Saline's Hicks Wins First MHSAA Girls' Wrestling State Title

Cover Photo from Saline Wrestling
Saline wrestler Emme Hicks made history Saturday as she was part of the first group to win MHSAA girls wrestling state titles.

This year was the first time that girls’ wrestling was a sanctioned MHSAA state finals.

Hicks won the 100-pound state title by sweeping through her four matches. She had won the state title the previous two years when girls wrestling was sanctioned by MYA.

Emme Hicks won the girls' 100-pound state title. Photo from Saline Wrestling

She swept through her first three matches with a pair of major decisions and a pin to reach the finals. She faced off against Tricia Pyrzewski from Gladwin and it was a hard-fought match throughout. Pyrzewski earned a takedown in the first, but Hicks got a reversal right away to make it 2-2. It would be the only points of the match until the third period.

Hicks was on top in the third and kept control of Pyrzewski for most of the period. She finally got Pyrzewski on her back for a nearfall and finished it off with a pin with 11 seconds left in the match to take the title. She finished 10-0 in matches against other girls after competing with the boys all season.

Teairah Eisemann finished state-runner up in the girls 145-pound division. She picked up a pin and two decisions to move to the finals before falling in the finals to the #1 wrestler from Romeo. She finished 6-2 on the season in girls’ matches.

Brett Thornell earned all-state honors on the boy’s side with a sixth-place finish at 135-pounds.

Thornell dropped his first match of the tournament but bounced back to win a pair of decisions and was guaranteed a spot on the podium. He dropped his final two matches against state-ranked opponents to finish sixth. He finished with a 37-5 record on the season.