Avoiding a pin can mean everything in high school team wrestling.
There was never a better example of that than on Saturday, when Reeths-Puffer’s Nathan Stafford took on Zeeland East’s Parker Williams in the 285-pound finals at the O-K Green conference tournament at Wyoming High School.
It was the final match of the day, and from a Reeths-Puffer team perspective, everything depended on it.
Stafford did not have to win. He simply had to avoid being pinned, which was a real challenge against Williams, the No. 4 ranked heavyweight in the state in Division 2.
Nathan Stafford, who saved the day by avoiding a pin.
Stafford delivered, hanging in for six long minutes and avoiding a pin in a 6-1 loss That gave the Rockets exactly what they needed to squeak past second-place Zeeland East 207.5-206, win the tournament title and claim the overall O-K Green conference championship for the second straight year.
“If Zeeland East pinned, we would lose or tie with them overall in the conference,” said R-P wrestling coach Jared Fleming. “Our guys got on the bleachers and formed a mini student section, chanting and screaming for Nathan, who wrestled super tough against a state-ranked opponent. Our team went ballistic cheering for him.
“When we got the trophy, we sang the fight song on the mat and shared tears of joy and laughter. It was a tremendous day to be a Rocket!”
Ian Cook, who won the 132-pound title.
For the second straight year, Reeths-Puffer came into the last day of conference competition tied for first place with Zeeland East and Holland, and the team that got the most points at the tournament would win the overall title.
The Rockets pulled it off last year with a 12-point victory margin in the tournament. This year it was only a point and a half, but a championship is still a championship, and R-P was thrilled to earn another trophy.
“I am just so proud of the guys for how they came out here and competed today,” Fleming said. “They wrestled so hard and so well. They did everything we asked of them and more. They can forever go look at the banner in Dan Beckman Arena and see the 2024 on the conference champs section of the wrestling banner and know they were a part of that team.”
Jake Rozycki, who won the 126-pound title.
Excellent depth and a great overall team performance combined to give Reeths-Puffer its edge.
Three Rockets won weight class championships – Jake Rozycki (126), Ian Cook (132) and Nathan Reeves (157).
Five more Rockets advanced to the title match in their weight classes and finished second, which also provided the team valuable points. They were Stafford, Arin Maynard (106), Mason Goodno (120), Andrew Corradin (150) and Sage Secrest (190).
Nathan Reeves, who won the 157-pound title.
But the real key was the number of R-P wrestlers who at least advanced to the semifinal round in their weight classes. R-P had top four wrestlers in 13 of the 14 weight classes, and their success provided just enough team points for the Rockets to win the conference trophy.
Finishing third for R-P was Owen Schab at 175 pounds. Finishing fourth were Max Knowlton (113), Hunter Eek (138), Bryce Muskovin (144) and Devin Welch (215).
“Going into the day we told our guys they had to place above their seed if they were not a number one seed, and if they were the one seed, to get bonus point wins in every match,” Fleming said. “This was the case for 10 of them. Three were seeded first and pinned their way through - Rozycki, Cook and Reeves - and the other seven placed above their seeds, most notably Hunter Eek, who was seeded sixth and placed fourth.
Owen Schab, who moved up in weight class to help the team win the title.
“We knew going into the day that the team with the most depth would be able to win the tournament, and we felt that was us. We were so confident about our guys doing well, and we really feel like we're peaking at the right time. I know our guys and their abilities. Even though we dropped a dual meet to Zeeland East (earlier in the season), we knew we would be able to get them here in the tournament, but it was going to take everything we had.”
Some guys made sacrifices to help the team finish high in as many weight classes as possible.
That included Schab, a senior who had a chance to win an individual championship at his normal 165 pounds, but moved up to 175 for the good of the team. Schab lost in the semifinals, then went to the consolation bracket and battled to a third-place finish, which was a tremendous help in the final team standings.
“He did it for the team because he valued a team conference title over an individual title,” Fleming said about Schab.
