On Saturday Feb. 19, two Lakeland wrestlers participated in the Regional tournament. Both qualified for the MHSAA State tournament! Luke Jaworski finished 2nd at 140 lbs and Bryent Shepherd finished 3rd at 215 lbs.

In his first match, Luke Pinned his opponent from Warren Mott. Luke then wrestled in the semifinals against Leo Meatte of Fraser who was the district 8 champion. Luke won a tight match 3-2 with a key take down in the 3rd period. In the regional final, Luke faced off against Gabe Cappellano of Hartland who was the district 7 champion. Luke and Gabe had split two previous matches in recent weeks. Luke lost a thrilling match 3-2 when Cappellano earned an escape in the 3rd period.

In Bryent's first match he pinned Andrew Dupree of Grosse Point North who was the district 8 champion. Bryent then lost to Jacob Vance of Birmingham Seaholm in the semifinals. Bryent then faced Casey Beleshi of Warren De La Salle Collegiate who finished 2nd in district 8 with a trip to the state tournament on the line. Bryent won a close match 5-3 when he got a reversal in the last minute. In the 3rd-4th match, Bryent beat Kyler Thompson of Royal Oak with a major decision 13-4.

Good luck to Luke and Bryent when they wrestle on March 4-5 at Ford Field in the state finals!