Almont’s Maria Stanton squares off versus a mat counterpart at the MHSAA Girls Wrestling Individual State Finals in Detroit.
ALMONT — Almont 100-pounder Maria Stanton earned a fifth-place finish at the first-ever Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored Girls’ Wrestling Individual State Finals.
Ford Field, in Detroit, hosted the two-day tournament which ran last Friday and Saturday.
Stanton (27-11) started her successful tournament run Friday with an 11-9 win against Grand Blanc’s Ariana Kruger (11-6).
She then went to 2-0 with a 5-0 quarterfinal win against Chippewa Hills foe Maikia Wittig (19-17), the eventual sixth-place finisher.
That placed her in Friday’s semifinals where Grand Ledge’s Tricia Pyrzewski (15-3) provided the opposition. Their battle ended with Pyrzewski, the eventual second-place finisher, prevailing by a pin with 3:32 gone.
Those outcomes advanced Stanton to Saturday’s action. It was there she squared off versus Chippewa Hills counterpart Natalie Gibson (30-16).
When the final scores were added up, Gibson had pulled out a 3-2 victory. The Chippewa Hills grappler would go to place fourth.
Stanton then met Chippewa Hills foe Maikia Wittig (21-18) for fifth place honors. Their clash ended with Stanton prevailing via a pinfall with 59 seconds gone.
With her performance, Stanton earned All-State accolades (reserved for the top-eight finishers in each weight class).
She finished the season with a 30-13 mark.
Kevin Kissane
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.
