Sports
P-CEP Sends Eight Wrestlers to State Finals
Five Canton grapplers, two from Plymouth and one from Salem are heading to The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Three wrestlers won individual regional titles at Saturday’s Division 1 tournament at Plymouth High School.
Senior Anthony Abro, who wrestles at 189 pounds, remains undefeated (56-0) on the season with the 5-2 victory over Detroit Catholic Central’s Miles Trealout.
Abro is ranked No. 1 in the state at 189 pounds while Trealout is No. 3.
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“I had to work hard to get my points and stop his offense,” Abro said.
Senior Ben Poirier (285, 50-3) and freshman Ben Griffin (103, 54-1) also took first in their respective weight classes.
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This year's state finals will be held at The Palace of Auburn Hills March 3-5.
Abro placed fourth in the state last year and Poirier was a state-qualifier.
“It’s a cross between being really nervous and really excited,” Poirier said. “Last year, I was just nervous. That’s probably why I didn’t do so well. To put it simply, it’s like massive butterflies in your stomach.”
Canton senior Braden Price (171, 19-7) took second as did Salem High School sophomore Cody Korpus (119, 21-10), Plymouth sophomore Alec Breckenridge (130, 34-11) and Plymouth junior Said Youssef (125, 46-11). Canton junior Zach Marsh (140, 42-8) placed third.
“It’s kind of bittersweet as we had five of our six guys get through,” Canton coach Cory Mancuso said. “Alec Panteleo didn’t make it and he’s one of our better wrestlers. He had some good kids in his bracket, though. The other five, I’m happy for them. We’ll get back to training this week and try to go there and get a medal.”
Abro said he tries not to think about last season as he was disappointed with his finish, but he also likes to look at it for motivation.
“I’m going to train real hard and get the mindset ready for states,” Abro said. “Maybe watch a little film. You tell yourself to take it one match at a time and don’t take anyone lightly.”
Canton’s last individual state champ was Corey Phillips (140) in 2007. Salem High School’s last state champ was Jeremy Henderson (189) in 2006. Plymouth, which opened in 2002, has never had an individual state champ.
