Wrestling: First match results; previewing each team and their upcoming seasons

HILLSDALE COUNTY — Wrestling season got off to a strong start with three of the four teams in the county competing in matches on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Reading and Hillsdale faced off with each other and grass lake in an opening meet. Jonesville took on Chelsea and Northville in a meet. Here are some of the highlight results from all of Wednesday's matches.

The Jonesville Comets traveled to Chelsea to compete in a quad match. The Comets battled in every match but would come up short in their two duals. The Comets lost to Northville 45-36 and to Chelsea 47-27. Against Chelsea, Tyler Milks won his match via a 8-6 decision at 138. Austin Bowers won his match at 165 via pinfall. Ben Colbert won his match at 175 via pinfall. Isaac Shively won his match at 190 via pinfall. Evan McColley won his match at 215 via pinfall.

Against Northville, Derek Ballinger won his match via pinfall at 150. Ben Colbert won his match at 175 via pinfall. Isaac Shively won his match via pinfall. Cooper Stevens won his match at 285 via pinfall. The Comets will head to Concord for a tournament on Dec. 10. The Rangers

In Hillsdale, the Hornets took on Grass Lake. At 150 pounds, senior Jordan Barnes won via major decision - 10-2 - over his Grass Lake opponent. John Petersen defeated his opponent via a 15-8 decision at the 215-pound weight class. Hillsdale took the win 55-9 over the Warriors. Earning forfeit wins were Miles Brown, Colton Wolfe, Logan Bayer, Josh Herring, Marcus Caves, Draydon Eckelberry, Stephen Petersen and Wyatt Wahtola. The Rangers took on Grass Lake and won 56-18. Like the Hornets, several Rangers would earn wins via forfeit, including seniors Colton Bassage, Lukas Selph and Eathan Westfall. Hunter Dewey won his match at 132 pounds via a technical 15-0 decision. Addison Mosley won his match at 150 via an 8-6 decision.

The Rangers and Hornets would then face off for the match of the night. There would be matches at almost every weight class. Hornet Miles Brown defeated Ranger Aiden Aemisegger at 120 pounds. Brown finished the night with a 2-0 record. Hunter Dewey won over Levi Smith via a technical fall. Dewey finished the evening with a 2-0 record. Colton Wolfe finished the night with a 2-0 record for the Hornets due to forfeits. Lukas Selph took down Logan Bayer of Hillsdale via pinfall at 138 pounds. Selph ended the night with a 2-0 record. Jordan Barnes ended the night 2-0 after his MD 12-4 win over Jacob Hamilton at 144.

At 150, Addison Mosley won his second match of the day via pinfall over Josh Herring of Hillsdale. Ranger Caiden Baker won over Hornet Marcus Caves via pinfall at 157 pounds, winning his second match of the night. At 165 pounds, Drayden Eckelberry secured a 19-10 decision win over Tayshawn Bester of Reading. Eckelberry finished the night with a 2-0 record. Stephen Petersen won his match over Lukas Strine of Reading via a 7-2 decision at 175 pounds. Petersen earned a 2-0 record on the night. John Petersen of Hillsdale won his 190-pound matchup with Joey Campbell of Reading via pinfall. Petersen ended the night with a 2-0 record.

Donivon Dangerfield won at 215 pounds over hornet Max Kies via pinfall. At 285 pounds, Eathan Westfall won via pinfall over Wyatt Wahtola, earning a 2-0 record on the night. Carter Bell earned a 2-0 record on the night for Reading. The Rangers won 47-29 over the Hornets. The Rangers head to Concord for a tournament on Dec. 10. The Hornets have a scheduled match at the Sand Creek Holiday tournament on Dec. 17.

Season Preview

HILLSDALE COUNTY — Wrestling season is right around the corner and the four teams competing in Hillsdale County this winter are ready to roll out the mats and climb their conference standings. Camden-Frontier, Hillsdale, Jonesville and Reading will all compete this winter after having successful 2021-22 sports seasons (Roster information was provided by TrackWrestling and may not accurately reflect current rosters). Check out these links below for a recap of some of the highlights from last winter:

Related: Three County wresters earn medals at state finals (2021-22)

Related: Eight County wresters earn state qualification

Related: County wrestlers have district championship success

The Camden-Frontier wrestling team had one qualifier to the regional round in 2021-22: Brayden Miller, who took fourth place in the 189-pound weight class. Head coach Chase Weber is slated to return to the helm of the program this winter. The current roster has senior Bryan Linton, senior Gage Fee, junior Chaz Rohrer, senior Anthony Potts, junior Damaiaon Dickerson and sophomore Kayden Brown listed at the TrackWrestling website.

The team will start their journey with a schedule invitational at Blissfield on Dec. 12. The team also has scheduled tournaments at Sand Creek and Adrian Madison on their schedule. More events can be found at TrackWrestling as the season progresses.

Last season was as strong of a program starter as head coach Nate Spieth could ask for. In his first year at the helm, coach Spieth led a strong Hornet squad to postseason success. Five wrestlers qualified for districts: Levi Smith, Emmett Woodcox, Stephen Petersen, Quade Mesarosh and Logan Horn. Petersen, Mesarosh and Horn all qualified for the State Finals and Mesarosh was a regional title winner. Mesarosh earned all-state honors with an eighth-place finish. Both Petersen and Horn were unable to advance to day two of the tournament. The program would lose seniors Horn, Mesarosh, Woodcox and others, leaving weight classes open for competition in 2022-23.

While coach Spieth is looking forward to seeing what the younger athletes are capable of this year, he wants readers to keep an eye on the seniors that will lead the charge into a strong LCAA conference. Senior Jordan Barnes looks to compete in the 150-pound weight class and lead the team on and off the mat. Fellow seniors Drayden Eckelberry (175) and Thallan Forant (132) look to compete in their respective weight classes. Seniors Kasper Ritchey, Chloe Easterday, Kaylynn Luke and freshman Baeleigh Francis are listed as the Lady Hornets who will compete for the team this winter.

Levi Smith and Jace Ringman are two returning juniors who will look to maintain their spots at 126 and 175-pounds, respectively. Smith looks to return to his postseason success from last winter. John and Stephen Petersen will look to be a dynamic duo for the Hornets. The two brothers are listed at the same weight class at TrackWrestling. Stephen is currently ranked 10th in the state at his weight class per the Michigan Grappler website.

The Hornets start the year with a home match that will feature Reading High School on Dec. 7. This Saturday, they will look to host two other schools for another home tri-match. They will host Jonesville on Wednesday, Dec. 14. in what has been named the "Fight for M-99". Coach Spieth hopes this event will become a new tradition for both schools. There will be special events and a DJ emceeing the match. The Hornets travel to Sand Creek for an invitational on Dec. 17. They head to Ida for a conference dual on Dec. 21. On Jan. 7, the Hornets will host their second annual Hornets for Hospice tournament. On Jan. 11, the team will travel to Hudson for a conference dual. This is their last home contest on the schedule.

On Jan. 14, they will travel to Dansville for an invitational. Jan. 18 sees the Hornets take on Onsted in an away dual. The Hornets travel to Hudson on Jan. 21. Clinton hosts the Hornets on Jan. 25. Grass Lake welcomes the Hornets for a tournament on Jan. 28. The LCAA tournament will be held at Columbia Central High School on Feb. 4. (Schedule is likely to change or has been changed since Dec. 4). For a full roster of Hornets competing this winter, head over to TrackWrestling.

Head coach Carter Ballinger and coach Mickey Rowe lead the Jonesville wrestling program this winter. The Comets had strong success in 2021-22. 2023 senior Derek Ballinger punched his ticket to the state finals for the second consecutive year. Sophomore Tyler Milks also qualified for the state finals after a strong finish at the regional finals.

Derek Ballinger returns to the team this winter, looking to earn his third state final qualification. Ballinger is ranked number eight at 144 pounds and is one of the top wrestlers to watch in the Big 8 this season. Milks is ranked number 10 overall at 138 pounds. Junior Austin Bowers ranks eighth overall at 165 pounds. Junior Isaac Shively is ranked eighth at 190 pounds. Junior Evan McColley is ranked 16th overall at 215 pounds. Gene Wagner is the other senior wrestler this season, and he will compete in the 120-pound weight class. For a full roster of Comets competing this winter, head over to TrackWrestling.

Jonesville starts their season on Dec. 7 with a quad-match at Chelsea High School. They will then head to an invitational on Dec. 10 at Concord. They will battle in the "Fight for M-99" at Hillsdale on Dec. 14. They will compete in an invitational at White Pigeon on Dec. 17. The Comets return to the mat after the Holidays with a Big 8 dual against Homer on Jan. 4. On Saturday, Jan. 7, the Comets head to Marshall for an invitational. They will compete at Concord in a Big 8 quad on Jan. 11. On Wednesday, Jan. 18, the team will compete at Quincy in a Big 8 jamboree. They will compete at the Hudson Invitational tournament on Jan. 20 and 21.

They will host Reading and Springport for a jamboree on Jan. 25. Jonesville will host an invitational on Jan. 28. They will wrestle at Galesburg-Augusta on Feb. 2. They will compete at Quincy in the Big 8 conference meet on Feb. 4.

The 2021-22 season for the Reading Rangers saw several wrestlers earn impressive postseason finishes. Heavyweight wrestler Eathan Westfall won the conference individual title heading into the postseason. Head coach Mark Draper and the rangers had six wrestlers qualify for the regional finals. Hunter Dewey, Lukas Selph, Joey Campbell, Lukas Strine, Caleb Willoughby and Eathan Westfall all earned spots at the regional finals. Selph and Westfall won their district titles for the Rangers. Both Selph and Westfall earned regional titles, and along with Hunter Dewey, qualified for the state finals.

Westfall took third place overall at the state finals, earning all-state honors. Selph took seventh overall and earned all-state honors. Hunter Dewey lost on day two of the tournament in the quarterfinals.

This winter, seniors Eathan Westfall, Hunter Dewey and Lukas Selph return to lead the team this season. Seniors Caleb Willoughby, Joey Campbell and Jacob Hamilton all look to have another impactful season. The Rangers will be a strong mix of juniors and seniors this year, and that could give them a strong advantage competing for team titles in the Big 8 and in the postseason. The rest of the Ranger roster can be found at TrackWrestling (Search for the season, MHSAA and the Ranger wrestling team).

This year, Eathan Westfall had a strong offseason of wrestling that saw him accomplish several of his offseason goals. The senior ranks number one in the state overall at his weight class and division. Alongside Westfall, Hunter Dewey (132) and Lukas Selph (138) are ranked ninth and sixth in the state, respectively.

The season will start with a trip to Hillsdale on Dec. 7. The team will head to concord for an invitational on Dec. 10. The Rangers head to White Pigeon on Dec. 14. They will also be at Gull Lake on Dec. 17. They will head to Livonia Stevenson on Dec. 29 for an invitational. They travel to Big 8 contender Bronson on Jan. 4. The Rangers head to Homer for an Invitational on Jan. 7. They host a home meet on Jan. 11. They will head to Homer for a Big 8 jamboree on Jan. 18. They travel to Napoleon for an invitational on Jan. 21. They take on Jonesville and other Big 8 members at a jamboree on Jan. 25. They head to Leslie High School for a tournament on Jan. 28. The Rangers cap off their regular season with the Big 8 championships at Quincy on Feb. 4.

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This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: First match results for county wrestling and previewing the upcoming season