Reeths-Puffer senior wrestler Kaden Malotke wrapped up his varsity career in style on Saturday by finishing in third place in the 138-pound weight class at the Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals at Detroit’s Ford Field.
Malotke posted a 4-1 record on the day. He defeated Mitchell Ross of Flushing 11-6 in the first round and Tyler Garrett of Livonia Franklin 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
His chances at a state title were stopped in the semifinals when he was pinned by Davison’s Justin Gates in 3:05. Gates went on to win the state championship.
But Malotke doubled back after the loss, defeating Davison’s Kyle Jelinek 6-1 in the consolation semifinals, then pinning Clarkston’s Augusta Anderson in the third-place match in 2:18.
Malotke, who won All-State honors, finished with an incredible 54-2 season record.
Kaden Malotke, who finished third in the state in the 138-pound weight class.
“He just looked different, more mentally ready, than he ever had before,” R-P wrestling coach Jared Fleming said about Malotke. “Even though he lost, it didn’t faze him. He just kept pushing himself. He just went out there and took care of business.”
R-P sophomore Ian Cook also had a great day, taking sixth place and earning All-State honors in the 120-pound weight class.
Cook posted a 3-3 record on the day. He started on a tough note, losing to Hartland’s Dallas Karponic 7-0 in the first round. He bounced back to beat Anchor Bay’s Sam Schreiber 16-0, Holt’s Mariano Lopez 4-2 and Rockford’s Braylenn Aulbach 7-5, before being pinned by Karponic in 1:26 in a rematch of his first bout.
Cook ended his day with a loss to Clarkston’s Brady Vogt, 6-2, in the fifth-place match. He finished the season with a 51-6 record and will go into next season with 99 career victories.
Cook, an Academic All-Stater this season, finished third a year ago in the state finals.
Ian Cook, who placed sixth in the 120-pound weight class.
“He’s a little bit disappointed in himself because he sets very high goals for himself, but we’re super proud of him,” Fleming said about Cook. “He didn’t wrestle his best at times, but that happens to everybody. He still took sixth place in the state. The kid from Holt he beat in overtime (Lopez) was a state runner-up last year.
“He’s got two more years and a great future.”
Reeths-Puffer senior Caleb Zimmerman, who competed at 190 pounds, posted a 1-2 record at the state tournament and did not place.
He finished the season with a 22-6 record and Academic All-State status.
The mere fact that Zimmerman qualified for state at all, after missing chunks of the season with a broken nose and various illnesses, was pretty amazing.
“He went through some adversity, but it all came together at the end for him,” Fleming said. “He lost to a guy who ended up taking fourth. He had a great season. Just getting to state for him was awesome.”
