Nationally ranked girl wrestler gives Fowlerville early boost in quarterfinal loss

KALAMAZOO — Maggie Buurma’s reduced role on Fowlerville’s wrestling team has more to do with who’s ahead of her and less to do with her ability.

Two of the Gladiators’ top wrestlers, Dalton Daniel and Levi Baker, are in the same weight range as Buurma. Both are individual state qualifiers, Daniel winning the regional championship this year and Baker making all-state last season.

So, it’s a tough lineup to crack, even for one of the highest-ranked female wrestlers in the country.

But when Buurma got her chance to take the mat for the Gladiators Friday night, it wasn’t in a token match with nothing at stake.

Coach Dan Coon sent her out to begin the Division 2 state quarterfinal dual at 126 pounds against Gaylord at Wings Event Center. It was Buurma’s first match during the team tournament.

The move worked to perfection. Not only did Buurma pin Gaylord’s Tristan Lehre in 3 minutes, 14 seconds, but Baker and Daniel were able to bump up and score bonus points to give the Gladiators a 16-0 lead after three matches.

Wrestling isn’t basketball, however. A 16-point lead after three matches means nothing if the other team’s hammers are lurking in the weeds.

That was the case for Gaylord, which won the next nine matches before losing the final two in a 45-28 victory over Fowlerville.

But, in the moment, Buurma’s victory was a huge jolt of momentum for the Gladiators.

“It was insane,” said Buurma, a sophomore. “It’s really nice just going out there being part of the team. I’ve had a lot less boys matches than I’ve had girls this year. This was nice. I still try to be as much a part of my boys team as possible. I still do a lot of wrestling for my boys team.”

Next weekend, Buurma will try to win a second girls state championship at Ford Field. She is ranked No. 21 nationally at 127 and No. 1 in the state at 125.

Having wrestled at Ford Field last season helped prepare Buurma for the larger crowd and bigger venue for the team finals.

“The crowd, just the sensory around it and the people yelling and being able to tone it out and listen to the coach definitely helped,” she said.

Getting Buurma in the lineup was a matter of finding a favorable matchup for her leading into matchups that worked for Daniel and Baker. Buurma’s opponent was 8-9.

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“Wrestling’s all about matchups, getting the right people at the right spot,” Coon said. “You could see that worked out pretty well for us, taking the first three weights. We knew that was an important thing for us having Maggie in the lineup. We knew she was good. We just had to find the right spot for her.”

Baker scored a 20-7 major decision over Ethan Eubanks at 132 and Daniel pinned Austin Morse in 1:52.

For Daniel, competing on the mat at Wings Event Center seemed like a pipe dream when he started wrestling for Fowlerville three years ago. The Gladiators hadn’t qualified for the team finals since 1998.

“It’s way different,” said Daniel, who was a spectator at the state finals last season. “We have 40 guys on the team. My freshman year, we barely even had enough to make a whole team. We had voids in the lineup. Now we have a team in the top eight in the state. It’s pretty cool.”

Gaylord got on the board when Gus James won a 4-3 decision over Jesse Johnson at 144, then sent seven state-ranked wrestlers to the mat in the next eight matches. Gaylord won five of those matches by pins, one by technical fall and one by major decision.

“We knew exactly what was coming along there,” Coon said. “Their kids did some jobs that our kids didn’t do all the time, but that’s part of the maturity. They have an older team. They knew what their jobs and responsibilities were. Some of our younger guys have a better understanding what it’s going to take.”

The Stankov brothers finished the dual by winning the last two matches by pins, Gavinn at 113 and Connor at 120.

Fowlerville finished the season with a 26-7 record, its most victories since going 27-4 in 2012-13.

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

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Maggie Buurma gives Fowlerville early boost in quarterfinal loss