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 moved on to regionals on Wednesday, February 13 at Cedar Springs High School, in search of their first regional victory since 1996. See next week’s paper for results.

Cedar Springs Varsity wrestlers

The Cedar Springs Varsity wrestlers traveled to Forest Hills Central on Friday night, January 12, to face off against the Rangers and Huskies. After falling behind 17-3 early on, the Red Hawks then reeled off victories in 8 of the next 9 weights to claim a 43-23 win. The boys ran on the Huskies early and never looked back, topping the Huskies 63-9. Undefeated wrestlers on the night were Trevor Marsman, Nate Male, Logan Hull, Aaron Smith, Anthony Brew, Jacob Galinis, Lucus Pienton, Ryan Ringler and Zak Schmid.

On Saturday, January 13, the Red Hawks traveled across state to Warren for the Clash of the Champions. The team finished runner-up in a strong field of 19 competitive schools.

Ryan Ringler won the 171lb weight class and was awarded Most Valuable Wrestler. Ringler defeated the number two and four ranked wrestlers in his division, according to MIGrappler.com.

Runner-up finalists for the Red Hawks included Trevor Marsman (103), Lucus Pienton (152), and Chris Shaffer (189).

Important contributions and medalists on the day for Cedar Springs came from Aaron Smith (3rd), Jacob Galinis (5th), Caleb Baty (5th), Paul Duran, Anthony Brew, Logan Hull, Nate Male, Trentyn Roelofs, David Erxleben and Zak Schmid.

Don’t miss the home action on Friday night versus arch rival Greenville and Ottawa Hills at 5 p.m. The team will travel to Stevensville Lakeshore for duals on Saturday.

The Varsity Red Hawks traveled to Allendale on Saturday, January 6, for the Falcon Individual Invite.

Three Champions were crowned as the team took third place behind Lakeshore and Allendale. 

Aaron Smith (17-6) won his first ever Varsity tournament at the 135lb weight class. Lucus Pienton (21-2) dominated the 152 division. Ryan Ringler (22-1) earned Most Outstanding Wrestler while claiming the prize at 171.

Jacob Galinis won his 100th Varsity match while placing third at 140lbs. Consolation Champions also included Trevor Marsman (17-5), Logan Hull (21-2) and Anthony Brew (12-2). David Erxleben, Zak Schmid, Chris Shafer and Caleb Baty placed for the Red Hawks as well.

On Friday night, January 5, the team kicked off OK-White duel action with a victory over Northview and a loss to four-time defending State Champion Lowell.

The boys will be at Forest Hills Northern this Friday, January 12, at 5:30 for a showdown with the Huskies and Rangers. Saturday they will travel to the east side of the state to take on Warren Woods Tower and foe.

Varsity wrestling team comes up short at Districts

Heavyweight Patrick DePiazza, showing his infividual district bracket, and other teams members.

By Barbra Chong

Cedar Springs High School wrestling hosted the 2016 Team Districts last Wednesday, February 10. The Red Hawks came out strong and defeated Forest Hills Eastern, 48-16. They then took on the Yellow Jackets of Greenville for the District Finals. There were unanticipated losses for both teams. The Red Hawks proved to be a strong competitor with a young team, but fell short with a loss, 35-34.

Logan Hull 112 lb, Jacob Galinis 135 lb, Lucus Pienton 145 lb, Anthony Topolski 152 lb, Gage Gardner 160 lb, Ryan Ringler 171 lb, and heavyweight Patrick DePiazza, all went undefeated. Jordan Ringler 125 lb, Jordan Andrus 130 lb, and Jesse Empie 140 lb, each secured a victory.

Saturday, February 13, the team traveled to Lowell for Individual Districts. Heavyweight Patrick Depiazza remains undefeated and secured the 2016 District Championship title. Ryan Ringler 171 lb, finished the day in 2nd Place; 119 lb Jordan Ringler and 145 lb Lucus Pienton finished in 3rd Place and 112 lb Logan Hull and 135 lb Jacob Galinis finished in 4th Place. Congratulations to these six individuals!

If you enjoy wrestling and would like to support our Red Hawks, Regionals is next Saturday, March 19 at Byron Center high school.

“The boys put together a memorable season. We came up just a hair short of our team goals but the heart and effort was there. We graduate two fantastic seniors, Anthony Topolski and Jesse Empie, that I will miss in the room everyday, but 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,” said Head Coach Nick Emery.