BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Five grapplers are heading to the MHSAA Wrestling Individual State Championship after qualifying in regionals during the weekend.
Junior Lillian Francy finished at the Girls Regional competition in the top eight in the 110-pound weight class.
Four qualified at the regional at Midland Dow on Saturday including freshman Preston Lefevre in second place in the 103-pound weight class; and third place finishes for freshman Archer Anderson (103), junior Auggie Anderson (125) and senior Gabe Gipe (152)
“We were in the toughest region of the state and the four who made it out have a good shot at placing at the state tournament and placing high even chances to win the whole thing,” said Clarkston Varsity Wrestling Head Coach Brian Gibbs. “They all wrestled really well. Even in the tight matches found a way to get it done especially our 103 – wrestling in the toughest region in the state having four of the toughest kids in the state at that one region. It is a good indicator of what they will see next week.”
He added it is the first year wrestling for Francy and first year MHSAA had a girls regional qualifier.
“She was in a 32-person bracket and ended up wrestling really well. She got three wins under her belt and ended up qualifying for the state meet as Clarkston’s first girl qualifier – that’s huge. We have another girl coming in next year and Lily will be a senior and we will have a freshman,” Gibbs said. “It will be a good way to pave the way for what we are going to do in the future as far as both ends of the field boys and girls.”
Gipe went 3-1 for the day with a falls over Rochester Adams’ Michael Ackerman and Utica’s Miles Curtis; and a forfeit over Davison’s Max Callahan.
“It’s his first time qualifying for the state tournament,” Gibbs said. “We were really hoping to get him there this year. to see him break out, a sigh of relief him walking off the mat and just how excited he was. It was a big moment for us coaches and for him. He has a good shot to place. He’s got the tools and the skills to do it. I am excited for him.”
Lefevre went 2-1 for the day with a fall over Rochester Adams’ Andrew Maynard, a 4-3 decision over teammate Archer. He lost to Macomb Dakota’s Ozia Wilson, 2-1.
“Preston wrestled the number one kid ranked in the state in a tight match,” Gibbs added.
Archer went 3-1 for the day with technical falls over Anchor Bay’s Garrett Berend and Grand Blanc’s Dylan Mayo. He won be major decision over Oxford’s Koen Eberhard, 11-2.
“Archer getting revenge on Koen from Oxford was a big win for him,” Gibbs added. “He opened it up and won by nine points after losing to him twice before. That was a big momentum gainer to get going into the state tournament.”
Auggie went 3-1 won for the day with falls over Rochester Adams’ Dakota Quinlan and Anchor Bay’s Hunter Berend. He won by a 2-0 decision over Davison’s Kyle Jelinek.
“The third place match wrestling a tough freshman just getting the job done and getting that third place seed for the state tournament was good,” Gibbs said. “It lined him up on good side of the bracket to give him a good run in the tournament.”
The Wolves lost the team regional meet against Davison on Feb. 16, 67-9.
Gibbs explained they knew it was going to be a tough battle.
“When you go against a team that has 11-12 juniors and seniors on it that are all top in the state and top in the country and wrestled top teams in the country it’s going to be a battle,” he said. “We are super young and they are very tenured. They have been doing this for a while. It was a good opportunity for us to see where we are at.”
The MHSAA Wrestling Individual State Championship is March 4 and 5 at Ford Field.

  Wrestling