The Fruitport wrestling squad bowed out of the state tournament on Wednesday in a very tough way, losing 33-31 to Zeeland East in the semifinal round of the Division 2 regional tournament in the Trojans’ home gym.

The loss ended a great team season for the Trojans, who finished with a 15-3 dual match record and won the O-K Silver conference championship, as well as a third consecutive Division 2 district title.

The Trojans only won six of the 14 bouts against Zeeland East, but five of the six winners earned bonus points, which made the final score so close.

Chase Rosema (190 pounds), Luke Westerlund (285) and Ryder Chan (120) won their matches with pins and each earned six team points, rather than the normal three for a victory.

Ethan Riggs (215) and Phillip Stone-Tyler (113) both won their matches by technical fall, earning five points apiece.

Alex Aardema won the 132-pound match 7-0 to earn three points.

Two very close outcomes worked against the Trojans in the end.

In the 126-pound bout, Fruitport standout Zach Aardema, who has had a terrific season, was inched out by Zeeland East’s Josh Ledford, 5-4.

In the 150-pound bout, Fruitport’s Blair Zimmer battled hard but fell to Zeeland East’s Eric Segocia-Estupinan 5-3.

“This was obviously not the way we wanted it to end,” said Fruitport head coach Chad Johnson. “Zeeland East has a tough squad. I am proud of the season this team put together, and I’m looking forward to the future of Fruitport wrestling.”