Ben Murphy
Contributing Writer

(Courtesy  photo – They’re they go again, chasing after state. Eaton Rapids claimed back the regional championship it has sought since 2018. The team, as well as individual qualifiers, are headed for the state finals in March.)

Hot on the heels of a district championship, the Eaton Rapids wrestling team was able to claim a Division 2 regional title on Wednesday, February 18. They accomplished the feat on their home mats, topping Fowlerville 43-27 in the semi-finals and taking down Portland 37-29 in the championship; their first regional championship since 2018.

“Very proud of the wrestlers who beat two state ranked teams to claim the regional championship,” Coach Devin Milheim said. “This accomplishment does not happen without support from our student athlete’s parents. We have great parents who trust the coaching staff and allow us to hold their child accountable. We also have great community support. I would like to thank everyone involved with Eaton Rapids wrestling. We have great youth and middle school programs. The high school program would not have the success without the help of everyone involved.”

Their district championship came back on February 12 at Parma Western, when they defeated Marshall 68-12 in their district opener and they slipped by Harper Creek in a thriller for the district title, 37-34.

“Our conditioning and toughness is what helped us beat a very good Harper Creek team,” Milheim said. “The guys on the team all support each other. That is my favorite part of this team is everyone is there to pick each other up.”

Eaton Rapids was scheduled to compete in the team state finals tournament on February 27 at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, with a potential state championship match on February 28 as well.

The Greyhounds also have plenty of boys team members continuing their seasons at the individual state finals which will be at Ford Field in Detroit on March 6 and 7. 

Qualifying for the finals was Logan Adleman (144), Gavin Sebastian (175), Donny Hoyt (190), Jamison Brown (285), Jameson Onstott (113) and Nicholas Wade (120).

They also had Symiah Stone (135) and Mila Dubroja (190) qualify for the girls’ side of the tournament.