The team portion of the Fruitport boys wrestling season has come to a close.
It didn’t end great, because the Trojans wrestled Lowell, which wins the state championship every year, and dominates all opponents along the way.
But that final match could not ruin a terrific season for the Trojans, who won the O-K Silver conference title, Division 2 district and regional championships, and advanced to the state Elite Eight for the first time in their history.
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Fruitport fell to Lowell 71-8 in the Division 2 state quarterfinals on Friday night in Kalamazoo.
Lowell went on to win the championship on Saturday, beating New Boston Huron 55-15 in the semifinals and Eaton Rapids 62-4 in the finals.
While the outcome was not ideal, advancing to the state level was fun and worthwhile for the team, according to Fruitport head coach Coach Johnson.
“I think we would have been able to compete with anybody else (but Lowell),” said Johnson, whose team finished the season with a 26-7 record. “But it was still a great experience for our kids.
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“I think I am most proud of the fact that every year we keep getting better. Two years ago we made it to regionals, last year we made it to the regional finals, and this year we made the state quarterfinals.”
Fruitport did win two matches against the Red Arrows.
Jeremiah Stone-Tyler pinned Veronica Tapia in 3:28 in the 106-pound match.
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“He went out there and wrestled great,” Johnson said about Stone-Tyler. “He’s always a fan favorite, and he got us a won in the big stage.”
Murphy Lengkeek defeated Lowell’s Carson Bluhm, an individual state finalist last year, 5-4 in an overtime thriller.
“It was the highlight match of the entire day,” Johnson said. “Murphy is a gamer, He was calm, coll and collected the entire match. The atmosphere does not get too big for him.”
The Trojans will wrap up the entire season this weekend when four wrestlers – Lengkeek, Zach Aardema, Chase Rosema and Alex Aardema compete in the Division 2 individual state finals at Detroit’s Ford Field.
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