KALAMAZOO — Whitehall has built its considerable reputation in no small part on coming up with big wins as the underdog; its past decade includes several upset wins as the No. 5 seed in the quarterfinals or as the No. 3 seed in the semifinals, often swung by unheralded wrestlers pulling off amazing victories in key moments.
That's part of what made it so jarring to see the Vikings be the team getting stunned by an upstart Friday in the state quarterfinals, as No. 6 seed Lakewood pulled off a 38-28 win over Whitehall to end the team season one day earlier than the program is used to. Whitehall ended the season with a 28-6 dual record.
"I thought
that they fought really hard," Whitehall coach Justin Zeerip said. "It's just a microcosm of life,
where things don't always go your way. You've got to move on from it and learn from it and just try to improve
yourself."
The match swung on the sort of upset Whitehall has made a living pulling off in these moments in recent years. In the 285-pound bout, regional qualifier Jordan Aguilera, down early to No. 1-ranked 215-pounder Wyatt Jenkins, turned the tables by grabbing both Jenkins' legs for a takedown and putting him in a headlock for a stunning pin.
"That stuff happens to the best of us," Zeerip said. "Wyatt
fought really hard and wrestled really hard and he just got caught
there. It's unfortunate."
Things were unfolding exactly as the Vikings thought early on, as Whitehall took a 16-0 lead after three bouts thanks to technical falls by Blake English and Liam Leeke, followed by Gavin Craner's customary quick pin. Even Lakewood's first win was heartening, as regional runner-up Joel Simon had to work extremely hard to edge Parker Mott in a 1-0 decision.
Whitehall's Colton Kyser (left) grapples with Lakewood's Calder Villanueva during Friday's quarterfinal match in Kalamazoo. Lakewood pulled off an upset of the Vikings, 38-28.
However, the mood changed after Aguilera's upset win. The Vikes took another blow in the next bout, at 106 pounds, when a swing match between Tommy Leeke and Lakewood's Dakota Harmer went Harmer's way in overtime, 4-1. Another Lakewood win followed, and suddenly the match was tied at 16.
Cody Manzo appeared to stabilize things by scoring a quick pin at 120, but Lakewood smelled blood and won the next two matches. The Vikes took the lead again, 28-27, when Caden Varela picked up a pin at 144, but Lakewood again responded with two straight wins to secure the upset.
Whitehall couldn't help but reflect on what might have been had Ryan Goodrich, who would've been a season-long starter, and Anthony Raider, another experienced wrestler, hadn't both suffered football injuries that wiped out their wrestling seasons too.
"In general, the
kids battled all year," Zeerip said. "Would we have liked to get to the semis?
Absolutely. But I'm still really proud of the kids, and I told them I
love every single one of them. It doesn't change how I feel about them
at all."
For seniors Craner, Jenkins and Varela, the opportunity will be there this weekend at Ford Field to end their careers on a high note at the individual finals. For the remainder of the roster, Friday's bitter defeat will no doubt provide extra motivation for a program that rarely lacks for it anyway.
"I told our guys to bottle this feeling up and use it as a motivator," Zeerip said. "Our underclassmen have something to work for next
year. The seniors have really contributed a lot to the
program. They made the state finals twice and were in the semis three
times. My heart breaks for those guys, though. Some matches just didn't
go our way.
"We had a good season. Advancing to the state tournament is no small feat...I
was really proud of their effort and it just didn't go our way."
