Brighton Advances 10 Wrestlers to State Finals

l wrestling has achieved a new high.

The Bulldogs had a school-record 10 wrestlers advance in Saturday’s Division 1 individual regional at Saline High School.

“We had 12 kids among 14 weight classes, that’s 85 percent,” Brighton coach Sam Amine stated. “I’m pretty satisfied with the way they wrestled. They showed they had the heart and desire to continue to win. A couple of kids didn’t get through, including my own son (Jordan Amine), and junior Matt Moody. They lost some tough matches.”

The individual state finals will be held at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 3-5.

Junior Jack Pizzo, who wrestles at 112 pounds, and senior Brandon Hill (160) were both second in their respective weight classes. Pizzo is 47-10 on the season while Hill is 57-3.

Taking third were: senior Vince Tkac (171, 54-7), senior Kurt Alder (189, 46-3) and junior Chris Brish (130, 51-4). Placing fourth were: junior Andy White (152, 40-12), senior Daniel Koenig (119, 41-10), junior Evan Hoshaw (125, 52-10), senior Keith Kooperman (135, 48-9) and sophomore Aaron Calderon (140, 52-7).

"I put in a lot of hard work over the summer and I'm hoping it's all going to pay off," Alder said. "We've got a lot of talent. All the guys have worked hard and it's nice to see it pay off and get 10 guys to The Palace. It's going to be a great time. We'll all be rooting each other on."

Jordan Amine, who wrestles at 103 pounds, was one win from making the top four, while Moody was two opponents away from advancing.

Hill and Jordan Amine both made states last year.

“We’ll have nine new kids who’ve never been there,” Sam Amine said. “We’re going to wrestle the best we can. If we belong up there on the podium, we’ll get there. It’s an honor just to be in the top 16.”

Brighton graduate Grant Pizzo was the state runner-up at 119 pounds in 2009.

Amine credits his assistant coaches, Jesse and Matt Bain, who both wrestled at Hartland, and Kevin Hill, for their roles in the team’s success.

“They’ve done an incredible job getting those kids focused,” Amine said. “The head coach gets all the praise when you win, but these guys have done a great job.”