Red Hawks soar over Greenville and Sparta

The Cedar Springs boys varsity wrestling team flew into Sparta Wednesday afternoon, February 6, on a mission to capture the District Title. The opposition for the day included the defending District Champion Sparta Spartans (28-4) and the Greenville Yellow Jackets (owners of 13 straight District Mittens from 2005-2017).

Red Hawk David Erxleben Jr. started the competition with a bang by claiming a major decision over his opponent. Logan Hull followed up with what Coach Emery calls, “The gutsiest performance of the decade.” In a 4-2 come back victory, Hull had used up all his injury time in the first period while getting sick on the mat. Overcoming a 2-0 deficit and the stomach bug, he pulled out a dramatic finish in the third period over a strong Spartan wrestler, in what would be the most decisive match of the season.

Aaron Smith and Nate Elliston did their jobs with key victories and the Hawks jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Sparta knifed their way back in through the middle weights to cut the lead 14-12 but three straight pins from Ryan Ringler, Sage Serbenta and Xavier Anderson all but iced it for the Red Hawks. Trevor Marsman sealed the deal with a pin at 112lbs and with a final score of 38-30 the boys moved on Greenville.

The Greenville dual ended with a final score of 47-23 as the Red Hawks overpowered the Yellow Jackets in 9 of 14 weight classes.

The mission was a complete success and the team celebrated their first District Title in over a decade.

The team moves on to regionals on Wednesday, February 13 at Cedar Springs High School, in search of their first regional victory since 1996. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Come on out and show your support for your Red Hawks!

Head Coach Nick Emery (far left) with the six Cedar Springs wrestlers that will be moving on to Regionals.

Two others placed second, and two more finished third

On Wednesday, February 8, Cedar Springs High School Wrestling hosted team Districts. Unfortunately, the Red Hawks fell short to Sparta with a final score, 33-38. Heavy Weight Patrick Depiazza, 125 Aaron Smith, 135 lb Jordan Andrus, 140 lb Jordan Ringler, 171 lb Xavier Anderson and 189 lb Ryan Ringler won their matches.

On Saturday, February 11, the Red Hawks traveled to Lowell for Individual Districts. District Champions are Heavy Weight Patrick Depiazza (41-0) and 171 lb Ryan Ringler (42-1). 135 lb Jordan Ringler (36-7) and 145 lb Lucus Pienton (31-7) finished in 2^nd Place. 125 lb Aaron Smith (35-11) and 160 lb Nate Patin (25-13) finished in 3^rd Place. Congratulations to these six individuals who will continue on to Regionals and the chance to compete at the State Finals.

The following individuals ended their season with Varsity wins as listed: 112 lb Nate Male, 18 wins; 119 lb Logan Hull, 26 wins; 125 lb Patrick Fliearman, 21 wins; 130 Jordan Andrus, 27 wins; 140 Anthony Brew, 14 wins; 140 Jacob Galinis, 24 wins; 152 lb Zak Schmid, 10 wins and 189 lb Chris Shaffer, 13 wins. Regionals will be held at Byron Center, Saturday, Feb. 18 if you would like to continue supporting your Red Hawks.

“The boys put together a memorable season,” said Head Coach Nick Emery.

“We came up just a hair short of our team goals but the heart and effort was there. We graduate two fantastic seniors, Patrick Fliearman and Jordan Andrus, who I will miss in the room everyday. But we will have six regional qualifiers returning. Now it’s time for the remaining wrestlers to focus on the Individual State Championship and bring home some medals.”