After 2 years away, Fowlerville wrestler gets key pin in district final win

FOWLERVILLE — When Fowlerville celebrated its first district wrestling championship since 2013 last year, Jesse Johnson was feeling a sense of regret.

Johnson could have been part of that group, but walked away from wrestling when he entered high school after competing at the youth and middle school levels.

“I thought work was more important than wrestling,” he said. “I went out working my freshman and sophomore years.”

Fortunately for Johnson, he had two more years to wrestle in high school and have opportunities to experience a moment like the one he enjoyed Wednesday night.

With a Division 2 district final against Chelsea tied 19-19 through eight weight classes, Johnson pinned 16th-ranked Victor Radu in 2 minutes, 54 seconds at 144 pounds to win a pivotal match in a 46-19 victory.

The unranked Johnson didn’t know Radu was ranked in Division 2 by MichiganGrappler.com, nor did he care.

“My mindset going into the match was just go out and try to get it done as best as I can,” said Johnson, who trailed 2-1 after one period. “I caught him in a pretty good spot. I felt comfortable and took it. He kind of stepped in the wrong position and I just took it and ran it how I thought it would work.”

Johnson has gone 27-22 this season, placing sixth in the CAAC tournament last Saturday.

“I think I’ve improved quite a bit since middle school and since I quit,” he said. “If you’re doing it, keep going at it.

“My freshman year, there were kids trying to talk me back into it. My sophomore year, I talked with coach during the summer when I saw him at a tractor pull. I talked to him for a minute and told him I’d be back and I missed it.”

Once Johnson returned to the fold, he was all in.

“Jesse’s just one hard wrestler,” Fowlerville coach Dan Coon said. “He works hard in practice all the time. It’s unfortunate he’s a junior and didn’t wrestle the last two years, but we’re gonna make up for it the next two.”

While Johnson’s victory turned the momentum permanently in Fowlerville’s favor, junior Richard Davis gave the Gladiators an early boost by getting a pin in 4:43 to end what had been a close opening match with Chelsea’s Collin Tailford.

Davis wasn’t even supposed to be on the mat, but he was summoned to check in when the wrestler Coon intended to use at 215 wasn’t ready in time.

“I wasn’t really prepared at all,” said Davis, who was putting his warmup clothes back on when plans changed. “I was told I was going to 215, but we were gong to send the other guy, but he wasn’t ready, so I ran out. Of course, there’s a rush of emotions. I was just freaking out. I stuck to it, ignored all my worrying and I stuck the pin, got off the mat. Coach was proud of me; one of the best feelings ever.”

Beginning with Johnson’s victory, Fowlerville won the final six matches to advance to the regional semifinals at 5:30 p.m. next Wednesday at home against Lansing Sexton. The winner will face Tecumseh or ninth-ranked Jackson Northwest, which upset No. 3 Mason 33-25 in the district final.

“Last season, definitely we were really ecstatic, screaming about it and everything,” Davis said. “Tonight, we kind of expected it. We’ve been working hard. I’m really proud to see everything pay off. We had a couple freshmen in the lineup, too, that came through; that’s really nice to see.”

The Gladiators clinched the victory with two matches remaining when Vincent Saunders scored a 10-9 decision over Thomas Shemwell at 165.

Levi Baker (126), Waylon Lamkin (175) and Layne O’Neil (190) had Fowlerville’s other pins.

Pinckney’s team season ended in the semifinals with a 51-24 loss to Chelsea.

The Pirates won the first two contested matches, with state-ranked Brady Raymond opening with a pin at 190 and Cooper Podhola winning a decision at 106. But in between, the Pirates had to void two weight classes, which was a sign of things to come. Pinckney, with only 11 wrestlers able to compete, voided four weight classes.

“Brady’s been quite the leader for us this year,” Pinckney coach Kelly Rickert said. “He’s a leader everywhere he goes. He’s just that kind of kid, a really special kid. He’s working on his individual goals this year, but at the same time his presence and demeanor in the room is helping build these guys up. A few years from now, he wants to come back and see the program he wished he could have been a part of here this year. We think that’s gonna happen. It’s going to be a lot of thanks to the work he’s put in.”

DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP

Fowlerville 46, Chelsea 19

215: Richard Davis (F) d. Collin Tailford 4:43; 285: George Daniel (F) d. Donavan Fisk 3-1; 106: Evan Muchler (C) d. Matt Jeffrey 14-5; 113: Kamren Chapman (C) d. Gavinn Stankov 1:25; 120: Connor Stankov (F) d. Hunter Burk 13-2; 126: Levi Baker (F) d. Chase Messersmith 1:04; 132: Lucas Racine (C) d. Dalton Daniel 10-5; 138: Carter Trinkle (C) d. Ayden Goodwin :44; 144: Jesse Johnson (F) d. Victor Radu 2:54; 150: Ben Blyveis (F) d. Elijah Ratliff 6-4; 157: Brock Foster (F) d. Massimo Culgliari 7-1; 165: Vincent Saunders (F) d. Thomas Shemwell 10-9; 175: Waylon Lamkin (F) d. Indiana Hurst 1:50; 190: Layne O`Neil (F) d. Nick Garza 3:03.

DISTRICT SEMIFINALS

Fowlerville 78, Haslett 3

190: Richard Davis (F) d. Zachary Curtis 3:38; 215: Jacob Esch (F) d. Greyson Romey 1:22; 285: George Daniel (F) d. Jacob White :30; 106: Matt Jeffrey (F) d. Joseph Fleming :59; 113: Gavinn Stankov (F) d. Blake Gardner :37; 120: Connor Stankov (F) forfeit; 126: Morgan Jenks (F) forfeit; 132: Dalton Daniel (F) forfeit; 138: Ayden Goodwin (F) forfeit 144: Jesse Johnson (F) forfeit; 150: Ben Blyveis (F) forfeit; 157: Richard Barshaw (H) d. Vincent Saunders 11-4; 165: Waylon Lamkin (F) forfeit; 175: Layne O`Neil (F) d. Dawson Dabler 2:22.

Chelsea 51, Pinckney 24

190: Brady Raymond (P) d. Nick Garza 1:13; 215: Collin Tailford (C) forfeit; 285: Donavan Fisk (C) forfeit; 106: Cooper Podhola (P) d. Max Collins 4-0; 113: Evan Muchler (C) d. Noah Marvin 5:11; 120: Kamren Chapman (C) d. Owen Putnam :20; 126: Chase Messersmith (C) forfeit; 132: Lucas Racine (C) d. Levi Podhola (P) 6-2; 138: Trevor Lantis (C) d. Gage Mohl 3:37; 144: Victor Radu (C) forfeit; 150: Elijah Ratliff (C) d. Juan Alegre :22; 157: Drake Hurley (P) forfeit; 165: Eli Smith (P) d. Thomas Shemwell 5-4; 175: Garrett Sharp (P) forfeit.

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Fowlerville beats Chelsea to win district wrestling championship