GRAYLING – Two wrestlers from Grayling advanced out of the MHSAA Division 2 individual district tournament at Grayling on Saturday.
One, sophomore Caleb Baker, was crowed district champion at 103 pounds.
He received a bye right into the semifinal round of a division that had only four wrestlers in the field.
In the semifinal he was matched against freshman Wyatt Westman of Kingsley, and he wasted no time in dispatching him with a pin in just 45 seconds.
That put him into the championship match opposite another freshman, Benjamin DeRidder of Benzie Central.
DeRidder managed to hang with Baker through a full three periods, but the Viking wrestler dominated just the same with a 19-6 decision to take home the gold medal.
Grayling sophomore Logan Malonen was the only other Viking to qualify for the regional this coming Saturday, finishing second at 285 pounds.
After receiving a first round bye, Malonen won the second round match against senior Jake Morrison of Ogemaw Heights with a pin in 4:35.
It put him into the third round, where he was matched against Cheboygan junior Devihn Wichlacz. He prevailed with a 6-4 decision.
But his run ended in the championship match, where he lost by a fall in 1:05 to Gladwin senior Brett Boudreau for a second place finish.
Seeing their seasons come to an end were senior Jacob Carnes and freshman Danny Bonamie at 189, freshman Braiden Tuck at 160, junior Marcus Chard at 140.
