KALAMAZOO - For the second straight season, the Benzie Central Huskies saw their wrestling postseason run come to an end at the hands of St. Louis in Kalamazoo. This time, a 37-22 defeat on Saturday morning, the Huskies were eliminated in the Division Four State Semifinal match, their deepest playoff run in program history.
“I’m extremely proud of our kids, our community,” Huskies’ co-head coach Cody VanDonkelaar said after the match. “Just all around, a lot of pride right now.”
The match started at 113 pounds, and St. Louis’s lineup was particularly strong in the lighter weight classes, as the Sharks were able to record pins in three of the first four matches, and they built a 21-0 lead.
“We knew they were tough down low,” VanDonkelaar said.
Benzie Central got on the board with a Joe Morse decision at 138 pounds, as the Huskies would record 16 of the next 22 team points to pull within 11 at 27-16. Owen Cruden (150), Tyrone Brouillet (165) and Conner Wenkel (175) each earned decisions in their matches, with Michael Pfeiffer (190) scoring a bonus point for a major decision in his match. That run was marked by a number of Benzie Central wrestlers appearing frustrated that they could not score more points for their team by earning pins.
“We knew up top that they would try to stall, you know, try to keep the matches close,” VanDonkelaar said. “Their kids wrestled exactly how their coaches taught them to, and they did that. They were able to keep matches close when we really needed to pull ahead, and they got the job done. But we wrestled tough.”
St. Louis was able to record four pins, while Benzie Central only managed one fall in the match, from senior heavyweight Ryan Kincaid.
“There’s a couple of matches that just didn’t go our way, but hey, that’s wrestling,” VanDonkelaar said.
The Huskies finish off their historic season with a 26-5 record, competing against one of the toughest schedules in the state in Division Four. They will lose eight seniors to graduation.
