Whitehall wrestling’s Wyatt Jenkins wins CatchMark SportsNet Player of Week (Feb. 19-24, 2024)

Seventh months from the day he suffered a broken neck at a football camp, Whitehall’s Wyatt Jenkins made a triumphant return to the wrestling mat at the team state finals in Kalamazoo last weekend.

The Vikings junior notched three pinfalls in as many matches.

Jenkins picked up another victory today: He’s the winner of the CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Player of the Week fan poll.

Jenkins finished with 1,510 of 2,865 total votes in the poll, which recognized six winter sports athletes for their performances Feb. 19-24, 2024. Ludington basketball standout David Shillinger was runner-up in the poll with 781 votes.

See complete voting totals at the bottom of this story for this week’s Player of the Week poll, which is title-sponsored by Complete Restoration & Cleaning Services, Inc.

Last Friday at Wings Event Center, Jenkins took the mat for the first time this season and he looked like he never skipped a beat. He wasted little time making his mark in the state quarterfinals, pinning his Gladstone opponent in one minute in the 190-pound bout.

On Saturday, in the 215-pound bout of the state semifinals against Clinton, Jenkins pinned his foe in 1:38. In the 190-pound bout of the state finals later in the day against Dundee, he pinned his opponent in 3:39.

Whitehall finished as Division 3 team state runner-up to Dundee for a second straight season.

A school-record 11 Vikings have qualified for the individual state finals taking place this weekend at Ford Field. Jenkins is not among them because he was not yet medically cleared to participate in individual districts or regionals, which is where wrestlers qualify for the individual state finals.