fruitport wrestlers won individual weight class championships and seven others won medals at Saturday’s Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament at Orchard View High School.

The across-the-board success helped the Trojans finish a strong third place in the county tournament, behind champion Whitehall and Reeths-Puffer.

The Trojans finished with 162 points. Whitehall had 209 and Reeths-Puffer totaled 184.5.

GMAA champion Cooper Lengkeek

“I’m really pleased with the way we are wrestling right now,” said Fruitport Coach Chad Johnson. “We’re starting to find our groove, doing a great job at executing in the situations we want to be in and controlling the pace of the match.

“It has been something we have been focused on all season long, minimizing things and getting great at a few things, rather than just being okay at a lot of things. It makes the process a lot easier, and the outcomes are speaking for themselves.”

The two Trojan individual champions were junior Cooper Lengkeek (pictured at the top) and sophomore Zach Aardema, who both beat state-ranked wrestlers in the championship round.

Lengkeek, now 24-3 on the season, pinned his first opponent, then dominated the other two on his way to first place at 157 pounds.

GMAA champion Zach Aardema

He pinned Reeths-Puffer’s Bryce Muskovin in 1:08 and defeated Orchard View’s Landen Arvey 15-0, then beat Whitehall’s Liam Leeke 17-1 in the title match. Leeke is currently ranked 13th in the state in his weight class.

“Coop is wrestling at a very high level right now,” Coach Johnson said. “His work ethic and commitment is a testament to his success. Coop was very aggressive executing his takedowns, leading him to a dominant technical fall for the city title.”

Aardema controls his opponent during his championship match. 

Aardema, 18-3, won his championship in dramatic fashion.

He beat Holton’s Joey Bayne 15-0 and Reeths-Puffrer’s Cory Judd 11-3 before facing Whitehall’s Max Krukowski in the title match.

The score was 2-2 after the three regulation periods, then Aardema had a three-point takedown in sudden death overtime to claim the win and the 126-pound championship.

Fruitport’s Chase Rosema tries to work his way off the mat. 

Krukowski is ranked No. 8 in the state in his weight class.

“Zach shot in and was able to scramble his way and lock up a cradle to win the match,” Johnson said. “He has been in a handful of gritty matches and came out on top. Those matches will be huge for him when we start postseason action.”

The Trojans finished third overall by having so many wrestlers place high in their weight classes.

Alex Aardema (132 pounds), Davis Johnson (138), and Chase Rosema (190) all advanced to the finals and finished in second place.

Phillip Stone-Tyler (113) and Carsen Crow (175) finished in third place, while Blair Zimmer (144) and Ethan Riggs (215) both finished fourth.

Fruitport’s Davis Johnson, right, gets ready to battle his opponent. 
Fruitport head coach Chad Johnson (right), along with wrestler Phillip Stone-Tyler (left) and assistant coach Crue Cooper, watch the action.

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