Gus James secures 100th career win, Gaylord defeats Petoskey, Ogemaw
GAYLORD ― Gaylord High School is no stranger to high-caliber wrestling talent.
Many great wrestlers have come and gone through the Gaylord program, and each have left their mark on the program in some way or another, whether as a team or individuals.
However, it may be tough to outdo the accomplishments that this year's senior class is leaving behind.
The Blue Devils returned two individual state champions from the 2022 season in seniors Brayden Gautreau and Louden Stradling, along with multiple other top wrestlers that were a part of the 2020 MHSAA State Runner-up team and last year's team.
One of those returners, senior Gus James, has been leading the Gaylord program right alongside his classmates for a long time, and in a recent matchup with their rivals from Petoskey, James acheived a new milestone and put himself into the record books.
In the midst of another Blue Devil win over both Petoskey and Ogemaw Heights on Wednesday, January 18, James recorded his 100th and 101st career victories, defeating Ogemaw's Torey Walters and Petoskey's Jaden Vanderwall to reach the triple-digit wins mark.
"This was a goal of mine coming into high school and I loved doing it in front of a home crowd," said James.
His performance was part of the dominant effort from the Blue Devils on the night, capped off with a 70-6 win over Ogemaw while earning a 49-23 conference win over their rivals from Petoskey.
The quad of Gaylord, Petoskey, Ogemaw and Charlevoix started with the Northmen vs. Blue Devils rivalry right out of the gates, a matchup featuring two of the Big North's best teams. Gaylord has been historically successful against Big North opponents the past two season, and the Northmen were no exception.
After Petoskey's Trevor Swiss earned a win over Zane Willobee at 165 pounds, the Blue Devils rattled off seven straight victories, including impressive quick wins from Riley Hush (fall 0:34) at 215 pounds and Jaron Bensinger (fall 1:14) at 106 pounds, while a win from Stradling at 150 and James's 100th career win over Vanderwall at 144 gave the Blue Devils enough for the victory.
Meanwhile, the follow-up matchup with Ogemaw Heights was a dominant effort for nearly the entire Gaylord squad, winning every weight class outside of the 165-pound class en route to a 70-6 victory. Sunni LaFond (fall 0:32) had the quickest win out of the nine matches that ended in pinfalls for Gaylord as they ran away with their second win of the night.
James's 14-5 win over Walters gave him his 101st victory of his career while his second win of the evening, one of nine two-time winners on the night.
Results
Gaylord vs. Ogemaw
175: Brayden Gautreau (Gaylord HS) over Xander Kartes (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 5:33)
190: Ty Bensinger (Gaylord HS) over Konner Lauria (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 1:45)
215: Riley Hush (Gaylord HS) over Karter Schmitt (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Dec 6-5)
285: Caden Sides (Gaylord HS) over Tanner Lee (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 2:45)
106: Jaron Bensinger (Gaylord HS) over Charlie Bruder (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 2:42)
120: Joseph Cummings (Gaylord HS) over Marissa Monroe (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 2:48)
126: Tristan Lehre (Gaylord HS) over Unknown (For.)
132: Ethan Eubanks (Gaylord HS) over Lance Monroe (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Dec 9-3)
138: Austin Morse (Gaylord HS) over Nolan Illig (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 3:42)
144: Louden Stradling (Gaylord HS) over Austin Broadway (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 2:45)
150: Gus James (Gaylord HS) over Torey Walters (Ogemaw Heights HS) (MD 14-5)
157: Zane Willobee (Gaylord HS) over Conner Lambert (Ogemaw Heights HS) (Fall 2:00)
165: Karter Giddens (Ogemaw Heights HS) over Ethan Chandler (Gaylord HS) (Fall 5:02)
Team Score: Gaylord 70, Ogemaw 6
Gaylord vs. Petoskey
165: Trevor Swiss (Petoskey HS) over Zane Willobee (Gaylord HS) (Fall 5:05)
175: Ty Bensinger (Gaylord HS) over Connor Grebe (Petoskey HS) (TF 26-9 4:56)
190: Brayden Gautreau (Gaylord HS) over Kenny Roberts (Petoskey HS) (Fall 3:11)
215: Riley Hush (Gaylord HS) over Gavin Phillips (Petoskey HS) (Fall 0:34)
285: Caden Sides (Gaylord HS) over Adam Goodwin (Petoskey HS) (MD 15-3)
106: Jaron Bensinger (Gaylord HS) over Maksym Malkowski (Petoskey HS) (Fall 1:14)
113: Sunni LaFord (Gaylord HS) over Unknown (For.)
120: Joseph Cummings (Gaylord HS) over Will Spencer (Petoskey HS) (Fall 1:34)
126: Ryan Cook (Petoskey HS) over Tristan Lehre (Gaylord HS) (Fall 0:49)
132: Robert Patrick (Petoskey HS) over Ethan Eubanks (Gaylord HS) (TF 17-2 4:00)
138: Austin Morse (Gaylord HS) over Zahar Rush (Petoskey HS) (Dec 7-5)
144: Gus James (Gaylord HS) over Jaden Vanderwall (Petoskey HS) (Dec 3-2)
150: Louden Stradling (Gaylord HS) over Brendan Swiss (Petoskey HS) (MD 17-5)
157: Tyler Dohm (Petoskey HS) over Unknown (For.)
Team Score: Gaylord 49, Petoskey 23
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gus James secures 100th career win, Gaylord defeats Petoskey, Ogemaw Heights
