By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - The Palace of Auburn Hills will be packed with wrestlers from all over the state of Michigan this weekend as the individual state wrestling tournament gets under way.
In attendance will be Brandywine wrestlers Adam Simons, Aaron Edquist and Jeremy Hechtl. All three advanced by placing at the individual regional wrestling tournament, which was held Feb. 25.
Simons finished in second place in the 189-pound weight class, Hechtl took fourth place in the 215-pound class and Edquist finished fourth place in the 275-pound class.
Simons, who enters the finals with a 49-6 record, will be making his second state appearance.
Last year, he went 1-for-2, but he is confident that this year he will place.
Simons will take on Jacob Tuomi-Galindez of Lutheran-Westland (42-1) in the first round.
Edquist, also a senior, is making his first appearance to the Palace.
“I'm very excited, but a little nervous. I'm just going to try to do my best,” Edquist said.
Edquist enters the tournament with a 29-15 record and has only been wrestling for two years now.
Edquist will meet Ryan Erickson of Leroy Pine River (49-4) in his first match.
Hechtl, a junior, is also making his first state appearance and enters the tournament with a 44-11 record.
Hechtl will face Wes Schroeder of Addison (50-7) in the opening round at 275-pounds.
The Bobcats have been working extra hard for the past few weeks. They have been traveling to Lakeshore to practice with some of its wrestlers and have wrestled against some of the South Haven grapplers.
But Tuesday afternoon was a lighter day for the three as they prepared mentely for this weekend.
The wrestlers will be leaving at 3:30 p.m. today.