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Photo by David Jose
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Manchester's Kyler Ritter (maroon) applies a front facelock to Byron's Zack Ritter during the championship match of the 215-pound weight class in Division 4 Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Kyler scored a 3-1 decision victory to cap an undefeated weekend and win his first state title. Manchester had six other wrestlers earned state medals.
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Manchester varsity wrestler Kyler Ritter found a way to make a timely escape and score the biggest victory of his career.
The senior captured the Division 4 state championship in the 215-pound weight class and six other members of the varsity wrestling team earned medals March 8 during the Individual State Wrestling Championship tournament at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
While Ritter's state championship was the only one for the Flying Dutchmen, sophomore Jimmy Hamilton surprised many by placing second in the 112-pound division. Jason Alber (160) equaled his performance in last year's state tournament by taking third place, while Scott Conway (125) earned a fourth-place medal. Cevin Walker (119) and Bill Cloke (152) each captured seventh-place medals, while freshman Ryan Abrigo (103) made his state tournament debut by earning an eighth-place medal for Manchester.
After earning a sixth-place finish in last year's state tournament, Ritter went undefeated for the weekend, clinching the 215-pound title with a 3-1 decision over Byron's Zack Ritter.
"I had a lot of confidence on the mat all week," Kyler Ritter said. "I felt like I could get (a state championship), and it feels good."
He defeated Ryan Kemplin (Leslie) by pinfall in the opening round before scoring consecutive decisions over Nick Murphy (Bangor) and Justin Leonard (Webberville) to advance to the finals.
Kyler Ritter struck first with a two-point takedown in the first period. Zack Ritter answered with a one-point escape in the second period, cutting Kyler's lead to 2-1. Having to start in the bottom position in the third period, Kyler warded off Zack Ritter's holds and overcame a warning for stalling before coming up with an escape in the final 10 seconds to secure the match.
"It seemed like the clock was standing still," Manchester coach Steve Vlcek said. "The ref dinged him for stalling, but Kyler stayed in good position."
Despite two victories over Zack Ritter last season and jumping to the early lead, Kyler knew he needed to stay on top of his game and wrestle a complete match.
"I knew there was still a long time to go," Ritter said. "Once I got the escape I figured it was over. Having beaten him both times last year I think I had more confidence."
Ritter switched from basketball to wrestling after his freshman year. Since joining the wrestling team, he helped the Dutchmen to two straight district and regional championships, two straight appearances in the team state tournament in Battle Creek and this year helped Manchester advance to the Division 4 state championship dual for the first time in the school's history.
"My older brother (Josh) wrestled," Ritter said about his decision to change sports. "It's a good thing I switched because we made it this far."
Ritter ended his prep career with 151 career victories. After wrestling behind Dan Lobbestael at 215 pounds last year, he was 58-4 during his senior campaign.
"Kyler won't show a lot of emotion, but I know he's excited," Vlcek said. "It's just rewarding for him. It began with Dan taking him under his wing last year. He was hard on Kyler, but I know there would be no one prouder for him than Dan."
After winning by default in the first round, Hamilton worked his way to the 112-pound finals with a 6-4 decision over Blake Birchmeier (New Lathrop) and a 5-4 victory over Andrew Barrett (Jonesville) before being stopped by Hudson's Zeb Hilyard in the finals.
The wrestlers finished a scoreless first period before Hilyard scored a two-point takedown and received three points for a near fall in the second. Hilyard was able to fight off Hamilton's holds in the third period to capture the state championship.
Hamilton qualified for last year's state tournament, but didn't medal. He finished this season with a 39-12 record.
"Jimmy wrestled well all weekend, and no one except for us expected him to be here," Vlcek said. "He handled the pressure much better this year. Jimmy has a great inner drive, and he'll get over this and be back."
Alber posted a 5-1 record on the weekend to take third in the 160-pound bracket for the second straight year. After a loss to Coty Marcoux in the second match, Alber recovered to win his final four matches, including a 10-3 decision over Grant Cook (Dansville) to secure third place. The senior finished with a 57-4 record this season.
Conway (125) earned a fourth-place medal after posting a 4-2 record for the weekend. The senior defeated Lee Tippett (Mayville) before falling to Tom Webster (Leroy Pine River). Conway bounced back with victories over Austin Sanchez (Kingsley), Lorenzo Martinez (Bangor) and Kevin Schaefer (Byron) before dropping a 1-0 decision to Hudson's Taylor Smith.
"We knew we had the capability, but we never expected to get so many medals," Vlcek said. "To walk out of The Palace with seven state medals is something we should be proud of."
Both Walker and Cloke went 3-2 to earn seventh-place medals for the Dutchmen. Cloke, the defending state champion at 152 pounds, overcame two earlier losses and clinched his medal with a 7-3 decision over Bill Krisch (Leroy Pine River). Walker (119) secured his medal with a 16-1 technical fall over Hesperia's Jon Hren.
Abrigo (103) capped his freshman season by posting a 2-3 record at the state tournament and earning an eighth-place medal. Tyler King and Will Rickert also participated in the state tournament, but didn't medal. Rickert (171) dropped close decisions to Bruce Romagnoli (Iron Mountain) and Marc Confer (New Lathrop), while King (215) dropped his first match to Zack Ritter, defeated Travis Champman (Onaway) then fell to Murphy.
"You look at Rickert and King who had close matches, and everyone we had wrestled well," Vlcek said.
As a team, Manchester finished the season with a 32-6 record and won the Cascades Conference title. After advancing to Battle Creek for the second straight year, victories over Leroy Pine River and Springport sent the Dutchmen to their first-ever state championship dual, where they were stopped by No. 1 Hesperia.
Individually, the Dutchmen crowned six conference champions, six district champions and three regional champions. Manchester's 13 regional qualifiers and nine state qualifiers are new school records.
"From the first week of the season we said we're going to take it one step at a time," Vlcek said. "This was a nice way to take that final step, and I don't think we could've had a better showing for the program this weekend."
Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.
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