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MARQUETTE — It’s been a pre-Christmas tradition for nearly half a century and this year’s Marquette Challenge high school wrestling invitational on Saturday didn’t disappoint.

Twenty schools, including 11 from the Upper Peninsula, gathered inside the walls of the Barb Crill Gymnasium at Marquette Senior High School for the 47th annual edition of the tournament that features top teams and wrestlers from across Michigan and Wisconsin.

Competition started at 8:30 a.m. and was continuous through the semifinal rounds before MSHS staff and volunteers sent everyone home and shut the gym down for a few hours in order to set the stage for the championship bouts.

Marquette’s Desmond Mullen takes on Comstock Park’s Tyler DeWitt during their 152-pound semifinal match at the Marquette Challenge held Saturday at Marquette Senior High School. (Journal photo by Amy Grigas)

Why the break in action? Because it’s not your typical final round of wrestling. When spectators and athletes returned at 7 p.m., they were greeted with a dark gymnasium, loud music and a single spotlight shining over the mat. Those wrestlers who made it to the finals received a professional introduction before going toe-to-toe with each other amidst an amped-up crowd that packed the bleachers. MSHS has done it this way for years, adding a bit of incentive for making it to the finals.

Gaylord, an MHSAA Division 2 team semifinalist last winter, claimed its third Marquette Challenge title in the last four years with 272 points. The Blue Devils were runners-up at last year’s meet after winning it back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.

New Lothrop, a team semifinalist in MHSAA Division 4 earlier in the 2018-19 season, finished runner-up, while Pulaski, Wisconsin, and two more downstate schools, Mason and LeRoy Pine River, rounded out the top five.

Marquette was the highest U.P. finisher in eighth place with 82.5 points, edging out Gladstone with 82. Iron Mountain and Escanaba followed in 10th and 11th, respectively, while Ishpeming was 13th, Westwood 14th, Negaunee 15th, Kingsford 16th, Bark River-Harris 17th, Gwinn 19th and Munising 20th.

The Redmen sent three wrestlers to podium finishes, which featured the top five finishers in each weight class.

Topping the list for Marquette was Joe Lagrou, who was runner-up at 119 pounds after he was defeated by Mason junior Logan Trimmer on a pin in the second period of the finals. Lagrou earlier defeated Parker Noonan of New Lothrop in a first-period pin and Ishpeming sophomore Jaegar Wilson on a technical fall, 18-3.

Sophomore Desmond Mullen was third at 152, topping Pine River sophomore Philip Rigling by major decision 10-2 in the third-place match. He chalked up a 9-6 win over Harry Helmick of New Lothrop before losing to Tyler DeWitt of Comstock Park on a third-period pin in the semifinals.

Two-time state qualifier Payton Holmstrom was the third Marquette podium finisher after the senior took fourth place at 112, falling to Pine River junior Dylan Fauble by a pin at 6:36 in the third-place match. He defeated Lane Matzke of Gladstone on a second-period pin and lost to Shawn McGuire of Iron Mountain 9-0.

For Lagrou, second place wasn’t his ideal way to finish. It was the senior’s second straight runner-up finish at the meet after taking third place in 2016 and 2017.

“Four top-three finishes and two runner-ups,” MSHS head coach Tony Gentz said. “You feel bad for a kid who has so much success and can’t get this tournament. We like to call it the ‘Challenge curse’ for Marquette. Our last (individual) champion at this tournament was in 2001. We’ll just have to get back to the grind and work for the next one.”

Despite the disappointment from an individual perspective, Gentz was pleased with his team’s finish.

“We took eighth place, which is probably the best finish we’ve had under my coaching in at least the last 15 years,” he said. “The kids wrestled well. Even if they didn’t place, they wrestled well and they were scoring points for us. I guess I didn’t even realize that we were the top U.P. school. That’s just a credit to our kids’ hard work. They battled all day in every position. It was a good day.

“I couldn’t be prouder right now. We’ve obviously got a lot to work on, but that’s why it’s a long season.”

The U.P. produced two champions, coming in the lightest of the 14 weight classes. Gladstone sophomore Michael Brazeau topped Gaylord freshman Brendan Smith 5-2 in the 103 finale, while Iron Mountain freshman Shawn McGuire edged Gaylord sophomore Ian Preston 7-6 in the 112 final. The Braves produced three podium finishers, while the Mountaineers had two.

Marquette County schools had seven podium representatives in all. Aside from Marquette’s three wrestlers, Ishpeming, Negaunee and Westwood had athletes earned top-five finishes.

The Hematites had two on the podium, Wilson and senior Alaric Martin, who each earned fourth places.

Wilson was pinned by Gaylord sophomore Bennett Sides in the third-place match at 119, while Martin also lost by pin to Constantine junior Isaac Hall for third at 189.

Negaunee senior Leo Helppi took fourth at 215, having to forfeit in the third-place match to Mason senior Devin Vasquez due to injury.

For Westwood, senior Rocco Carlson took fourth at 160, losing to New Lothrop senior Austin Barnette by pin at 2:28 in the third-place match.

Westwood head coach Dan Carlson said while his team didn’t have its best day, it was nice to get a look at some different competition as the season moves forward.

“It’ll show us where we’ve got to make some adjustments and learn to wrestle better,” he said. “It definitely helps us with that. We’ve got the Munising Super Duals (on Saturday), so hopefully we can do better there.”

Marquette will travel to Merrill, Wisconsin, on Saturday, while Westwood, Ishpeming and Gwinn will all compete at the Munising Super Duals. Negaunee will next compete at the Escanaba Invite on Jan 4.

Email Ryan Spitza at sports@miningjournal.net.