A season filled with hard work and determination had four wrestlers excited as they worked their way up to States, one of the largest Michigan High School Athletic Association championship events. On February 28th, Ford Field hosted 1,120 of Michigan’s top high school wrestlers, who took to the mats for the Individual Wrestling Finals, according to mhsaa.com.
On February 15th, Warren Mott High School hosted the intense Division 1 Wrestling Individual Regionals, where senior Gabriel Griffith, juniors Lucas Abro, Landon Cooke, and sophomore Merrick Kustarz, fought incredibly hard to earn a spot on the mats at Ford Field.
“If one of them had me gnashing my teeth it was Gabe Griffith. He took his qualifying match into overtime before securing the win,” Assistant Coach Robert Peltier said. “I expect wrestlers to show up every day and compete. If they do that, then every one of them has a chance to make it to Ford Field.”
In order to qualify for States, the boys needed to place fourth or higher in their respected weights at Regionals. Cooke qualified by placing fourth, while Griffith, Abro, and Kustarz qualified by placing third. According to the wrestlers, the greatest feeling is completing a match that sends the wrestler to States.
“It felt amazing,” Cooke said. “I pinned my guy, and I look over at my coaches and they’re jumping up and down. It’s just an amazing feeling.”
Throughout the season, as they prepared for any match ahead, the wrestlers placed emphasis on mental preparation, as well as physical preparation during practices.
“I feel good. Mentally, you need to have a good mind set,” Abro said. “You’re cutting weight and have no energy, but you still have to go out and practice. The metal factor is so important because if you don’t have a good mentality you are going to give up.”
The big day came quickly, and the boys left feeling confident in how well they were going to do at States. They created goals for what they were hoping to achieve after everything had brought them to this moment, at this specific time.
“I am feeling excited and confident knowing all my work has led me here,” Griffith said. “I’m ready to go out there and win every match.”
To get to this point in their wrestling career, each competitor had dedicated an incredible amount of time preparing and practicing, but they wouldn’t have gotten to this point without the support of their family and friends.
“I really just had to put in the work and go to practices through the summer; my brother, my friends, and the wrestling team made sure I stayed on track,” Kustarz said. “My brother made it to States and really pushed me to achieve better, to get to States.”
Regardless of what happened on the big stage, Head Coach Clint Davis wanted the boys to walk away learning something that could stick to them forever on the road ahead.
“It’s something we always talk about is setting some goals,” Davis said. “Some set pretty lofty goals, but one of the important things is that, even though you might not achieve that goal 100 percent, the real value is in the pursuit of the goal.”
The boys were not able to advance and place in the Individual Wrestling Finals as they hoped, but as Davis puts it, “It’s a big stage. Some of them haven’t been there before, and a few of them being underclassmen it’s a big advantage for their senior year.”
For any athlete, making it to the big stage was an incredible accomplishment. Through this experience the boys were able to learn determination, perseverance, and hard work; components that could take them beyond their high school wrestling career.
