DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac Wrestling Club advanced 19 grapplers to the upcoming Michigan MYWA state tournament.

Dowagiac took 22 wrestlers to the regional tournament at Wings Events Center last weekend.

The top four finishers advanced to the state finals, while fifth-place finishers also received a medal and are alternates for the state meet.

Of the 19 Dowagiac wrestlers who medaled at the regional meet, 15 of them will advance to the state meet, which will be March 29 through March 31 at Winger Event Center.

Among the wrestlers who competed were Lamberto Paredes and Wyatt Bailey, who both just wrapped up their high school seasons by leading Dowagiac’s varsity wresting team to the Division 3 state quarterfinals.

Earning championships for Dowagiac last weekend were Rooney Olmedo (58 pounds), Rowan Bradford (85 pounds), Alan Wegner (100 pounds), Taven Livingston (130 pounds), Malakai Haines (170 pounds), Jonathan Phillips (155 pounds) and Bailey (heavyweight).

Runners-up were Jacob Villegas, Roman Paredes, Lawson Bailey and Lamberto Paredes. Taking third was Noah Phillips.

Fourth-place finishers were Oliver Olmedo and Markus Ottinger.

Olmedo, according to Trackwrestling.com, had the most pins in the least amount of time.

He recorded four pins in less than two minutes of wrestling.

Placing fifth were Cody White, Skyler Vincek, Israel Villegas and Andrew Hartman.

“Jermone Haines also finished fifth, but has been called up as an alternate to compete in the state finals,” said Dowagiac coach Jarrid Bradford. “Haines posted the fastest pin of the day at six seconds. He also earned a 10-second pin.”

Dowagiac finished with 29 pins during the tournament. Heading into the regionals, the wrestling club had competed in more than 1,000 matches.

According to Bradford, the MYWA season begins in December and wraps up in April.

Dowagiac will also have a pair of girls wrestling in the state finals, which will be held at Wings Events Center on March 31.

Cinthia Villegas and Jenna Bradford will both compete for Dowagiac.

The NUWAY national tournament will wrap up the season in April.

Dowagiac also had an official working the regional tournament.

Chieftain senior Dylan Elmore, who finished fifth at 119 pounds at the recent individual state wrestling tournament, officiate matches.

Elmore, along with Lawton’s Dylan Amm, were named Southwest Regional Officials of the Year during the regional meet.