AUBURN HILLS – The MHSAA individual state wrestling finals is the largest single tournament in the entire country. It features nearly 900 wrestlers wrestling across four divisions over three days at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Out of the hundreds of matches wrestled over the weekend, the most exciting may have been Brighton junior Aaron Calderon’s win over three-time champion Alec Mooradian from Detroit Catholic Central in the 152 pound championship round finals.

“It’s amazing, the best feeling,” Calderon said. “I can’t explain it.”

Calderon (58-2) fended off Mooradian’s moves in the final 20 seconds to win a 3-2 decision and bring home an individual state title.

The wild finish had Detroit Catholic Central fans in a frenzy. Mooradian swung around Calderon to get points for a takedown, but never fully gained control. Calderon kept moving all the way throughout and they went back-and-forth until the final whistle.

When the match finally ended, the Brighton cheering section overwhelmed the Catholic Central contingent that was unhappy with the referee's non-call. The Bulldogs fans went wild as Calderon ran into his coach’s arms.

Calderon was one of three Brighton wrestlers to reach all-state status. The Bulldogs qualified eight grapplers to the finals.

Junior Jordan Amine lost in the 119-pound semifinals on a 7-2 decision to Hartland sophomore Austin Eicher, but bounced back with a 13-3 major decision win in the consolation bracket over Hudsonville’s Zach Henderson.

A lose in the third-place match to Livonia Franklin’s Gabe Martinez put Amine in fourth.

Bulldogs senior Evan Hoshaw finished in fifth place in the 135-pound weight class. He wrestled well throughout the weekend. After falling in the opening round to Macomb Dakota sophomore Jake Johnson, Hoshaw bounced back with three straight wins.

Johnson beat Hoshaw again in the consolation semifinals. Hoshaw bounced back with a 4-3 win over Wyandotte-Roosevelt’s Quentin Santiago in their fifth place match on Saturday.

Complete Patch Coverage

• Replay of Live Blog, Day 1: Thursday's opening round
• Replay of Live Blog, Day 2: Friday's consolation, championship quarterfinals and semifinals
• Replay of Live Blog, Day 3: Saturday's consolation rounds and finals, and championship finals
• Photo gallery: Day 3 early action
• Community gallery: Do you have photos to add? We have 150 already; we'd love to have more

From Other Patch Sites

Rochester: Rochester Area Wrestlers Score Big
Oakland Township: Lake Orion Wrestler Eliminated on Second Day
Birmingham: Strong Finish For Brother Rice
Bloomfield: _Andover Wrestler Takes Eighth Place
Ferndale: Chevez Farris is Second Best in the State
West Bloomfield: West Bloomfield Wrestler Reaches All-State Status
Farmington: Farmington Area Schools Enjoy Success
Novi: Novi Wrestler Finishes Career an All-State
Northville: Trevor Maresh Loses in Quarterfinals at State Meet
Plymouth and Canton:  Strong Performances From Canton Wrestlers
Brighton: Brighton Wrestler Provides Highlight of the Event
Saline: O’Sullivan Eliminated Early from State Wrestling Meet
Dexter: Drew Barnes Places 4th in MHSAA Wrestling Tourney
Hartland: Four Top-Eight Finishers for Hartland
Dearborn: Dearborn Divine Child Wrestler Places 5th in State
Trenton: Markowsky Fights Back for 8th Place in State
Wyandotte: Roosevelt Wrestler Comes Back to Place 6th in State
Grosse Pointe: Grosse Pointe North Wrestler Finishes In Seventh Place
St. Clair Shores: Junior Wrestles But Fails to Place in State Meet
New Baltimore-Chesterfield: Anchor Bay, LCN Wrestlers Are All-State
Macomb:Dakota's Jake Johnson Places 4th in State Wrestling Meet
Shelby-Utica: Pair of Eisenhower Wrestlers Earn All-State Honors
Clawson: 2 Clawson Wrestlers Go to State Finals for 1st Time