Holland wins district wrestling title with milestone win; Hamilton wins third in row
ZEELAND - Julian Segovia pinned his opponent and his teammates erupted.
But by the time he shook hands and turned around, the wrestling match was over and the title was claimed.
Segovia's 100th career win clinched the Division 2 district title for Holland High School, a 44-33 win over Zeeland East on Thursday at Zeeland West.
"I was wrestling and looked back and was ready to break it down and everyone was shaking hands. I didn't think I would be the last match. It was super exciting. I have been waiting for this for a really long time," Segovia said. "Getting 100 means a lot. Freshman year was a COVID-19 year, then I got COVID twice as a sophomore and missed a lot. I couldn't have done this without my coaches, and teammates pushing me. To go out like this at districts is like a dream."
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Holland has won four of the past six district titles, but not the last two.
"The last two years we didn't win, so we had that winning mentality this year. We were motivated, now on to regionals," Segovia said. "We are really close. That bond is not just in the wrestling room. It gets stronger at meets. We have worked for this for a very long time. I love the family that we have created."
That family was excited to see the win, but also the milestone for Segovia.
"You think four years ago with these kids how hard it was with COVID. They didn't get a lot of matches, so it is really hard to win 100 matches," Holland coach Nick Lewin said. "He has gone through a lot of adversity and it was he who sealed the deal. What a great way to win a match."
Holland also got wins from Makario Stark, Dylan Dubois, Andreas Valkema, Romeo Keels, Dylan Flores, Aiden Segovia and Josh Keller.
"We won when it counted and got the bonus points when it really mattered. Zeeland East is tough and we were fortunate to come out on top," Lewin said. "It is good to see these kids understand that if you put the time in and do things right, good things happen."
Zeeland East got wins from Parker Williams, who pinned Alessandro Fillmore at 285 after the match was tied 7-7. The Chix also got wins from Tommy Le and Josh Ledford. Anders Tibbs and Gavin Drenten won by default as Holland had clinched the match.
The Chix defeated Zeeland West 53-25 in the first round.
"We had some good matches. The kids worked hard and Holland is really tough," Zeeland East coach Marty Landes said. "The difference was we got points and they got pins."
In another Division 2 district, Hamilton defeated Otsego 54-14 and Richland Gull Lake 61-8 for the team title at Plainwell.
It was the third consecutive team title for the Hawkeyes.
Hamilton got wins from Broden VanWieren, Mathew Fales, Ethan Goodwin, Malachi Kapenga, Bryce Morrison, Michael Olsen, Eli Ramsey, Brandon Olsen, Trace Lopez, Tyler Block, Remy Foster and Joey Klein in the final match against Gull Lake.
VanWieren, Goodwin, Kapenga, Ramsey, Brandon Olsen, Lopez, Block and Foster won both matches.
The Hawkeyes will join Holland next week at Wednesday's regionals in the Dutch Dome.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland surges to district wrestling title; Hamilton wins third
