On a busy day for Montague wrestling Saturday in two different locations, the Wildcats’ girls team and boys standout Chris Aebig stole the show.
In the Holiday Mat Cat Duals at Montague, Aebig reached the 100-win milestone for his career. The senior 132-pounder went 5-0 on day, reaching the plateau with a pinfall in 1:11 against Howard City Tri County’s Cale Howle in Aebig’s third match of the day.
At East Kentwood, Montague’s girls team captured the Kent County Classic championship.
“Chris has been dominant thus far this season either pinning or technical falling all his opponents,” Montague coach Kris Maddox said.
Photos courtesy of Chris Aebig
Fletcher Thommen, Montague’s 150-pounder, also finished 5-0 on the day. Jimmy Thommen, wrestling at 120 pounds, went 4-1 on the day.
“Fletcher had a great day as well. He has been solid so far this season,” Maddox said. “Jimmy was cleared from an internal injury and we were excited to have him in the line up for the first time this year.
“We have a few kids out with injuries and sickness and hope the two weeks before we compete again will allow for us to heal up.”
Montague started the day with a 54-26 loss to Cadillac, the Wildcats’ first dual defeat of the season. Montague fell to Mattawan in the second dual (64-18) and lost to Tri County in the third dual (60-18). Montague beat Muskegon Catholic Central in the fourth dual (47-33) and closed the day with a win over Reeths-Puffer’s “B” team (55-21).
Photos by Kamryn Cooper for CatchMark
At East Kentwood, Montague’s girls squad brought home the title trophy. Montague totaled 105 points followed by Holland West Ottawa’s 71 points.
Abby Thommen, Savannah Winkleblack, Trisha Beckman, and Emma Pendell all reached the finals before finishing in second place. Ava Pelton finished in third place, defeating two-time state placer Abby Vanderzwag of West Ottawa by pin. The loss also avenges Pelton’s regional loss last year to Vanderzwag. Zaniya Meza brought home a fourth-place finish for her first tournament finish in high school.
“Our girls really make us proud here at Montague,” Maddox said. “All of them are capable of doing great things. We are seeking and chasing competition this season to challenge our girls to allow for preparation to finish strong. We found that today and will continue to strive to achieve a strong end-of-season finish.”
