Farmington Scores Big at Regionals

CANTON - Sports is all about the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. The Farmington varsity wrestling team experienced both on Saturday during regional finals.

The Falcons celebrated as four wrestlers – Justin Roe, Kevin Kennerly, Mannie Govantes and Nick Tomski – qualified for the individual state finals in two weeks at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

But they also had to watch teammate Mannie Govantes leave the event on a stretcher. The sophomore injured his ribs in an elimination round semifinal match with Anthony Nitecki from Warren-Cousino. 

“He got slammed, and it looks like cracked ribs right now,” Farmington’s assistant coach Dave Hall said. “Hopefully it’s not, but they took him for x-rays.”

Govantes was down 13-2 in his match when Nitecki picked him and threw him down on the mat. The sophomore immediately cried out in pain as coaches rushed to his side. 

The match was stopped and training staff was called over; eventually EMS arrived. It was a frightening scene as Govantes, surrounded by training staff, his coaches and family, writhed in pain. 

“His mom, his aunt, his little brother were there,” Hall said. “Just set the kid down, especially when you’re winning 13-2. We’ve never had anybody carried off like that, it was a little scary.” 

Nitecki’s takedown was illegal so Govantes was awarded the win. In regionals, the top four wrestlers in each weight class qualify for the state finals. Govantes' win put him in line for a third or fourth place finish.

Since he was unable to wrestle in the next round, he officially finished in fourth place. Recognizing that Govantes would likely be unable to compete at the Palace in two weeks, Farmington coaches tried to get officials to give Nitecki the win.

Hall called it the right thing to do, considering the match score at the time of the injury, and since the Warren-Cousino wrestler is a senior. After a discussion with the head referee on site and even a call to Michigan High School Athletic Association officials, the decision for Farmington was not overturned.

The injury dampened some of the enthusiasm for the program's big day. Last year, Farmington only qualified one wrestler for the state finals; this year, three seniors will represent the Falcons at the Palace. 

“That’s a huge season for us,” Hall said. “We expected to qualify four, that was our goal this year, and we hit it. Three out of the four seniors qualified for state.” 

The Falcons top wrestler Nick Tomski qualified by winning his two opening bouts. The senior fell just short of qualifying for state last year. He will make it to the finals with a tremendous record of 45-5.

 “He’s the best wrestler we’ve had for three years,” Hall said.

 Tomski breezed through his first two matches with a pinfall victory over Andrew Lock from Grosse Pointe North and then a 16-3 decision win over Avery Opperman from Livonia-Franklin. Tomski was an injury default for the finals, so he finished in second place in the 145 pound weight class. 

Hall said Tomski would be ready to go in two weeks for the finals and that the injury wasn’t anything serious.

The other two Farmington wrestlers had a more difficult road to qualify. Both Roe and Kennerly each lost a match and had to qualify in the elimination bracket. The seniors were one loss away from the end of their careers, but pulled out wins.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” Roe said. “This is probably the coolest sports thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Roe pinned Kenny Coleman from Grosse Pointe North in the semi-finals of the elimination bracket to get into the top four, then won a 10-7 decision over Jadon Cook from Grosse Pointe to finish third in the 215-pound weight class.

The four-year wrestler and varsity football player didn’t get through the district rounds last year and will be making his first appearance in the finals.

Kennerly will be making his first finals appearance. The senior ended the day in fourth place in the 119 pound weight class. 

Notes – Kienuwa Davis and Ryan Southerland wrestled for Farmington in regionals, but failed to qualify for the state finals. Davis, a junior, and Southerland, a sophomore, will get another crack at it next year for the Falcons.  

Clarification: Plymouth High School is located in Canton, MI.