Marquette freshman Amira Perrier wears her medal and holds her certificate at Ford Field after placing in the top eight in her weight class at the MHSAA Finals in girls individual wrestling held last Friday and Saturday in Detroit on the floor of the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions. (Photo courtesy Brandon Van Schyndel)

MARQUETTE — Freshman Amira Perrier of Marquette Senior High School is already a trail blazer in the relatively young sport of high school girls wrestling in Michigan.

In only the fifth year for the girls side of the sport to have a separate tournament, Perrier represented the area quite well with an eighth-place finish at the MHSAA individual state finals held on the floor of Ford Field in Detroit last weekend.

“(She) made school history as the first girl … to place at the state tournament as well as the first freshman from MSHS to place at the state tournament,” Sentinels head coach Brandon Van Schyndel said in an email detailing her result.

She joined eight other area wrestlers, all of them in the boys tournament, to take part in the finals at Ford Field.

Two of them wrestled for third place, Gwinn freshman Evan Stachewicz winning that match to place third in the state at 132 pounds in Division 4, while Negaunee sophomore Evan Asikainen lost a tough decision in his final match to place fourth at 113 pounds in Division 3.

The boys division, or technically open division, finals annually feature just shy of 900 wrestlers in 14 weight classes over four divisions. That’s because there are 16 finalists in every weight division, all with an equal shot of attaining a state championship when the finals begin.

The girls tourney has 224 slots for wrestlers as there is just one division at this time, so all schools regardless of size are competing together. There would likely be a chance to to get more girls involved in the finals if the sport continues to grow in numbers.

Here is a rundown, division by division:

Girls

Perrier, wrestling at 110 pounds, entered the finals with a 10-5 record before winning twice in five matches in Detroit last Friday and Saturday.

She opened by being pinned at 1 minute, 32 seconds by the eventual third-place finisher, sophomore Aubrey Bowman of Davison, who finished this season with a nifty 29-4 record.

That sent Perrier into the consolation side of the bracket, where she would be able to work her way to as high as third place, since the top two places are reserved for the pair of finalists on the winner’s bracket side.

And she was well on her way with an 11-0 major decision victory over senior Nellie Patsika of Berrien Springs in her second match.

That placed her in the “blood round,” a descriptive term used in wrestling for a match that determines whether a wrestler will place or move forward.

During the district and regional rounds, the blood round was the match that, with a win, got wrestlers into the third-place match, guaranteeing they’d be among the top four to advance to the next level.

At the finals, it referred to getting into a place in the top eight, where at minimum one more match would be held to determine exactly which place the wrestler would finish.

Perrier also won her match in the blood round, pinning sophomore Lana Sheehan of Lowell in overtime at 5:54.

Her coach was quite pleased with that result.

“She wrestled a familiar opponent in Lana Sheehan … who she lost to by tech fall (a 19-4 score) two weeks ago at regionals,” Van Schyndel said.

He further explained how back and forth the match went this time, Perrier trailing early before getting a takedown in the third period for a 7-5 lead. Then Sheehan came back with a reversal in the waning seconds of regulation to force OT.

“In overtime, Amira took Sheehan down again to her back, resulting in a pin to advance to the placing rounds,” the Marquette coach said. “This match really exemplifies who Amira is as an individual. I truly believe she has the ideal mindset as an athlete. She wrestles hard from whistle to whistle, regardless of her opponent or the score of the match, all while maintaining her composure.

“What makes her special is that she embraces these tough matches and enjoys whatever challenges come her way. While other athletes in these situations may get wrapped up in the moment, to Amira it’s just another opportunity to compete and have fun.

“Regardless of the result, she comes off the mat with a smile on her face asking what she can do to be a better wrestler.”

In her next match, which came on Saturday morning in an attempt to move up the ladder, she was pinned by freshman Makenzye Papiez of Howell at 1:30, putting her in the seventh-place match.

Perrier fought hard in that match before a third-period takedown led to senior Lark Ketchum of Holt taking a 4-1 decision.

Division 3 boys

Negaunee had a pair of wrestlers in lighter-weight classes, with Asikainen leading the way by compiling a 4-2 record at Ford Field at 113 pounds to finish his season at 44-9.

He opened with a 13-1 major decision triumph of sophomore Antonio Santana of Grant to advance in the winner’s bracket.

Then he lost to a senior who had also won his opener, 6-3 to Jude Rosas of Blissfield, to move to the consolation bracket.

Asikainen, who won his regional title several weeks earlier, then put together three straight victories in the finals.

He scored a 17-1 technical fall at 2:31 of sophomore Blake Wallace of Whitehall, won an 11-4 decision over sophomore Ryan Williams of Dundee, then finished the run with a pin at 2:13 of freshman Colt Robbins of Montrose.

That advanced Asikainen to the third-place match, where he lost to end up fourth after a 4-0 decision to junior Roman Goulette of West Branch Ogemaw Heights, a wrestler who finished his season at 49-10.

The Miners’ other representative at the finals was senior Derek Potvin at 106 pounds, who finished up with a 37-16 record after placing third at regionals and winning two of five matches at the finals.

He lost in his opener, a pin at 1:53 to freshman Dom Sindone of Dundee. Then he posted back-to-back victories, an 8-3 decision over sophomore Kai Borden of Berrien Springs and 6-4 decision over freshman Eli Stier of Laingsburg.

Trying to advance where he would place, he was pinned at 2:09 by sophomore Pierce Moran of Yale, then lost in the seventh-place match to finish eighth after he was pinned at 2:49 by freshman Dylan Russo of Kent City, a wrestler who finished his season at 57-4.

Division 4 boys

Gwinn only had one wrestler at the finals, but he had the highest finish of any area wrestler. Stachewicz, who finished the season with a sparkling 53-3 record, came in third at 132 pounds after he had won his regional crown.

He advanced in his opening match at the finals with a 17-2 tech fall win at 5:25 over junior Hunter Piper of Gobles, then dropped into the consolation side by being pinned at 2:57 by junior Ethan Rising of Hudson.

Three straight victories placed him in the match for third. He won a 13-10 decision over sophomore Kayden Miller of Roscommon, a 5-3 decision over junior Blayne Crance of Union City, and capped that run off with a pin at 1:35 of senior Mason Childs of Benzie Central.

One more win would clinch third, which he did with a 7-2 decision over sophomore Urijah Joostberns of Martin, who still finished with a nifty 47-10 record.

Manistique junior Grayden Holt won his opener before bowing out at 126. Finishing his season with a 40-10 mark after he was runner-up at his regional, Holt opened the finals with a 10-7 victory over sophomore Cole Grollimund of St. Louis.

He then lost in a 17-1 tech fall at 1:59 to senior Sammy Stewart of Manchester and was pinned at 1:21 by junior Garrett Randall of Schoolcraft.

All three of his opponents had 40-win seasons like Holt, Stewart’s the best of the group at 45-4.

Emeralds senior teammate Landon Weber competed at 120. While he was runner-up in the regional, at the finals he lost in a 17-1 tech fall at 4:13 to sophomore Coleton Ernest of LeRoy Pine River, then lost a 10-4 decision to sophomore Brody Birchfield of Springport.

From Munising, a pair of juniors made it to Ford Field.

Henry Basley at 132 lost in a 17-1 tech fall at 2:26 to Crance, then was pinned at 2:22 by junior Dillan Jones of LeRoy Pine River.

Teammate Nolan Dolaskie at 157 lost in an 18-1 tech fall at 1:23 to sophomore Tyler Morales of Decatur, the division’s eventual state champion who finished with a 57-2 record, and in a 16-0 tech fall at 1:42 to junior Ryan McKenney of Sandusky.

Newberry’s representative at the finals was junior Gaijye Depew at 165. He was pinned at 3:32 by junior Owen Loop of Hudson and pinned at 1:52 by junior Noah Adams of Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary, a wrestler who finished with a 47-10 record.

Story contents based on email received from Marquette head coach Brandon Van Schyndel and an examination of the MHSAA website at www.mhsaa.com. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.