Parker Williams surged to state title match, nearly pulled of a title; 6 more all-state
When a foot injury ended the wrestling season of Parker Williams last year, he was motivated to show everyone what could have been.
Thankfully, he had one more season at Zeeland East to do that.
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. "(The title match) was full of nerves, but once we started, it was just like a normal match. I felt like I got to my positions and really controlled the neutral position pretty well (in the tournament). (Mahon) was quick and I missed a few crucial positions."
More: 5 Holland area storylines to watch at state wrestling finals
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Williams led a performance that saw seven all-state (top-eight) performances from Holland-area wrestlers.
Zeeland East's JJ Ledford won his first two matches, a 9-8 decision, then a 9-1 major decision before losing to top-seeded Christian Haslem in the quarterfinals at 113.
Ledford bounced back to win three in the consolation bracket and pin Adrian's Diego Orozco in the third-place match.
Hamilton's Malachi Kapenga, the defending state champion at 113, moved up to 120 this year. He won his first round match before losing to Brady Baker from Stevensville Lakeshore.
He won and then lost in the consolation bracket and was defeated in the seventh-place match to earn all-state honors with an eighth-place finish.
Hamilton's Bryce Morrison finished fifth at 132 pounds, beating Lucas Racine from Chelsea 3-0 in the fifth-place match.
Zeeland East's Gavin Drenten finished sixth at 138. He pinned his first opponent before losing 7-2 to St. Joseph's Landon Thomas, who ended up in the finals. He then won two consolation matches before falling in the fifth-place match to finsh sixth an dearn all-state.
In the girls 170 bracket, West Ottawa's Le'Anna Zavala pinned her first two opponents before losing in the quarterfinals. She won her first consolation match and lost in the fifth-place match 1-0 to Grand Haven's Isabelle Wisenbaugh. Zavala earned all-state honors.
At 235, West Ottawa's Isabel 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-palce match with an 11-0 decision.
Fennville's Diana Garcia lost both matches at 105, but made history as the school's first MHSAA girls state qualifier.
Other boys competitors
At 215, Holland's Dylan Flores won his opening-round match with a 3-1 decision before losing to top-seeded Logan Demarest. Flores then lost in the consolation bracket.
Holland's Andreas Valkema lost his first match, won his second, but lost his third at 175. The same scenerio unfolder for Holland's Alessandro Fillmore at 285.
At 190, Hamilton's Remington Foster lost his first match, won his second on a pin, then lost his third.
Hamilton's Jacob Chase lost both matches and did not place.
Zeeland West's Aiden Chavez lost both matches at 106.
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 surged to state title match, nearly pulled of a title
