Ford Field dream gone, Hartland freshman gets big pin in state semis win over Rockford
KALAMAZOO — When Dane Dunbar’s dream of wrestling at Ford Field as a freshman ended last weekend, it didn’t mean he couldn’t still do great things for Hartland.
Unlike 10 of his teammates who are individual state qualifiers, the team finals at Wings Event Center was his final opportunity to make his imprint on the program this season.
Dunbar recovered from the disappointment of not advancing from regionals and losing his team quarterfinal match Friday to produce a key early pin for the Eagles in their 38-28 victory over Rockford Saturday in the state Division 1 semifinals.
He ended a three-match losing streak by overcoming a 5-0 second-period deficit to pin Jose Aguilar-Ochoa in 5 minutes, 1 second at 106 pounds in the second bout of the team matchup.
“I didn’t do too great in my last match, but this one definitely brought my spirits up,” Dunbar said. “It’s nice to know I’m a big contributor to the team.”
He didn’t allow the early deficit and his recent slump to mess with his mind.
“I just think of all I’ve done throughout the season,” Dunbar said. “This is no different than any other match. Just wrestle how I wrestle and do my best.”
Dunbar was the district champion and won his first match at regionals before losing in the semifinals and in the blood round.
“It’s disappointing that I can’t move forward individually, but if I can help the team work for a state title, that would be amazing,” he said.
Dunbar is one of three freshmen making big contributions for the Eagles this season, the others being state-ranked Bodie Abbey and Dallas Korponic. Hartland coach Kyle Summerfield compares Dunbar to another wrestler in Hartland’s lineup.
“Dane’s got a lot of heart,” Summerfield said. “He reminds me a lot of senior captain Liam Wiitanen, just kids that work their butts off, do everything right. They’re not necessarily the most gifted athletes, but they’re the kids who do everything right and through hard work, success always comes their way; they make success happen.”
Dunbar’s pin helped Hartland get out to a 20-0 lead against Rockford. Vincent Cox opened with a 32-second pin at heavyweight. Abbey had a technical fall and Korponic won by decision following Dunbar.
The Rams cut the margin to 20-19 by winning the next four matches, but Summerfield wasn’t concerned.
“When it got back to 20-19, that was right through the heart of their lineup,” he said. “After that, we were feeling pretty good. We knew the whole way up, if we wanted to, we could make some noise.”
Gabe Cappellano won by major decision, Vinnie Abbey had a pin, James Butzier won by major decision and Nick Rochowiak clinched the victory by winning a major decision. Rockford won the last two bouts, the final by void.
The Eagles advanced to the state championship match for the first time since winning their only state title in 2016 and for the seventh time in program history.
They will face Detroit Catholic Central at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at Wings Event Center.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Ford Field dream gone, Hartland freshman gets big pin in state semis win
