Kingsford’s Tyler Bray poses with the 150-pound bracket and the Most Valuable Wrestler trophy after securing the U.P. title in Marquette on Saturday. (Courtesy photo)

MARQUETTE — With winter in full effect, multiple area varsity wrestling teams made the trip to Marquette on Saturday for the U.P. Wrestling Finals.

Iron Mountain, Norway, Kingsford and North Central were among the 19 teams in attendance at the event. However, it was the Flivvers who emerged victorious taking home the UP Finals team title with 189 points. Escanaba took second with 179.5 while Sault Area High School was third. North Central took home 10th place with 84 points while Norway grabbed 15th with 36 points and Iron Mountain took home 16th with 33.5 points.

“We preach family in our wrestling room everyday,” Kingsford head coach Darren Groleau said. “We go to battle when we step on that mat for our brothers and sisters. This weekend only nine wrestlers entered in the tournament. This team wrestled for each other. They came into this tournament with adversity, missing teammates due to illness or injury.

“But they did not want to make excuses and they battled all day to achieve their team and individual goals!”

For the Flivvers, this was their first ever U.P. Finals team title.

“We achieved something that Kingsford wrestling has never achieved before and that is our first ever U.P. Team Championship,” Groleau said. “It couldn’t have been scripted any better.

“This team has brought me to tears. This UP championship is something we’ve been building towards for years. Escanaba almost always finds a way to make a run at the U.P. title. Johnny Rogers and his coaching staff got those kids ready for this weekend and it showed! Hats off to him and the rest of the Escanaba program.”

The 150-pound division was given the spotlight on Saturday as three-ranked wrestlers faced off. Escanaba’s Cade Krueger, ranked fifth at 138-pounds in Division 2, moved up for the tournament. Iron Mountain’s Daniel Manier, ranked fourth in Division 4, and Kingsford’s Tyler Bray, ranked ninth in Division 3, wrestled at their natural weight.

Bray ended up taking home first and the Most Valuable Wrestler honor, going 3-0 overall. He beat Krueger in the finals in a 9-8 decision. He defeated Manier in a 5-2 decision.

“Tyler Bray had to go through the toughest bracket to win not only his first U.P. championship but to win U.P.’s as a team,” Groleau said. “The spotlight wasn’t too big; he hit a huge seven-point play in the first and he was able to hold on to win a dramatic 9-8 win for the championship.

“Tyler Bray wanted to seal this U.P. championship on his terms and he did.”

Manier ended the day in third place.

As a team, Kingsford sent seven wrestlers into the finals. Tegan Ray grabbed first at 132 pounds. Orrin Smith took home first in the 157-pound division and Max Sundquist won the 175-pound title.

“Orrin at 157 was all about redemption,” Groleau said. “In order for him to be a U.P. champion he had to beat two guys that have previously beaten him. First up was Max Wilson from Gladstone and Orrin teched him. Next up in the finals was Gabe Werkheiser from St. Ignace. Orrin controlled the whole match and set the tone for his teammates in the finals.”

126-pounder Reed Degroot, 138-pounder Nolan Hendrickson and 190-pounder Jake Lockhart all took home second for the Flivvers. Preston Declark finished in third at 285 pounds.

Norway’s Landon Amundson took home third at 175 pounds. He beat Gladstone’s Jack Taylor in the third-place match in a 5-0 decision.

Iron Mountain’s Gio Saldana took home fifth place at 215 pounds. He beat North Central’s Miles Nehring in an 11-5 decision.

North Central’s Cooper Raab locked up the U.P. title at 126 pounds, pinning Degroot in the second round.

Results

Kingsford 189, Escanaba 179.5, Sault Ste. Marie 156, Gladstone 126.5, Menominee 113.5, St. Ignace 101.5, Manistique 98.5, Negaunee 90.5, Marquette 88.5, Powers North Central 84, Munising 68, Ishpeming Westwood 64, Rudyard 56.5, Gwinn 39, Norway 36, Iron Mountain 33.5, Newberry 26, Bark River-Harris 25.

157 — Smith, K, dec. Werkheiser, SI, 15-7; 3, M. Wilson, Glad; 4, Wieczorek, Mun; 5, Baxter, Men.

165 — Gagne, E, pinned Niemi-Alco, Rud, 1:28; 3, Nelson, Men; 4, Bird, SI; 5, Dockery, WW.

175 — Sundquist, K, pinned Maline, Mstq, 3:20; 3, Amundson, Nor; 4, Taylor, Glad; 5, Rishmawi, S.

190 — Thorbahn, Glad, tech fall over Lockhart, K, 19-2; 3, Aldrich, S; 4, Gauthier, Men; 5, Corrigan, BR-H.

215 — Russo, S, dec. B. Wilson, Glad, 10-0; 3, Portillo, E; 4, Clarke, Men; 5, Saldana, IM.

285 — Kuenzer, S, dec. Smith, Mqt, 10-2; 3, Declark, K; 4, Walker, BR-H; 5, Hamilton, New.

106 — Asikainen, Neg, pinned Randstadler, E, :48; 3, Nord, Mun; 4, Olson, PNC; 5, Bliss, New.

113 — Espinoza, Neg, dec. Savoie, Rud, 19-8; 3, Corrigan, PNC; 4, L. Weber, Mstq; 5, Baldovski, Glad.

120 — Crowe, E, pinned J. Weber, Mstq, 1:48; 3, Champion, SI; 4, Jenkins, Gw; 5, Bosley, Men.

126 — Raab, PNC, pinned Degroot, K, 2:53; 3, Holt, Mstq; 4, Nevil, Nor; 5, Teeple, Mqt.

132 — Ray, K, panned Britton, Glad, 2:23; 3, Brady, SI; 4, Osterhout, Mstq; 5, VanLandschoot, Mun.

138 — Barstow, Men, dec. Hendrickson, K, 3-2; 3, W. Peabody, S; 4, Lindquist, WW; 5, Lipnitz, SI.

144 — Klier, S, dec. Arnt, E, 12-5; 3. Black, Neg; 4, LaBonte, PNC; 5, Smith, Mun.

150 — Bray, K, dec. Krueger, E, 9-8; 3, Manier, IM; 4, Comero, WW; 5, Leipold, SI.