Glen Lake individual wrestlers are preparing for their moment to shine at the MHSAA Wrestling State Championships at Ford Field Friday and Saturday.
Glen Lake seniors Caden Sheehan and Abraham Feeney, along with freshman Gavin Sheehan, will be hitting the mat in hopes of state glory.
“We’ve been working on a lot of techniques. Last week, we recovered, did some conditioning,” Caden Sheehan said. “Today, we did a lot more to simulate the Saturday matches we’ve had every week … We focus on what we need as an individual.”
This is the second appearance for Caden and Feeney at the state championships.
Caden Sheehan finished second at the 144-pound division, followed by his brother, Gavin Sheehan, who placed third in the same division at regionals nearly two weeks ago.
“I really want to be healthy and ready to wrestle. I used to always just get tired super quick, but I want to stay healthy, ready to wrestle, and maybe get to the podium. That’s definitely a big goal for me,” Gavin said.
Glen Lake senior Abraham Feeney finished fourth at 150-pounds to punch his ticket to Ford Field.
Feeney is returning to the state championships for the first time since his sophomore year.
“It was a great experience to go down there as a sophomore and just get that feeling … I’m at the end, so it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel because this sport is really intense, but I’m here, and all of the hard work has been done. My coaches always say that the hay is in the barn, and now we have to go out and show all the work that we've done. I’m grateful for this opportunity to go down again and get another shot,” Feeney said.
Caden’s goal is to finish in the top-3. Feeney is hoping to be ready to wrestle the first match for a chance to move on to Saturday. On Friday, a wrestler has to win two matches to make it to the Saturday round. Gavin wants to get on the podium.
Caden Sheehan is proud of his brother, Gavin, for making it this far.
“When he qualified for states at regionals, I was full of joy.
I was tearing up because I was so happy just because he is my little brother,” Gavin said. “So it’s cool to see him following along with me and everything.”
“I watched my brother down there, wrestle.
It’s definitely intimidating going down there as a freshman, knowing I’m going against all the juniors and seniors. I’ve been trying to drown that out, knowing I can be as good as, or even better than, them. I can do it.” “It’s really cool that he and I are going together as freshmen and seniors, and being able to experience this is just awesome, and being his practice partner means a lot to me,” Gavin Sheehan said.
