Wrestling Finals Ticket Sales Underway
February 14, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Fans wishing to purchase advance tickets for the 2017 Michigan High School Athletic Association Team and Individual Wrestling Finals may now do so through the host sites' box offices, from Central Michigan University for Team Wrestling Finals and The Palace of Auburn Hills for Individual Finals.
CMU will host the Team Quarterfinals on Feb. 24 and Semifinals and Finals on Feb. 25, and tickets are available through CMU Ticket Central. Quarterfinal tickets cost $8 and one ticket is good for all 16 matches, starting with the Division 4 session at noon. Semifinal tickets cost $10 and are good for both sessions of that round beginning at 9 a.m.
Team Finals tickets also cost $10 and are good for both sessions – new this season, the four Finals will be split with Divisions 1 and 4 competing at 3:30 and Divisions 2 and 3 wrestling at 6 p.m. All-session tickets good for all matches both days cost $20.
Tickets for this season’s Individual Finals from March 2-4 at the Palace of Auburn Hills are available exclusively through The Palace Ticket Store. Only all-session reserved seat tickets will be sold, at a cost of $55 each plus applicable handling charges.
Remaining single-session reserved and general admission tickets will go on sale Feb. 27 through The Palace Ticket Store. Single-session reserved seat tickets are priced at $12 each, and general admission seats in the upper bowl of the arena are priced at $11 per session and include in and out parking privileges.
Spectators ordering reserved seat tickets for the Individual Finals must designate the wrestling division they prefer to watch, which will result in their ticket assignment being in full view of the mats being used for that competition. For Divisions 3 and 4, the seats will be on the side of the arena opposite the mat placement, providing an unobstructed view of those mats.
Links to both box offices can be found on the Wrestling page of the MHSAA Website. Individual Finals tickets also may be charged by phone to American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard by calling (248) 377-0100.
D2 Preview: St. Joe's Wertanen, Holly's Gonzales Seek to Climb for 3rd Time
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 3, 2022
Only five returning Individual Finals champs are part of this weekend’s Division 2 brackets at Ford Field, and two of them won in a different division a year ago.
But two more of that few are wrestling for an especially elite honor.
St. Joseph senior Nolan Wertanen and Holly senior Jacob Gonzales both will wrestle for their third Finals championships and are among contenders we’ve highlighted below.
The Grand March on Friday begins at 10 a.m., with wrestling through semifinals that evening. Wrestling begins again at 9 a.m. Saturday with championship matches at 3:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at Ford Field. All matches will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv, and we’ll talk to all 14 champions in each division for our Second Half coverage published later that evening and overnight. See the MHSAA Wrestling Finals page for more information and to follow results this weekend.
112 Adam Polk, Pontiac sophomore (34-2) – Last season’s champion at 103 could run into the top seed in this bracket in his second match but has lost only twice this winter, both times by decision.
119 Nolan Wertanen, St. Joseph senior (47-0) – The top seed at this weight hasn’t lost since his sophomore season and can add a third championship after winning 103 in 2020 and 112 in 2021. He has a 149-3 career record despite missing the second half of his freshman season with an injury.
125 Tayden Miller, Mason junior (33-0) – Last year’s runner-up at 119 is the top seed at this weight this weekend and also finished third at 103 as a freshman.
130 Louden Stradling, Gaylord junior (20-1) – He’s pursuing his first championship and top-seeded after finishing Division 1 runner-up at 103 as a freshman and 119 as a sophomore wrestling for Battle Creek Lakeview.
135 Aaron Lucio, Stevensville Lakeshore junior (50-0) – He’s up two weights after finishing runner-up last season at 125 and suffering his only loss of the winter in the championship match. He was third at 119 as a freshman.
145 Max Brown, Whitehall senior (37-6) – The top seed at this weight was last season’s Division 3 champion at 140, and he’s also placed third at 130 and fourth at 125 as his team has moved back and forth between the two divisions.
152 Micah Hanau, Stevensville Lakeshore senior (48-2) – He’s the top seed at his weight after finishing third at 140 last season and winning 130 as a sophomore. He also finished fifth at 125 as a freshman and has a 152-13 career record.
160 Jacob Gonzales, Holly senior (45-0) – The champion at 152 the last two years is top-seeded at this weight and hasn’t lost since he was a freshman; his career record is 171-3.
189 Kael Wisler, New Boston Huron senior (51-1) – He’s the top seed and seeking his first championship after finishing runner-up at 171 last season and eighth at that weight as a sophomore.
285 Ira Jenkins, Whitehall senior (47-0) – He also was a Division 3 champion last winter and hasn’t lost in two years, carrying a 172-11 career record into this weekend. He was fifth at 171 in Division 2 as a sophomore and third at 152 in Division 3 as a freshman.
Other 2021 runners-up: 135 Gage Race, Jackson Northwest junior (35-5, 130 last year); 152 Jack Conley, Lake Fenton junior (45-5, 145 last year); 171 Jacob Halsey, St. Joseph senior (47-1, 152 last year); 171 Nicholas Blanchard, Whitehall senior (45-2, 152 in Division 3 last year); 189 Carson Crace, Lowell junior (23-9, 160 last year).
Additional No. 1 seeds: 103 Ja'Marcus Smith, Detroit Mumford senior (16-1); 112 Jackson Blum, Lowell freshman (33-3); 140 Jacob Brya, St. Johns senior (38-0); 171 Cameron Macklem, Goodrich senior (42-3); 189 Adam Haselius, Jackson Northwest junior (41-1); 215 Carter Blough, Lowell senior (33-2).
Also undefeated: 112 Connor Greer, Bay City John Glenn freshman (37-0); 171 Mikus Bishop, Harper Woods sophomore (17-0); 215 James Campbell, Mattawan senior (33-0); 285 Joshua Cook, Ferndale senior (49-0).
PHOTO St. Joseph's Nolan Wertanen, top, works toward a pin during Friday's Division 2 Team Quarterfinals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).