Hillsdale wrestlers John and Stephen Petersen take first place at Grass Lake Invitational
Submissions are still needed for other Hillsdale medalist podium photos from Grass Lake. Submit to The Hillsdale Daily News to be included in the free online gallery.
GRASS LAKE — It was a podium day for several Hillsdale varsity wrestlers on Saturday afternoon. The Hornets traveled together to Grass Lake to take part in the Warrior Invitational tournament.
Brothers Stephen and John Petersen led the way for the Hornets after taking first place in their respective weight classes. Senior Stephen Petersen took first in the 190-weight class, and John Petersen took first in the 215-weight class.
Stephen Petersen won via pinfall the entire way through the tournament, including a win in under 20 seconds in the quarterfinal round. Petersen pinned Houston McCoy of Ann Arbor Pioneer, Hayden Peters of Quincy and then Dan Meckley of Sand Creek to make it to the championship match.
The Hornet senior then faced Jack Reid of Grass Lake in the championship match. Reid is the D3 No. 3 ranked 190 wrestler (Michigan Grappler) and Petersen was right behind him at No. 4. Petersen was able to pin Reid in the third period of the match, handing the Warrior just his third loss of the season.
John Petersen (215) is still undefeated this season after earning three more victories while at Grass Lake. The junior Hornet had a pinfall just under a minute into his quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, he won via major decision: 8-0.
In the first-place match, Petersen wrestled Ike Stufft of Milford. Petersen got the pin in the second period of their duel. The win gives Petersen a clean record of 22-0, and right now he sits at No. 5 in the D3 rankings for his weight class.
Their teammate, Wyatt Wahtola, took third place overall in the 285-weight class. Wahtola won by pinfall in the first period of his quarterfinal matchup. He then had a tough matchup in the semifinals against the Division 1 No. 8 ranked Kyle Scofield of Milford. Wahtola would bounce back with a pinfall one minute into his third-place match. The junior Hornet is continuing to build momentum as he looks to return to the state finals this season.
Hillsdale 132-pound wrestler Ethan Wolf had two pinfalls and a 7-3 decision win on his way to an appearance in the fifth-place match. Wolf won his way to fifth overall with a 10-4 decision.
His brother, Colton Wolf (126) also wrestled for fifth-place at Grass Lake. Colton Wolf had a pinfall under a minute, a 7-2 decision win and a 5-0 decision win to earn his appearance in the medalist matches. Wolf would fall in the fifth place match but would take sixth overall.
Also earning sixth place was Declan Flannery (157). Flannery had a pinfall in the first period of his consolation rounds and also won in sudden victory in the second round. He would then win by pinfall in the consolation semifinals to earn a ticket into the fifth-place match.
Other Hornets earning victories, starting at 144, includes Miles Brown. Brown had a pinfall in championship round one. He also had a pinfall in consolation round two.
Also at 144, Talon Hugenall had a pinfall in period one of his consolation round one match.
Championship Week
With their final invitational tournament to close out the season, the Hillsdale Hornets will head to Hudson High School for the LCAA league tournaments.
The event covers two days from Feb. 2-3. Wrestling starts at 6 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Petersen brothers lead Hillsdale wrestling with first place finishes
