Only loss has encouraged Hartland wrestler Vinnie Abbey

HARTLAND — Losing a wrestling match could have been devastating to Hartland junior Vinnie Abbey, who isn’t accustomed to losing. But his only setback of the season has been more of a source of encouragement.

Abbey’s only loss in 36 matches was an 8-6 decision to Dundee senior Aiden Davis in the semifinals of the Detroit Catholic Central Invitational on Jan. 7.

Davis is a two-time Division 3 state champion who is 30-0 and went on to win the championship that day with a 9-5 decision over Catholic Central junior Darius Marines, a two-time Division 1 state champ.

Marines is also the only other wrestler ranked ahead of Abbey at 157 pounds in Division 1 by MichiganGrappler.com, which provides a bit of a gauge of how the two could match up in the team and individual state tournaments.

“It definitely made me open my eyes and realize I’m right there with the best kids in the state,” said Abbey, who is the Livingston Daily Athlete of the Week. “I need to start wrestling a lot harder, realizing I’m up there.”

Abbey has steadily climbed the Division 1 rankings, finishing eighth at 135 as a freshman and fourth at 135 as a sophomore, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Aiden Smith of Brighton.

“I went up four places from freshman to sophomore year,” Abbey said. “Why don’t I do it junior year, too? That’s my mindset.”

Abbey had two great tests against another Brighton wrestler heading into the postseason, beating third-ranked Zak Knapp 6-2 in a dual meet on Jan. 25 and 9-7 in the finals of the KLAA tournament on Feb. 4. Like Abbey, Knapp was all-state at 135 last season.

“It prepares you a lot getting good matchups under your belt,” Abbey said. “It makes you feel good, especially when you’re winning them.”

Abbey has proven himself all season against top wrestlers in Division 1. In addition to his two victories over Knapp, he pulled out one-point decisions over No. 4 (165) TJ Bunn of Catholic Central and No. 10 James Rivers of Romeo, pinned No. 8 Austin Martin of Belleville and No. 13 Jack Nigh of Temperance Bedford, and won 13-5 over No. 9 Jacob Kennedy of Westland John Glenn.

“Vinnie’s biggest quality is he doesn’t get rattled,” Hartland coach Kyle Summerfield said. “He doesn’t get overwhelmed when wrestling gets tough and most kids start to shell up; he performs better. With the Davis kid, he did everything right and made one mistake. Since that point, he’s been more free when he wrestles, less complacent. In that match, he was holding back, trying not to make a mistake. Since then, he’s been more Vinnie. He flows so well through all situations.”

Abbey’s leadership qualities as a junior impressed the coaching staff enough to make him a captain.

“He just does everything right,” Summerfield said. “He’s the hardest worker in the room. He’s not the loudest guy. He’s a leader-by-example type kid. He’s a great teammate. When a kid needs to be picked up, he picks them up. When they need to be pushed, he pushes. He’s the ultimate teammate.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.