Cedar Springs advanced three varsity wrestlers to State after the final matches of the regional tournament on Saturday. Two districts came together in Mount Pleasant to battle it out on the mat to qualify the top four wrestlers in each weight class for the state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills, March 4-6.
Five Red Hawk wrestlers competed during the event: seniors Scott Vodry, Jeremy Stellema, Ricardo Rios, junior Nic Baird and Sophomore Austin Wamser.
After the first round, two Hawks advanced to the championship bracket, while the others dropped into the consolation bracket to wrestle their way into the 3rd and 4th place finals.
Red Hawk wrestlers, in the championship semi-finals, had grappled hard but fell just short of earning themselves a spot in the “blood rounds.” Two more wrestlers in the consolation rounds, Jeremy Stellema and Austin Wamser, advanced their way to fight for the final spots to make it into state. Wamser (145 lb) had an intense match against Kurth of Gaylord. Coming from behind, with a score of 8-11, Wamser earned a fall at the buzzer. The referee reversed the call and awarded Wamser only points and not the win. This started the third period with Wamser ahead and he continued to earn points and a pin before the end of the match.
Jeremy Stellema (189 lb) earned a place in the finals after going against #3 state ranked Bandon Wrzesinski of Bay City John Glenn. The end of the first period found the score 0-0. Wrzesinski was strong, but not tough enough to keep Stellema from earning 9 points and finally pinning him to victoriously move on to the State finals.
Nic Baird (103 lb) managed a quick round against Alex Meyers of Manistee. Baird initiated a takedown that brought the score to 2-0 at the end of the first round. Another takedown and near fall earned 3 more points for Baird. A quick pin execution with just seconds left in the second round earned Baird a trip to the Palace.
Scott Vodry earned his place on the podium after a win by decision against Mickey Emenhiser of Charlotte. A score of 4-2 in favor of Vodry ended the first round. Vodry continued to build the points using nearly every move in his arsenal to bring the final score to 12-3.
At the end of the day, Nic Baird, Scott Vodry and Jeremy Stellema earned 4th place medals, a trip to Auburn Hills and the opportunity to become state champions.
