Weber, Wines place in top four at state wrestling meet

by Chelsie Darrow

The wrestlers were pretty pumped at the going-away assembly we held for them, as they went to the Palace of Auburn Hills for the state wrestling meet. Seniors Ben Wines and Chase Weber, along with juniors Kurtis Brackman and Taylor Hatfield, set out on a tough course early Thursday morning. It was a tough meet for the wrestlers; but it was worth the hard work they put in to get there. Wines and Weber both earned fourth place in state honors for the Pittsford wrestlers.

For the three days at state finals Wines earned a record of 3-2. He worked hard and made it to semi-finals. His hard work paid off in the end when he ranked fourth in the state. “I think what helped me get fourth in the state was working out in the off-season and every Sunday at Hudson,” said Ben. He defeated Josh Rose from Leroy Pine River, Ozzie Ruiz of Kent City, and Josh Boulis of Fulton. Wines decided to go out with a bang since this was his last year to wrestle. He had an amazing season and all the wrestlers will surly miss him. Ben’s record for the entire season was 57-9; he had the most wins out of the whole team.

Chase did his part for PHS, also placing 4th in the state. Weber’s record for the state meet was 4-2. The wrestling team will also miss this great wrestler when the season starts up again next year. “I set some goals in the beginning of the year and I wanted to accomplish those goals. I wanted to have 50-plus wins and earn a top 4 in state. It was my senior year and I wanted to go out on high note,” explained Weber. Weber ended the season by defeating Lanz Miller of Dansville, Michael Wetcher of Saginaw Nouvel, Trevor Atwell of Montrose and Stephan Kemp of Lutheran Westland. Weber had a great season for his last year of wrestling. He earned a 52-7 season record.

Kurtis went 1-2 at The Palace. Brackman defeated Kevvin Dorland of Cass City at state finals. Unfortunately, Brackman lost in the Consolation 2nd round. “I feel like I could have done better, but wrestled my hardest,” said Kurtis. Brackman had a wonderful season, finishing it off with a record of 47-14.

Taylor had a record of 1-2 at The Palace, defeating Shaydon Weaver of Bronson. Hatfield finished a satisfying season with a record of 44-8.

The Wildcat wrestlers had a great season. They were all very happy with their results and worked hard to get them. Any time you make it to the state finals, it’s a wonderful season.