O'Sullivan, Ticknor Lead 5 Hornet Wrestlers To Regional

Five Saline wrestlers are moving on after Saturday’s MHSAA wrestling district at Bedford.

Nate O’Sullivan, Taylor Ticknor, Alex Cornelius, Ryan Boxeth and Dustin Funk all had top four finishes to move on to next Saturday’s regional at . The top four wrestlers in each weight class at the regional move on to the state finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

O’Sullivan finished second in the 130-pound class. O’Sullivan began the day with a bye and then defeated Westland John Glenn’s Deandre Moore, 8-2. He won an 8-3 decision over Woodhaven’s Tito Sanchez to reach the district finals, where he fell to Southgate Anderson’s Alex Molloy, 8-2.

Prior to the event, O’Sullivan said it was his goal to place in the top two at district and give himself a decent seeding at Saturday’s regional. O’Sullivan has a record of 37-7.

Taylor Ticknor finished second in the 112-pound division. Ticknor opened with a bye and then won by pin at 1:07 in his match with Monroe’s Kylie Lindsay. Ticknor advanced to the finals with a 7-4 win over Lincoln Park’s Dylan Mcleod. In the finals, Ticknor lost to Bedford’s Mitch Rogaliner. Ticknor’s record is 43-5.

Cornelius placed third in the 140-pound division. Cornelius opened with a pin of teammate Stephen Slattery at 1:24. He pinned Lincoln Park’s James Chapman at 4:30 in the second round. Cornelius lost a 7-4 decision to Monroe’s Steve Johnson in the semifinal. He continued on the consolation bracket with a 10-3 win over Lincoln Park’s Roberto Davis and then defeated Wayne Memorial’s  Allen Parker 13-7 in the consolation final. Cornelius was 4-1 on the day to improve his season record to 30-12.

Boxeth began the day with a bye in the first round of the 125-pound division. In the second round, Boxeth won with a 16-1 Tech-Fall over Wyandotte Roosevelt’s Ben Maday. Boxeth ran into trouble in the semifinal, where he lost a 5-4 overtime decision to Southgate Anderson’s Raven Schmitt. He bounced back with a 5-3 overtime win over Bedford’s Bryce Davis. In the consolation final, Boxeth fell 5-1 to Westland John Glenn’s Quinn Dupraw. Boxeth is 38-8 this season.

At 135, Dustin Funk had a bye in the first round. He lost 5-3 in overtime to Southgate Anderson’s Tyler Carson. Funk battled his way back into the regional with a win by pin over Belleville’s Hunter Manke and a 9-2 decision over Woodhaven’s Jarrod Ammons.  He lost to Woodhaven’s Marcel Mrech by a score of 9-8 in the final. Funk is 28-14.

Jason Anthony and Raymond Schmitt both made it to the blood round but fell short of victory needed to qualify for regionals.