Although the Brandon varsity wrestling team’s season is over, two of their wrestlers are still going strong.
The Blackhawks? Travis Murphy and Andrew Hyde, by virtue of their finish in Division 2 individual district action Saturday, Feb. 18 at Linden, advanced to Division 2 individual regional competition Saturday, Feb. 25 at Owosso.
Murphy (103), a senior, finished in second place in his weight class, losing the championship match against Linden’s Josh Frietas by an 8-5 score. He pinned Swartz Creek’s Justin Wallace in 1:29 and defeated Ben Wernette of Bloomfield Hills Lahser by a 6-1 decison to advance to the title match.
Meanwhile, Hyde (152), a junior, won the third place match in his weight class, pinning Swartz Creek’s Ed Constable in 51 seconds.
Hyde started out the tournament by defeating North Farmington’s Phil Wrenbeck by a 11-9 decision, then lost by injury default to Fenton’s Myles Jury. However, Hyde bounced back to pin Fowlerville’s Brandon Burt in 3:46 before winning his third-place match against Constable.
The outmanned Blackhawks had a tough time in team district action Thursday, Feb. 16 at Brandon Middle School, losing 66-10 to Flint Metro League neighbor Oxford.
The Wildcats defeated another Flint Metro foe, Fenton, by a 50-21 score in the finals to claim the district crown.
The Blackhawks had two wrestlers win their respective matches: Hyde (152) defeated Brent Mueller by an 11-1 decision, and Hyde’s brother Aaron (160) pinned Steve Watson in 1:42.