Montague boys and girls alike had much to celebrate after Saturday and Sunday’s regional tournaments at Tri-County and Cadillac respectively. The Wildcats sent two boys and five girls to the state finals at Ford Field.
Among that group will be senior Chris Aebig, who made Wildcats’ history Saturday as the first four-time Division 3 state qualifier for the program. Aebig outfought local opponent Caden Varela of Whitehall in the 132-pound blood round, 6-4, to punch his ticket to state.
“Chris is really on point,” Montague coach Kris Maddox said. “The 132-pound bracket was loaded. We hated to see Varela of Whitehall in the blood round, as we really would have liked to see them meet up in the finals or consolation finals and both qualify.”
Aebig, though, isn’t the only fourth-time Wildcat qualifier to state. In the girls bracket, Emma Pendell and Savannah Winkleblack also went to 4-for-4 in qualifying and will compete at Ford Field for the third time (the MHSAA began sponsoring the girls state tournament in 2022). Pendell scored two pins before falling in the 145-pound finals, and Winkleblack finished third, winning four times by pin during the tournament.
“We are taking a very experienced group of upperclassmen to Ford Field,” Maddox said.
Jimmy Thommen was a regional finalist at 113 to earn his state spot, edging Whitehall’s Kolten Weiler, 9-8, in the semifinals. Wildcats Fletcher Thommen and Isaac French each reached the blood round before bowing out, and regional qualifier Brock Hunter also ended his season Saturday.
At Sunday’s girls tournament, Pendell and Winkleblack weren’t alone on the podium. Ava Pelton won the 155-pound title, rolling through the bracket with four pins.
“Ava is wrestling with a very relaxed, fun attitude and it’s transferring into some outstanding performances,” Maddox said. “All year her brackets have been huge, and she is battle-tested.”
Trisha Beckman finished third at 235, bouncing back from a defeat to Abigayle Dahl of Traverse City West in her first match to earn three pins in a row, including avenging that first loss. Maddox said the win was Beckman’s third over Dahl.
Abby Thommen rounded out Montague’s state qualifiers with a fourth-place finish at 125. Maddox said Thommen’s bracket was loaded - she had two pins and a major decision on the day - and her qualification was an emotional one.
“We still feel like she has more inside,” Maddox said. “I got teared up a bit when she finally punched her ticket. She’s been through a lot and continues to push. It’s amazing to see the growth.”
Zaniya Meza Wilson also competed at regionals and earned a pin, but fell short of the state meet.
Reeths-Puffer sends three wrestlers to state
Three of Reeths-Puffer’s four regional qualifiers left the bracket with a spot at state after Saturday’s tournament in Holt.
Each of the three Rockets to qualify - Jake Rozycki, Ian Cook and Nathan Stafford - battled out of the blood round to earn their spot by winning decisions. Cook, at 132 pounds, wrestled in four close matches to earn third place, winning three of them. He edged Hastings’ Colton Smith and Okemos’ Easton Hardesty by identical 1-0 scores to end his day.
Rozycki (120) also finished third, earning two major decisions along the way, and Stafford (285) took fourth place with a pair of decision wins. Arin Maynard (106) won his first-round match, but lost a tough blood-round battle to Union’s Sam Kik, 3-2.
