Oceana wrestlers had a successful weekend at Ford Field in Detroit, producing five all-state athletes of the 15 who ventured east.
The top county finisher was Hesperia heavyweight Noah Walker, who made it all the way to the Division 4 finals match before finishing in second place and ending his season with a 48-4 record.
Walker, who was the top seed in the bracket, picked up pins in each of his first two matches to clinch all-state status, then edged Hudson’s Malachi Marshall 3-0 in the semifinals. That set up what turned out to be an epic battle against Charlevoix’s Sawyer Blaszczyk in the championship match. The two went to overtime before Blaszczyk scored a takedown to win, 5-2.
The Panthers’ Carter Fuentes took third at 106 pounds, picking up his final victory by medical forfeit. Fuentes pinned each of his first two opponents before dropping a decision to eventual state champion Jaxton Kimling of Hudson. He then earned another pin in the consolation semifinals on his way to third place.
Two county wrestlers finished in fifth; Hart’s Kole Thomas was fifth in Division 3 at 126 pounds, earning his second straight all-state finish, and Shelby’s Brody Fessenden was fifth at 157.
Thomas was seeded No. 2 in the bracket and advanced to the semifinals with a first-round pin and an 8-2 decision victory. Only Yale’s Kersten McClelland stopped Thomas’ run, sending him to the consolation brackets. After a tough decision loss in the consolation semifinals, Thomas pinned his final opponent, Tawas’ Matthew Martin, in the fifth-place match.
Fessenden, who qualified for state last year, reached the podium this time around with a great weekend. He entered the bracket seeded fourth and rebounded from a first-round defeat to win three consecutive matches in the consolation bracket, including an all-out fight to edge Montrose’s Gauge Vincke in double overtime in the blood round. Fessenden also scored an impressive pin over Whitehall’s Liam Leeke in the consolation bracket and pinned Allegan’s Ryan Sparks in the fifth-place match.
“Both (those wrestlers) have been ranked all year in front of him,” Shelby coach Dustin Dean said of Fessenden’s final two victims of the season. “Brody Fessenden had an exceptional tournament.”
Haegan Hansen of Hart also reached the podium, taking seventh place at 175 for his first all-state honor. Like Fessenden, Hansen pulled off a dramatic overtime victory in the blood round, edging Caro’s Tyler Enos 5-2, to secure his podium position. After a close loss in his next match, Hansen capped his season with a win by medical forfeit in the seventh-place match.
Reaching the blood round were Logan Jorissen, Halen Boos and Adrian Lara of Hart, Ryan Fuentes of Hesperia, and Jaylin Henderson of Shelby.
Henderson won his first-round match by pin before taking a decision defeat in the quarterfinals and losing in the blood round. An all-state performer in 2025, Henderson is in line for a great senior season.
Lara won a first-round match by decision before being forced out of the tournament by a third-period injury default in the quarterfinals. Jorissen won a major decision and Boos took a decision win before being eliminated. Fuentes’ victory came by pin.
Hart’s Jude Salazar and Caden VanGelderen, Shelby’s Alden Beyer and Cesar Cadena and Hesperia’s Aiden Smith each went 0-2.
“The experience they had down at the state tournament will prepare them for next year,” Dean said of Beyer and Cadena. “Our coaching staff is incredibly proud of these four young men. These 4 young men worked very hard this season.”
“We couldn’t be more proud of these Panthers,” added Hesperia coach Mark Arbogast of his state wrestlers.
