FARGO, N.D. — The summer months are usually reserved for the stereotypical summer games. These sports, like baseball, softball or golf, come to mind when you think of warm weather and outdoor weekends in the July and August heat.
Don’t tell that to the wrestlers.
Gaylord has a storied history of strong wrestling talent, and that doesn’t come from taking seasons off. Many of Gaylord’s wrestlers worked just as hard as anyone this summer, and it culminated as five Blue Devils successfully competed in the 2022 16U and Junior National Championships on the campus of North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. for Team Michigan.
Jaron Bensinger, Zane Wilabee, Sunni LaFond, Louden Stradling and Brayden Gautreau all qualified for this year’s national tournament, something that is done by either placing first or second at the Michigan Freestyle/Greco State Finals or by winning at the Central Regional Tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind.
From there, qualifying individuals joined forces to form Team Michigan, a group of highly-skilled wrestlers set to take on wrestlers from across the country at the national tournament.
That takes a lot of dedication, with wrestlers spending much of their year either training or traveling to tournaments across the state and the region.
In the end, it ends up worth it when wrestlers get to travel to Fargo, N.D., one of wrestling’s top destinations, to prove their worth against the best the rest of the country has to offer.
“The boys really enjoyed it and got to compete against the best kids in the country,” Shanie Gautreau said.
When all was said and done, four of Team Michigan’s wrestlers left Fargo with All-American honors, including Gaylord’s Bensinger and Gautreau.
Bensinger was the lone 16U All-American for the Michigan team after a comeback effort secured his spot on the podium. After losing in the first round, he went on to pick up two separate 8-0 tech falls before defeating Team Illinois’s Caden Correll to clinch an eighth-place finish.
Meanwhile, Gautreau was one of three All-Americans for Michigan in the Junior Division, joining teammates Caden Ferris (Delton Kellogg) and Marcello Milani (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) on the podium.
Gautreau, a Division 2 state champion for Gaylord in 2021, cruised to a 5-2 start in Greco before falling in the semifinals to the eventual champion. He wrapped up a quick 8-0 tech fall in the fifth-place match to secure his spot on the podium.
Gautreau and Stradling are both parts of the enduring legacy that Gaylord wrestling has been building over the past few years. Both won MHSAA D2 state championships as juniors, and are looking to repeat as state champs as seniors.
In the future, both hope to find somewhere to wrestle at the next level, but for now, they will focus on what they have accomplished now and what they have to accomplish moving forward. Both are members of the Gaylord HS football program, a team with growing expectations as autumn hits.
But one thing is for sure; with these any of these athletes still around, the wrestling program is in good hands.
