Sports
UPDATE: Andover Wrestler Comes Back for 2 Wins
Two of three Brother Rice wrestlers win second bout to advance to semifinals; Napieraj loses to go into consolation round. Follow along today in the Patch Live Blog.
The individual wrestling state finals kicked off on with hundreds of wrestlers from around the state hitting the mat, and .
Friday update
Andover senior Brody Wagerson clearly didn't want to go home Friday morning. He blitzed Greenville's Carter Magirl in their consolation match (215 pound). Wagerson scored two takedowns in the first round on his way to a 10-2 win. He was in total control of Magirl and was never in any real trouble.
He followed up Friday afternoon winning his second match of the day in the consolation bracket, a 5-0 decision over Lapeer East junior Joe Perry.
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He'll wrestle St. Clair Shores Lake Shore senior Kyle Spear Saturday morning.
For Brother Rice, Andrew Napieraj fell in a 6-5 decision to Macomb Dakota sophomore Jake Johnsonin the 135-pound bracket. Thomas Giradot (145) defeated Zach Marsh of Canton to advance to the semifinals, and Shon Powell beat Allen Steele of Livonia Franklin in OT at 160 pounds to make the semifinals.
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Thursday: Good First Day For Brother Rice
qualified three wrestlers for the state finals in Division 1 and all of them were victorious on Day One of the tournament. The trio advances to the quarterfinals on Friday morning.
Junior Andrew Napieraj made an impression in his first match.
The Brother Rice junior won a 20-4 technical fall (135 pounds) 22 seconds into the third round over Northville's Travis Compo. Napieraj was up 8-1 by the end of the first and didn't let up.
"He was really focused mentally," Brother Rice coach James Scott Moseley said. "He wanted to make a statement after not being here last year. It's good to come out of the gate swinging."
Senior Thomas Giradot won a battle on a 5-3 decision (145 pound) against Stoney Creek freshman Andrew Price. Price's nose was bloodied in the first round and he had to take multiple injury timeouts to plug it.
Giradot only went down to the mat once during the match. His experience definitely gave him an advantage in the match.
Sophomore Shon Powell nearly didn't join his teammates in the quarterfinals.
He made a critical mistake in his match against Howell junior Chad Czerneski that almost sent him to the consolation bracket. Powell was way too aggressive in the first round and gave Czerneski a pinfall opportunity a minute into their match.
"I let my emotions get the best of me," Powell said. "I went out there way too aggressive."
Powell kept Czerneski from getting both of his shoulders on the mat. Czerneski earned three points for the nearfall to take a 5-2 lead.
In the second round, Powell patiently waited for Czerneski to make a mistake. When Czerneski left his leg undefended, Powell grabbed it and rolled it over into a pinfall with :54 seconds left in the second round.
"I wasn't going to go for that move, but I saw the leg and went for the cradle," Powell said.
Wagerson Falls
Andover's lone representative at The Palace didn't have a good first day.
Senior Brody Wagerson lost in the first round (Division 2; 215 pounds) to Charlotte's Patrick Eldred. Eldred scored a takedown in overtime to win a 4-2 decision.
The state finals are a double-elimination tournament, so Wagerson will open Friday morning in the blood rounds. One more loss and his season will be over.
Patch is covering all three days of the tournament, providing updates from our live blog. Make sure to follow along on Friday and Saturday for results, photos and more!
