Two Milan Wrestlers Win Opening Matches at State Finals

Undefeated Milan senior Tim Sims continued his march toward a perfect season as the MHSAA state wrestling finals began at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Thursday.

Sims improved to 56-0 when he won his won by T-fall over Lansing Eastern’s Elijah Dennis.

Sims, wrestling at 152 pounds in Division 2, scored the first takedown early and, as he’s known to do, let his opponent right back up. Early on, though, Dennis didn’t let Sims run up the score. Dennis scored the next takedown for a 3-2 lead. Sims escaped and then returned the favor, scoring two extra points on a nearfall for a 7-3 lead after the first period. In the second, Sims wore Dennis out, scoring several takedowns for a 15-4 lead. He finished Dennis off with a couple of takedowns in the third period.

"I came here to finish what I started last year," said Sims, who is aiming for a state title. "I wanted to come out and start with a bang, and I think I did that."

Sims said his opponent was strong.

"I just tried to take him down and let him up and rack up the points and wear him down," Sims said.

Sims can win a spot on the podium with a win Friday against Lapeer East's Isaac Jospeh (20-5), who advanced with a 4-2 decision over Highland Park's Dimitrius Maddox.

Milan Junior Dillon Farrell (21-5) started his tournament with a tense 4-2 overtime win over Marysville’s Justin Blankenship (48-11) in the 145-pound division. It was a match that began conservatively and ended wildly. Neither wrestler could score a point in the first two periods. Blankenship scored the match’s first point with an escape in the third period. Farrell scored a takedown with 17 seconds left in the third for a 2-1 lead. He appeared to have the match won, but with five seconds left, Blankenship rocked out of Farrell’s hold. The two wrestlers tumbled away from the center of the mat and Blankenship was granted a point for an escape as time expired.

In overtime, Farrell was the aggressor. He went for the takedown and nearly landed it. But Blankenship nearly turned Farrell. Farrell fought him off and, after about 15 seconds of grappling on the ground, gained the advantage and was awarded the match-winning takedown.

"It was exciting. It got the heart going. It was a lot of fun. I just pushed through it and enjoyed my time out there," Farrell said. "It was tough in overtime, but I was the aggressor and I ended up coming up with the win."

Farrell faces Byron Central's Nate Zick (46-4) on Friday.

Milan senior Matt Schultz (47-9) lost his opening match at 215 pounds to St. Johns' Taylor Pemberton (46-8) by pin in the first period. Pemberton took down Schultz early and worked toward the pin just before the end of the first period.

Schultz will have to battle back into contention Friday morning.