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Brother Rice Wrestlers Perfect on First Day of State Finals

Three Warriors wrestlers win on day one of the individual state wrestling finals; Seaholm wrestlers have mixed results.

The individual wrestling state finals kicked off on with hundreds of wrestlers from around the state hitting the mat.

Good First Day For Brother Rice

Brother Rice qualified three wrestlers for the state finals and all of them were victorious on day one. The trio advances to the quarterfinals on Friday morning.

Junior Andrew Napieraj made an impression in his first match.

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The Brother Rice junior won a 20-4 technical fall (135 pounds) 22 seconds into the third round over Northville's Travis Compo. Napieraj was up 8-1 by the end of the first and didn't let up.

"He was really focused mentally," Brother Rice coach James Scott Moseley said. "He wanted to make a statement after not being here last year. It's good to come out of the gate swinging."

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Senior Thomas Giradot won a battle on a 5-3 decision (145 pound) against Stoney Creek freshman Andrew Price. Price's nose was bloodied in the first round and he had to take multiple injury timeouts to plug it.

Giradot only went down to the mat once during the match. His experience definitely gave him an advantage in the match.

Sophomore Shon Powell nearly didn't join his teammates in the quarterfinals.

He made a critical mistake in his match against Howell junior Chad Czerneski that almost sent him to the consolation bracket. Powell was way too aggressive in the first round and gave Czerneski a pinfall opportunity a minute into their match.

"I let my emotions get the best of me," Powell said. "I went out there way too aggressive."

Powell kept Czerneski from getting both of his shoulders on the mat. Czerneski earned three points for the nearfall to take a 5-2 lead.

In the second round, Powell patiently waited for Czerneski to make a mistake. When Czerneski left his leg undefended, Powell grabbed it and rolled it over into a pinfall with :54 seconds left in the second round.

"I wasn't going to go for that move, but I saw the leg and went for the cradle," Powell said.

Seaholm Wins One, Loses One

Junior Tim List put the Maples in the win column on Day One of the state finals in the 135-pound bracket. He pinned Wyandotte Roosevelt sophomore Quentin Santiago in the second round (2:57).

Teammate Ryan Law wasn't so lucky.

The senior fell behind early in the second round 6-1 against Jenison's Trent Samuels. Law tried to come back in the third with two takedowns, but it wasn't enough. Law lost the match on an 8-5 decision.

He drops down to the consolation bracket.

The state finals are a double-elimination tournament, so Law will open Friday morning in the blood rounds. One more loss and his season will be over.

Patch is covering all three days of the tournament, providing updates from our live blog. Make sure to follow along on Friday and Saturday for results, photos and more!

Wrestling State Finals Coverage

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