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Photo by Brian Cox
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Milan junior David Box (285) defeated Corey Chamberlain of Dexter 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Division individual state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Box finished fifth in the state.
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\Before thousands of cheering wrestling fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills March 6, Danny Vivian, Jacob Nelson and David Box took to the mat, marking the first time in at least a decade that a trio of Milan wrestlers had advanced to the individual wrestling state finals.
"This is huge being able to come here and compete," said head wrestling coach Gary Jonseck. "Some kids never get a chance to compete at this level. This brings the best of the best together. We're extremely excited about it."
Not one of Milan's three juniors had experience at state.
They do now.
Their inexperience with the sheer size of the tournament (12 mats on The Palace floor, milling reporters and photographers, hundreds of fans in the stands) may have left them a little unprepared for an atmosphere Jonseck described as a "circus."
After losing his first two matches at 160 pounds in major decisions, a disappointed Nelson said the finals were a "totally different experience."
"It was weird having a lot more people watching you," said Vivian, who agreed with Nelson that the experience was much more "intense."
"I think it will help a lot next year having been here," Nelson said. "We'll know what to expect."
Nelson, who finished the year 48-17 and took fourth at Regionals, lost his first match 12-3 to Phillip Joseph of Lapeer East, who went on to place third, and then fell 14-5 to Ben Brandstatter of Niles.
In addition to trying to acclimate or ignore all of the hoopla surrounding the finals, Nelson had to contend with wrestling first at 160 pounds.
"He got the luck of the draw," Jonseck said. "I don't know if we've drawn 160 all year. If you're not used to going out there first, that can throw you off."
Vivian (125) managed to keep his contests close, but wrestled from behind most of the time and couldn't manage to get a decisive break. He lost a tight 6-4 bout to Danny Sharrard of Gaylord in the opening round and in the consolation round lost 9-5 to Justin Sklapsky of Eaton Rapids.
Sklapsky jumped out to a 2-0 lead early with a quick takedown in the first and widened the margin to 6-2 early in the third.
Vivian closed the gap to 6-5 with an escape and a reversal in the final minute of the match, but Sklapsky got an escape to go up 7-5 with under 20 seconds to go. He put the match away with a takedown with seven seconds to go.
"Danny competed as best as he could at this level," Jonseck said. "Our kids are going out there and giving their best effort and that's what high school sports are all about."
Vivian finished the season 46-11.
Box, who this year became Milan's first heavyweight regional champion and entered the tournament ranked third in the state by Michigan Grappler, placed fifth in the finals.
He tried to put the drama of the state tournament out of his mind and to focus on wrestling a full six minutes on the mat.
"It's amazing to wrestle in the Palace," said Box, "but you have to think of it as just another gym with mats in it."
Box (285) defeated Jacob Daling of Coopersville with a fall at 2:24 in the first round on Thursday. In the quarterfinals Friday, he took out Dexter's Corey Chamberlain 6-2, recording a reversal in each of the three periods. Chamberlain's two points came late in the third period when Box was called for stalling.
It was only the second time Box had defeated the Dexter wrestler; the first win came last year in districts.
Afterward, Jonseck called the victory "huge."
"That kid is known for that headlock he does," Jonseck said. "(Box) did exactly what we've been working on."
"(Chamberlain) was a great competitor," Box said. "I just tried to capitalize on mistakes and make the most of it."
In the semis, Box was pinned at 4:14 by Michael Schaibly of Caledonia, who went on to place second behind Niles' Kenyon Ellis.
In battle for third place, Box succumbed to Josh Hendrickson of Eaton Rapids, who got the pin at 2:12. Box rebounded to get a win in his final bout of the season, pinning Blake Beals of Charlotte in 3:47, to earn the fifth spot and finish out the year 58-4.
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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