Four head to Ford Field

Spartans send three, Raiders one on to Div. 3 wrestling state finals

TRI-CITY AREA — Imlay City qualified three grapplers and Almont one to the upcoming Division 3 individual state finals scheduled for March 1-2 at Ford Field in Detroit.

They advanced on the strength of top-four weight class finishes last Saturday at a regional hosted by Richmond High School,

Wesley Hampton headlined for Imlay City that day, earning a first. Hampton reached the title clash at 135 pounds where he picked up a 3-2 win against Algonac’s Mark Langewicz.

Hunter Mullins provided Imlay City with a second. Mullins made it to the 160-pound championship bout where he dropped a 7-3 verdict to Caro’s DJ Daniels.

Joe Harper saw to it that he would secure a state-qualifying spot as well, contributing a third. Harper concluded his run at 285 pounds with a 3-1 victory over Richmond’s Dan McKiernan.

Dakota Sandzik (112) and Cristian Rojas (125) also tested their respective mat skills for Imlay City at regionals. They finished 1-2 each, just a win shy of advancing to states.

Mathew Dwyer will represent Almont in the 135-pound weight class at the upcoming state finals, thanks to a fourth. Dwyer closed out his regional stint with an injury default loss to Algonac’s Jake Kasner.

Dallas Stanton was the other Almont grappler who saw action at regionals. The 103-pounder went 1-2 on the day, just one win away from qualifying for states.

Robbie Battani, a 189-pounder, was also slated to compete for Almont at regionals but did not participate due to an injury sustained earlier that week in practice.