High school notebook: Impressive area performances at McGinnis/Evans Memorial

Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer
·2 min read
Battle Creek Central wrestler Kaijehl Williams wins his match against Grandville's Ayden Doran during the Evans-McGinnis Memorial Wrestling Tournament at Battle Creek Central High School on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.
Battle Creek Central wrestler Kaijehl Williams wins his match against Grandville's Ayden Doran during the Evans-McGinnis Memorial Wrestling Tournament at Battle Creek Central High School on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

In one of the biggest wrestling events of the season, wrestlers from 17 teams arrived in Battle Creek looking to put on a show at the annual McGinnis/Evans Memorial Wrestling Tournament at Battle Creek Central High School on Saturday.

The visiting teams had the best day as the squads from the city were in the back of the pack, but there was still a lot for local fans to cheer for.

Plainwell finished first with 214 team points with Grandville second at 198.5. Area teams Union City and Bronson placed in the top five at fourth and fifth, respectively. From the city, host Battle Creek Central was 10th, with Harper Creek 11th and Lakeview 12th.

"Always difficult to wrestle at home in a tournament like this," BCC coach Liam Knapp said. "Your routine is interrupted and instead of a normal Friday practice you're setting up for a tournament and then preparing. I thought our guys wrestled hard and throughout the day we wrestled better. I think that is attributable to our strength and conditioning this season."

The city had one weight class champion. Lakeview's Dayveon Rupert, now 33-1 on the year, finished first at 144 pounds with a 5-3 win over Kamden Hood of Westland John Glenn.

Union City had two champions with Grady Iobe finishing first at 215 and Landyn Crance winning at 132. The Chargers took second at 138 with Aidan Taylor

Bronson's Drew Seekman (150) took second, Jacob Britten (175), Matthew Blankenship (215), Perry Lake (126), Layne Knisely (138), Gabriel Erwin (144) all took third

Battle Creek Central's highest finish was Kaijehl Williams, taking second at 215, with Dayton Flores taking third at 120.

League Meets

The postseason is fast approaching for high school wrestling with league meets coming up this weekend. The Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference Meet, including Battle Creek Central, Lakeview and Gull Lake is Saturday at Portage Northern High School. The Interstate 8 Conference Meet, including Harper Creek, Marshall, Coldwater and Pennfield is Saturday at Lumen Christi High School.

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Prep notebook: Impressive performances at McGinnis/Evans Memorial