ALMONT — Almont 112-pounder Dallas Stanton claimed a third and 145-pounder Mathew Dwyer notched an eighth last Friday at the Division 3 individual state wrestling finals.
Wings Event Center, in Kalamazoo, is where the matches were contested.
Dallas Stanton (top) took third at states.
Stanton (24-4) begin his successful run at states with a 15-0 victory over Freeland’s Gibby Shepard (16-9).
He then watched his tournament standing go to 1-1, dropping a 4-3 verdict to Ty Whalen (24-7), the eventual fourth-place finisher from Whitehall.
Stanton followed that up with a convincing 13-2 victory over Grayling’s Joe Armstrong (29-6).
He then improved his tournament standing to 3-1, that coming with a 9-1 win over Napoleon’s Brenden Yob (24-10). Yob would go on from there to place eighth in the weight class.
Stanton’s next bout was against Grand Rapids Catholic Central foe Lee Braun, who was 26-3 at the time they met. That clash ended with Stanton a 4-3 victor against Braun, the eventual fifth-place finisher.
That landed him a spot in the third-place match where Whalen provided his opposition. This time it was Stanton who emerged triumphant, thanks to a 4-1 outcome.
For his performance, Stanton earned All-State accolades (reserved for the top-eight finishers in the weight class).
Stanton wrapped up the year with a 29-5 mark.
Dwyer (23-3) got things underway with a 3-2 loss to Olivet’s Tyler Schofield (24-9), the eventual sixth-place finisher.
He then bounced back with a 7-2 win against Ogemaw Heights foe Zea Kartes (26-9) and Whitehall counterpart Marco Moore (32-7).
Dwyer squared off versus Algonac’s Jacob Kasner (30-4) next. Their clash drew to a close with Kasner, the eventual fourth-place finisher up 1-0.
He then faced Kingsford’s Toby Wilcox (24-8) for seventh place honors. That bout wrapped up with Wilcox ahead 3-1.
For his effort, Dwyer garnered All-State plaudits (given to the top-eight finishers in each weight division).
He finished the season at 25-6.
Aiden Finn also represented Almont at the Division 3 state finals, going 1-2 in the 130-pound weight class.
Finn (20-9) opened his stint at states with a loss by pin to Kingsley’s Justin Grahn (22-6) with 3:04 gone.
He then evened his mark at 1-1, thanks to a pin of Comstock’s Markeyis Boland (17-16) with 49 seconds gone.
Next up was a bout versus Montrose’s Jake Elasavich (22-3). That encounter drew to a close with Elasavich, the eventual third-place finisher, ahead 10-2.
Finn ended the year with a 21-11 mark.
Kevin Kissane has been covering high school sports for the Tri-City Times since 1985. When not standing on a field or court with his camera and notepad, he enjoys golf, travel and family. Kevin is a 1980 graduate of Capac High School, and is also a grad of St. Clair Community College and earned a degree in journalism from Central Michigan University.
