Farmington wrestling finds footing, carries confident mindset into next season

FARMINGTON — Farmington boys wrestling may have lost themselves in the shuffle of a brutal Oakland Activities Association White league, but they quietly put together a season that should have them on everyone’s radar next year.

Picking up two district wins over league opponents Birmingham Groves and Birmingham Seaholm, Farmington earned a district title to put a stamp on an impressive 2023-2024 campaign.

The Falcons leaned heavily on their senior veterans in Vitaliy Koponen (126) and Emmett Kenyon (165), who carried the load in their respective weight classes both on and off the mat.

“It was very different having a lot of guys look up to me, but I enjoyed it,” Kenyon said. “I think the most important thing I did was just being consistent and hitting every single practice that I could, hitting the gym as often as I could, and just being there.”

Koponen dominated the opposition to the tune of a 32-9 record, while Kenyon improved on his 12-win junior season with a 19-10 record.

In only his second season in the program, Kenyon said he never thought wrestling would be in the cards for him, but it was his passion for jiu-jitsu that swayed him to join the wrestling team, unlocking his love for the sport in the blink of an eye.

Now two years later, with a runner-up finish at the Oakland County Championships meet Feb. 12 at Rochester High School and just finishing up a wrestling visit with Rochester University, Kenyon said it’s surreal to see where his journey has led.

“Every now and then, it just surprises me to see where I’m at, because I just had a college visit for wrestling just yesterday,” Kenyon said. “I was with my mom in the care like, ‘Who would have thought two years ago we’d be here?’”

Kenyon and Koponen will be difficult voids to fill, but second year head coach Ben Jozwiak was encouraged by what he saw from his junior class.

It always helps having quality seniors leaders, but the junior class also went through the trials and tribulations of last season that have seemingly paid off in their progression.

“We had a lot of sophomores start last year, and now they’re juniors,” Jozwiak said. “I saw some really, really big leaps in a lot of those guys.”

Junior Jacob McKimmons headlines the group as an OAA White league champion in the 120-pound weight class, and also finished second on the team in regular season wins with a 31-10 record.

McKimmons is no stranger to getting the better of his opponents on the mat, posting 30 wins last year as a sophomore, but McKimmons said he elevated his game in a different area.

“I matured a lot,” McKimmons said. “I was a captain this year, and I think that leveled up my maturity level and just my mindset towards the sport.”

McKimmons will undoubtedly lead the Falcons as a veteran, but he has plenty of wrestlers behind him looking to take their next jump.

Junior Malachi Loewen picked up 15 wins, juniors Ian Ledermann and Philip Bowden added 11, and junior Keith Steinard had 10.

And with the confidence Jozwiak has been instilling in his guys, it would be no surprise to anyone if everyone takes a significant leap forward.

“Coach Joz, he really put it into us to want to win and win these big matches,” McKimmons said. “We went into districts against (Birmingham) Groves and (Birmingham) Seaholm with full confidence because we knew we could beat them. Even though we lost to them earlier in the year, we all had the energy in believing in ourselves.”

A loaded senior core and fresh off a district championship will have the Falcons hungry to enter next season with a list of goals they’re eager to accomplish.

The juniors took a massive step forward, so it’s exciting to think about where the Falcons can be if they all come back even stronger as seniors.

“With only graduating three seniors and everyone just getting better and better, I really hope next year we just continue to make these leaps we’ve been making,” Jozwiak said. “Our goals for next year are city champions, district champions, and top three in leagues in dual and the individual tournaments.”