Sturgis, Constantine grapplers win state wrestling titles at Ford Field

DETROIT - More than 30 local wrestlers made their way from the area to Ford Field this year with the ultimate goal of winning a state championship.

Two of those came home Saturday night with the championship obtained. Both Sturgis' Lola Barkby and Constantine's Bennett VandenBerg won state titles inside Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday. Each of those titles were the first for their respective schools in quite some time.

Barkby's title was the first for the Trojans since Dan Dillon won at 98 pounds back in 1979. VandenBerg's title on Saturday was the first for Constantine since Kevin Watkins won the 152-pound weight class back in 2000.

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"It feels awesome. I've put so much hard training into this all year, it's just great to feel the support," Barky said following her win. "I couldn't be more thankful."

Barkby finished second her freshman year and fourth last year. VandenBerg finished second last year for the Falcons.

"When you work this hard for anything and you accomplish it, it's just the greatest feeling in the entire world," VandenBerg said on Saturday night. "I'm just so grateful for everything. I want to thank God, he put me in this position."

Barkby beat previously undefeated Faith Burgess of Grand Blanc 4-2 in the finals. Prior to that, she won two matches by decision and one by pinfall on Friday.

VandenBerg finished his season, officially, at 54-0 with the win. He beat Wyatt Spalo of Reed City by a 3-0 decision on Saturday. On Friday, he won two matches by pin and one by decision. Earlier this post season, VandenBerg suffered a knee injury and had to injury default in a match. Officially, this is not considered a loss on his record.

"One of my goals this year was to be an undefeated state champ. In my head, I didn't really get it, but it's ok," he said, noting that his headgear was a bit of a problem early in the bout. "My stupid headgear kept coming off, but I knew I had the abilities to win even if I had to wear someone else's head gear."

He fixed the headgear, with the help of coaches Darrin VandenBerg and Dale Davidhizar.

"I'm just so proud of him. It's been 24 years since Constantine has had a state champ and he finally ended the drought," Davidhizar said. "He has put in so much hard work and effort. We had a little bump in the road at regionals, but he fought through that injury. We couldn't be more proud of him."

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Barkby said after finishing fourth at the regional tournament, she and her coaches decided to switch some things up. They worked on her tactics and style and it worked on Saturday, she said.

Head coach Brad Barkby could not stop smiling at Ford Field following the match.

"I'm over the moon, that's for sure. It's good to see her earn something I can't give her," he said. "I can't give her a state championship, no matter how much I want to help. She just went out there and earned it for herself. To see her accomplish her goals, it's just - I can't even put it into words."

The state title winners weren't the only ones to wrestle on Saturday. In fact, a total of 17 local grapplers earned all-state honors for this season by finishing inside the top eight in their respective weight classes.

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Bronson's Gabe Erwin (150) and Layne Knisely (157) both finished second. Erwin fell to Union City's Montana Connell 6-2 in the finals, Knisely dropped a 1-0 decision to Gavin Schoff of Niles Brandywine.

"What a privilege and honor to compete at this level. They both wrestled good matches against great opponents," Bronson coach Chad Butter said. "I'm really super proud of them. And they have two years coming back, so there is definitely some confidence coming back into next year."

A pair of White Pigeon grapplers each made their way to the state finals as well. Both Caleb Lane (175) and Chaz Underwood (285) came in second place on Saturday. Lane fell to Brady Jess of Charlevoix by a 13-2 major decision while Underwood fell 4-0 to Zachary Hayes of Bangor in the finals. Underwood pinned his first two opponents, then got a sudden victory in overtime, to reach the finals. Lane won all three of his matches on Friday by pinfall.

Gabriella Allen of Marcellus finished second at 190. It was her fourth consecutive season finishing in second place. She dropped her match in the finals to Sabrina Nauss of Brighton by pinfall. Prior to that, Allen pinned her way to the finals.

For Barkby, her fee time recently has pretty much been spoken for. That can make for a tough time studying. But her government teacher, Jimmy Shoesmith, told her if she went out and won a state title at Ford Field, she wouldn't have to take her latest test on Monday.

"I'm really pumped about that," she said with a smile.

Also wrestling to all-state performances on the weekend were:

Bronson - Owen Kimmons eighth at 126, Mackenna Webster sixth at 135 and Jacob Britten third at 190 in Division 4.

Constantine - Bear Geibe eighth at 132, Brody Jones fourth at 157 and Gregg Reed fifth at 190.

Three Rivers - Ethan Moreland (126) was sixth and Jeremiah Detwiler (175) finished fourth.

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White Pigeon - Mazzy Lambert fourth at 113 and Seth Miller third at 215 in Division 4.

Additional wrestlers to qualify for the MHSAA state finals at Ford Field:

Bronson - Mason Lindsey (165) and Carson Norton (175).

Constantine - Preston Like (132), Koltin Gross (138), Shayla Nickoson (140) and Dathan Smith (175).

Marcellus - Madison Harrison at 125.

Three Rivers - Kale Parr (113), Ayden Keller (132), Landon Moreland (150), Evan Harper (150), Braylon Faile (157) and Jaxon Smith (190).

White Pigeon - Drew Johnson (120) and Jesse Fielis (138).

Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at watson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as twitter, @BwatsonSJ.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Barkby, VandenBerg win state wrestling titles at Ford Field