Photos by Evelyn Darke for CatchMark

Whitehall entered 14 wrestlers into the Division 3 individual district it hosted Saturday and 13 of them punched their tickets to the regional tournament at Howard City Tri County.

Not a bad percentage for the Vikings.

At the regional, the top four finishers advance to the individual state finals March 1-2 at Ford Field.

“Thirteen is a lot,” Whitehall coach Justin Zeerip said.  “It doesn’t happen very often to get that many guys through. Hopefully we can get them all through the regional.

“Just about everyone wrestled to or above their seed,” Zeerip said. “(Blake) English started the day as the sixth seed, so for him to take fourth is great.  Nolan Taranko won a huge semifinal match over the two seed. We just want our guys to build on what they accomplished today.”

Of the 13 placers, eight of them are underclassmen, including district champions Ryan Goodrich and Gavin Craner.

“That’s pretty huge. Looking forward to next year,” Zeerip said. “We’re happy for those guys, but I don’t think any of them are satisfied yet. These next few weeks are what they’ve been working for.”

Below are the top-four placers along with first-place and third-place match results from the individual wrestling district at Whitehall.

Make sure you check out the photo gallery above with images shot by CatchMark SportsNut Evelyn Darke.

106

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Ayden Ringler of Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)
• 2nd Place – Cody Manzo of Whitehall HS
• 3rd Place – Peter Vu of Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)
• 4th Place – Brock Hunter of Montague HS

1st Place Match

• Ayden Ringler (Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)) 23-3, So. over Cody Manzo (Whitehall HS) 37-5, So. (Dec 8-1)

3rd Place Match

• Peter Vu (Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)) 18-17, So. over Brock Hunter (Montague HS) 27-19, Fr. (Fall 0:44)

***

113

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – James Thommen of Montague HS
• 2nd Place – Emmanuel Hernandez of Kent City HS
• 3rd Place – Kolten Weiler of Whitehall HS
• 4th Place – Isaac Gitchel of Tri County Area HS

1st Place Match

• James Thommen (Montague HS) 31-11, Sr. over Emmanuel Hernandez (Kent City HS) 36-12, Sr. (MD 14-2)

3rd Place Match

• Kolten Weiler (Whitehall HS) 31-11, So. over Isaac Gitchel (Tri County Area HS) 31-6, Fr. (Fall 2:29)

***

120

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Dale Gant of Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)
• 2nd Place – Max Krukowski of Whitehall HS
• 3rd Place – Sammy Anderson of Kent City HS
• 4th Place – Xander Antor of Tri County Area HS

1st Place Match

• Dale Gant (Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)) 37-2, So. over Max Krukowski (Whitehall HS) 29-10, So. (TF-1.5 5:02 (21-5))

3rd Place Match

• Sammy Anderson (Kent City HS) 42-7, So. over Xander Antor (Tri County Area HS) 26-22, So. (TF-1.5 4:01 (16-0))

***

126

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Nolan Taranko of Whitehall HS
• 2nd Place – Logan Whidden of Comstock Park HS
• 3rd Place – Alex Russo of Grant HS
• 4th Place – Hunter Gustinis of Kent City HS

1st Place Match

• Nolan Taranko (Whitehall HS) 40-4, Sr. over Logan Whidden (Comstock Park HS) 24-5, Jr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

• Alex Russo (Grant HS) 37-6, Jr. over Hunter Gustinis (Kent City HS) 23-16, Fr. (Fall 3:19)

***

132

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Ryan Woods of Belding Area HS
• 2nd Place – Carson Gorton of Kent City HS
• 3rd Place – Christopher Aebig of Montague HS
• 4th Place – Caden Varela of Whitehall HS

1st Place Match

• Ryan Woods (Belding Area HS) 47-2, So. over Carson Gorton (Kent City HS) 46-4, Sr. (Dec 3-1)

3rd Place Match

• Christopher Aebig (Montague HS) 37-7, Sr. over Caden Varela (Whitehall HS) 29-13, Jr. (MD 10-1)

***

138

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Michael Wilson of Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)
• 2nd Place – Ryne Christensen of Whitehall HS
• 3rd Place – Brayden Cunningham of Oakridge HS
• 4th Place – Jayden Loomis-Sandison of Kent City HS

1st Place Match

• Michael Wilson (Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)) 11-0, Jr. over Ryne Christensen (Whitehall HS) 38-4, Sr. (Fall 1:22)

3rd Place Match

• Brayden Cunningham (Oakridge HS) 31-5, Sr. over Jayden Loomis-Sandison (Kent City HS) 20-10, So. (Fall 3:47)

***

144

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Logan Goguen of Kent City HS
• 2nd Place – Liam Leeke of Whitehall HS
• 3rd Place – Matiss McNally of Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)
• 4th Place – Fletcher Thommen of Montague HS

1st Place Match

• Logan Goguen (Kent City HS) 42-8, Sr. over Liam Leeke (Whitehall HS) 34-10, Fr. (Dec 8-5)

3rd Place Match

• Matiss McNally (Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)) 18-20, Jr. over Fletcher Thommen (Montague HS) 32-13, So. (Fall 1:39)

***

150

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Darnell Mack of Whitehall HS
• 2nd Place – William Berenbrock of Newaygo HS
• 3rd Place – Derek Rodenburg of Kent City HS
• 4th Place – Blake English of Whitehall HS

1st Place Match

• Darnell Mack (Whitehall HS) 44-0, Sr. over William Berenbrock (Newaygo HS) 33-11, Sr. (Dec 5-3)

3rd Place Match

• Derek Rodenburg (Kent City HS) 42-10, Jr. over Blake English (Whitehall HS) 35-12, Jr. (Fall 0:44)

***

157

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Ryan Goodrich of Whitehall HS
• 2nd Place – Blake Peasley of Belding Area HS
• 3rd Place – Nick Renner of Tri County Area HS
• 4th Place – Brett Wismar of Newaygo HS

1st Place Match

• Ryan Goodrich (Whitehall HS) 40-4, Jr. over Blake Peasley (Belding Area HS) 47-3, Jr. (Dec 3-2)

3rd Place Match

• Nick Renner (Tri County Area HS) 34-11, Sr. over Brett Wismar (Newaygo HS) 36-17, Sr. (Fall 4:55)

***

165

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Lee Braun of Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)
• 2nd Place – Anthony Szubinski of Belding Area HS
• 3rd Place – Coy Hall of Tri County Area HS
• 4th Place – Collin Abram of West Catholic HS

1st Place Match

• Lee Braun (Catholic Central HS (Grand Rapids)) 36-4, Sr. over Anthony Szubinski (Belding Area HS) 47-4, Sr. (Dec 2-1)

3rd Place Match

• Coy Hall (Tri County Area HS) 36-14, Sr. over Collin Abram (West Catholic HS) 26-8, Fr. (Fall 3:37)

***

175

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Gavin Craner of Whitehall HS
• 2nd Place – Mason Tuttle of Orchard View HS
• 3rd Place – Jacob Hawkins of Tri County Area HS
• 4th Place – Linkin Glavan of Belding Area HS

1st Place Match

• Gavin Craner (Whitehall HS) 44-0, Jr. over Mason Tuttle (Orchard View HS) 34-8, So. (Fall 1:05)

3rd Place Match

• Jacob Hawkins (Tri County Area HS) 34-14, So. over Linkin Glavan (Belding Area HS) 29-21, Fr. (Fall 0:51)

***

190

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Gaje Glavan of Belding Area HS
• 2nd Place – Jaxon Tuttle of Orchard View HS
• 3rd Place – Issac French of Montague HS
• 4th Place – RJ Linebaugh of Belding Area HS

1st Place Match

• Gaje Glavan (Belding Area HS) 36-2, Jr. over Jaxon Tuttle (Orchard View HS) 29-7, Jr. (Fall 1:50)

3rd Place Match

• Issac French (Montague HS) 27-18, So. over RJ Linebaugh (Belding Area HS) 13-7, Jr. (Dec 13-6)

***

215

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Jack Ward of Belding Area HS
• 2nd Place – Blake Morningstar of Whitehall HS
• 3rd Place – Hunter Crosby of Grant HS
• 4th Place – Bryce Benard of Orchard View HS

1st Place Match

• Jack Ward (Belding Area HS) 46-2, Sr. over Blake Morningstar (Whitehall HS) 33-10, Sr. (Fall 5:37)

3rd Place Match

• Hunter Crosby (Grant HS) 29-13, Sr. over Bryce Benard (Orchard View HS) 19-8, Sr. (Fall 0:33)

***

285

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place – Isaac Casey of Belding Area HS
• 2nd Place – Jamario Dash of Orchard View HS
• 3rd Place – Jason Smith of Whitehall HS
• 4th Place – Derrick Ellis of Comstock Park HS

1st Place Match

• Isaac Casey (Belding Area HS) 37-3, Sr. over Jamario Dash (Orchard View HS) 34-6, Sr. (Fall 1:51)

3rd Place Match

• Jason Smith (Whitehall HS) 21-9, Sr. over Derrick Ellis (Comstock Park HS) 32-18, Sr. (Fall 0:55)