The Ionia wrestling team fell in the finals of the team districts to powerhouse DeWitt, 72-11.
DEWITT – The Ionia Bulldogs took a trip to DeWitt to take part in the MHSAA D2 Team Wrestling District, Wednesday, Feb. 7. Ionia drew Bath in the first round, while host DeWitt received a bye.
As DeWitt waited in the wings, Ionia came up against a depleted Bath team. Both teams had holes in their roster, with four double voids registered on the score card. Ionia received a fair share of forfeits, with seven Bulldogs stepping on the mat and getting their hand raised in victory even though they didn't see any action. Ionia had to forfeit and lose points at the 132-pound weight class. Ionia claimed the match by a 42-12 score to move on to the finals.
The Bulldogs then came up against state-ranked DeWitt for the second round. The Bulldogs had a few holes in their roster to begin with, and then were short two other wrestlers, one to injury and one to illness. Ionia was able to garner 11 points on the night, while DeWitt tallied 72 to claim the district title.
The finals started out at the 189-pound weight class and DeWitt showed quickly why they are dominating the wrestling scene. The Panthers jumped ahead 24-0 on two falls and two Ionia forfeits.
Ionia's Nate Richardson faced off against Jake Andrews at the 112-pound weight class. Richardson left no question as to who was going to win, dominating his opponent on the mat. He claimed the first period 5-0 and was ahead after the second 8-0, getting three points on a near fall. Richardson pinned Andrews in the third at the 5:22 mark to earn six points for the Bulldogs.
Cole Cudney, who wrestles at the 125-pound weight class for Ionia, faced Joshua Madonado on the mat. Cudney kept racking up points as the clock moved on. He earned nine points in the first period, and closed the second with a 13-0 score. At the 5:13 mark he earned a technical fall after moving the score to 16-0. The win earned the Bulldogs five points.
“Another tough one tonight,” said Ionia coach Russell Geldhof. “But, we saw some good stuff and we're heading into individual districts this weekend and we're hoping we can get a few kids through. We'll carry what we did good tonight into tomorrow's practice, and we will continue to stay aggressive and work hard. Our open holes in our lineup hurt us again, but it would have been hard to get a win tonight against DeWitt. They are a very solid and talented team, with a multitude of kids, with some weights being three deep with wrestlers. They have been flip-flopping between being ranked No. 4 or No. 5 in the state with Eaton Rapids. We'll now look to individual districts, and see what we can do there.”
Ionia will be traveling to Mason, Saturday, Feb. 10, along with 14 other teams, to compete in the MHSAA D2 Individual Wrestling Districts.