Wrestling: Bastian’s gamble pays, Richmond wins Division 3

Mount Pleasant — Hayden Bastian put on a risky move late in his 130-pound match, knowing top-seeded Richmond would have no chance to win the Division 3 state wrestling championship if he couldn’t pull it off.

Bastian went for broke and cashed in with a takedown with 28 seconds left to pull out a 4-3 decision over Cal McAvoy to pull Richmond even with No. 2 seed Dundee at 28. Richmond went on to win the title by criteria, having scored more first points in each of the 14 matches by a 17-9 margin.

“We have 14 tough kids who bought into what we were doing and that’s what it is,” Richmond coach Brandon Day said. “Hayden Bastian is the best kid in the state nobody knows about. We knew that and he made 130 (pounds) for the first time this weekend and that was the difference.”

Day also had to mention sophomore Eric Barr for playing a major role, defeating senior Alex Motylinski by a 3-2 decision at 152 pounds to give Richmond a 9-7 lead.

“Eric Barr knocked off No. 3 in the state (Alex Motylinski) and he didn’t make it out of (individual) regionals so that was huge, too,” Day said.

Bastian, a sophomore, was confident he could get the job done.

“I knew I could take him (McAvoy) down, but he was really good on his feet, really good at stopping the shots,” Bastian said. “I was trying to get to that right leg because he kept circling there and he was really good at blocking that.

“I felt earlier in the match the front headlock, I might have been able to get in the shuck even though it’s a risky move, and I figured at the very end of the match I’d give it a shot and I ended up taking him down with it. The shuck’s a very risky move because if you mess up he can take you down, but like I said it was the end of the match and I had to try something.”

Still, Bastian wasn’t sure his win by decision was enough.

“I felt we lost and I was so upset because they were looking for a major out of me or some bonus,” said Bastian, meaning he felt he needed a major decision and four points instead of the three for the decision. “I was nearly in tears, told my teammates that I tried my best, that’s all I could do. I was just crushed.”

Bastian was in jubilation when Day found out Richmond won by Criteria H or the eighth level of tiebreakers, which includes penalties, then most pins, most wins, most technical falls and so on.

Owen Vannatter (135) and Austin Kilburn (103) had pins for Richmond, which won its fifth state title in the last eight years.

david.goricki@detroitnews.com

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