Melvindale captured the program’s eighth consecutive district championship on Thursday night at Garden City.

To get it done, the Cardinals dominated the host Cougars 75-6 in the semis and then edged Allen Park 36-34 in the finals of what was Division 2, District 159.

The Jaguars had advanced to the district final against Melvindale with a 75-6 victory over Dearborn Divine Child.

In the finals, the Cards headed into the second-to-last against Allen Park ahead by a score of 31-28. At 135 pounds, Melvindale’s Faisal Zaim won in a tech fall and secured his team’s district title. The Cards voided in the last match (140) to bring the final score to 36-34.
Melvindale earned four victories against the Jags by pin thanks to Diego Sanchez (145), Cody Magard (189), Muaadh Alafifi (112) and Musa Yahia (125). In addition, the Cards’ Nasr Ahmed (119) won in a major decision and his teammate Devin Fannin (171) defeated Thirakan Sasri in a 7-1 decision.

For Allen Park, Jack O`Riley (152), Gabe Browne (160) and Marco Muniz (130) each won by pin against Melvindale. The Jags’ Steven McCoy (215) won in a major decision while teammate Brenden Peters (285) edged Ghaith Salem in a 3-2 decision and Jacob Campbell (103) topped the Cards’ Omar Zain in a 7-6 decision. 

In the semifinal matchup between Melvindale and Garden City, the Cougars voided in nine of the weight classes. The Cards’ Salem (285) and Alafifi (112) both won pin and their teammate Deyab Sadi (103) won in a decision. Ahmed (119) also earned a Melvindale victory when his opponent was unable to wrestle.

In the other semifinal on Thursday night, Divine Child voided in nine weight classes against Allen Park. The Jags’ Muniz (130), Steven McCoy (215) and Brenden Peters (285) each won by pin and Kaiden Phillips (125) was victorious for Allen Park in a decision.

By winning the district championship, the Cards advanced to the regional round of the state tournament and the squad was set to serve as host of D2, Region 115 on Wednesday night. The Cards were scheduled to face Gibraltar Carlson in the semis and the winner of that match was set to take on either New Boston Huron or Tecumseh for the title.
