Parker Williams, Isabel Anaya named Holland Sentinel Wrestlers of the Year
Wrestlers come in all shapes and sizes, but this year, bigger was better.
Heavyweights Parker Williams and Isabel Anaya had the top finishes at the state tournament of all area wrestlers in an impressive season for the Holland area.
Williams was state runner-up in Division 2 at 285 and selected as Holland Sentinel Boys Wrestler of the Year.
Anaya finished fifth in the state and was named Holland Sentinel Girls Wrestler of the Year for the second season in a row.
More: Parker Williams surged to state title match, nearly pulled of a title; 6 more all-state
Williams made it to the Division 2 state wrestling championship match at 285 pounds before losing in a heartbreaking 9-8 decision to Goodrich's James Mahon in the finals.
The Chix senior pinned Fowlerville's George Daniel in 40 seconds in the opening round, then pinned Marquette's Dasan Smith in 34 seconds. In the semifinals, he defeated St. Johns' Ryan Dimmick 8-4 to reach the state finals.
"It just feels good to have gotten my opportunity to go and wrestle a whole season and not just have to watch my buddies go through it without being able to support them in the same way," Williams said.
Williams finished his season 46-3 and his career a stunning 94-17 despite missing most of last season with an injury. He won the OK Green Conference title, district championship and regional title on his way to state runner-up.
"Parker is a once-in-a-generation heavyweight," Zeeland East coach Marty Landes said. "He is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous physical attributes including his size and his ability to control that size and muscle in space. His sense of balance and body awareness is a unique for a heavy weight and a trait more often attributed to those wrestlers in lower weight classes. One of Parker’s most important traits though is his attitude. Parker is always smiling. He enjoys life. His smile and love for the sport is infectious in the room and make our team fun to be on - and to coach."
He wasn't the only stellar performance at Ford Field.
At 235, Anaya earned all-state honors for the second year in a row. She won her first match by decision, lost in th esecond round, but won three consolation matches to finish fifth and earn all-state honors. She won the fifth-place match with an 11-0 decision.
Anaya finished the season 23-5.
"Isabel implements everything West Ottawa wrestling is all about," West Ottawa coach Mathias Sarli said. "She is extremely talented and has been dominant this far through her high school wrestling career just by sheer will. Isabel is the first girl at WO to be a three-time placer. When it is all said and done, little girls will be looking up at the wall wanting to be like Isabel."
Holland Sentinel All-Area Wrestling
First Team
Isabel Anaya, West Ottawa (Girls WOY)
Parker Williams, Zeeland East (BOYS WOY)
Tyler Block, Hamilton
Israel Castro, Holland
Jacob Chase, Hamilton
Aiden Chavez, Zeeland West
Shane Dams, Hamilton
Ben DeLost, Zeeland East
Gavin Drenten, Zeeland East
Alessandro Fillmore, Holland
Dylan Flores, Holland
James Foster, West Ottawa
Remington Foster, Hamilton
Diana Garcia, Fennville
Anthony Jaramillo, West Ottawa
Malachi Kapenga, Hamilton
Emmaline Kouw, Zeeland West
JJ Ledford, Zeeland East
Trace Lopez, Hamilton
Bryce Morrison, Hamilton
Kham Phothisan, Zeeland West
Aiden Segovia, Holland
Andreas Valkema, Holland
Abrielle VanderZwaag, West Ottawa
Kaydence Vesper, Holland
Le'Anna Zavala, West Ottawa
Second Team
Gabe Amid, Zeeland East
Marcus Delgado, West Ottawa
Ethan Goodwin, Hamilton
Gerrit Hartman, Zeeland West
Damion Jordan, Holland
Romeo Keels, Holland
Alexzandir Kladder, West Ottawa
Joey Klein, Hamilton
Tommy Le, Zeeland East
Joel Morin, Holland
Brandon Olsen, Hamilton
Michael Olsen, Hamilton
Eli Ramsey, Hamilton
Elia Ruiz, Fennville
Julian Segovia, Holland
Austin Ulberg, Zeeland West
Anders Tibbs, Zeeland East
Broden VanWieren, Hamilton
Jacob Williams, Fennville
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: Parker Williams, Isabel Anaya Holland Sentinel Wrestlers of the Year
