MONTAGUE — Whitehall’s wrestling team likes to break each season into thirds.
The Vikings test themselves against top-notch competition in the first third. That makes the second third, the current stage of their season, seem even more manageable.
It sure seemed that way in the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament Saturday at Montague High School, where Whitehall ran away with its 16th title in 17 years in the event.
Here are the team scores from the GMAA tourney:
Whitehall 242.5
Reeths-Puffer 157
Fruitport 152
Montague 108
Orchard View 90.5
Mona Shores 81.5
Muskegon Catholic Central 61.5
Muskegon 50
Oakridge 38
North Muskegon 23
Ravenna 13
Holton 3
Whitehall advanced 10 wrestlers to the 14 championship matches and placed in the top four of every single weight class. Sophomore Wyatt Jenkins (175) and senior brothers Jackson (190) and Shane Cook (285) pinned all pinned their way through the day en route to capturing titles in their respective weight classes for the Vikings, who are ranked No. 4 in Division 3.
Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
Here are the championship match results for each weight class:
106: Mario Curiel (Mona Shores) 27-8, Fr. over Aquilla Payne (Orchard View) 19-5, Jr. (Fall 5:32)
113: Jake Rozycki (Reeths-Puffer) 34-2, Fr. over Kyle Holt (Fruitport) 16-10, Jr. (Dec 5-0)
120: Roan Cooper (Fruitport) 22-6, Sr. over Nolan Taranko (Whitehall) 26-8, Jr. (Dec 6-4)
126: Ian Cook (Reeths-Puffer) 36-1, So. over Anthony Cage (Mona Shores) 21-5, Jr. (MD 9-0)
132: Christopher Aebig (Montague) 15-3, Jr. over Caden Varela (Whitehall) 19-9, So. (Dec 15-9)
138: Kaden Malotke (Reeths-Puffer) 36-1, Sr. over Ryne Christensen (Whitehall) 27-5, Jr. (Dec 11-4)
144: Nash Cooper (Fruitport) 26-2, Sr. over Blake English (Whitehall) 19-15, So. (MD 10-1)
150: Tristan Winkleblack (Montague) 27-2, Sr. over Darnell Mack (Whitehall) 28-4, Jr. (SV-1 9-7)
157: Hunter Leonard (Fruitport) 24-4, Sr. over Ryan Goodrich (Whitehall) 21-6, So. (Fall 1:46)
165: Easten Cook (Muskegon Catholic Central) 23-7, Jr. over Sage Secrest (Reeths-Puffer) 26-9, So. (Dec 5-2)
190: Jackson Cook (Whitehall) 24-0, Sr. over Jaxon Tuttle (Orchard View) 16-7, So. (Fall 0:40)
215: Caleb O`Neal (Fruitport) 22-4, Sr. over Blake Morningstar (Whitehall) 19-6, Jr. (Fall 2:52)
285: Shane Cook (Whitehall) 33-0, Sr. over Nathan Stafford (Reeths-Puffer) 27-9, Jr. (Fall 4:13)
CLICK HERE for the direct link to the GMAA tournament page on TrackWrestling.com.
And, lastly, one of the best storylines of the day was the 150-pound championship match between Montague senior Tristan Winkleblack and Whitehall junior Darnell Mack. Winkleblack edged Mack, 9-7 in sudden victory, but the best part was the sportsmanship the friends showed after the match. Watch the video here for more on that: