SPORTS
L
ev Mechnikov’s first
three seasons on the
Berkley High School
wrestling team weren’t that
great.
He was 2-2 as a freshman
at 189 pounds and 12-22 as a
sophomore, wrestling most of
the season at 215 pounds, up
a weight class, to fill a lineup
spot.
He didn’t wrestle as a junior
because of a broken ankle he
suffered playing in a Berkley
football post-season game.
Missing that season on the
mats was a game-changer.
“I was in our wrestling
room every day during my
junior season, and I realized
how much I missed wres-
tling,” Mechnikov said. “I
learned to love the sport.”
Mechnikov wrote a dif-
ferent wrestling story in his
senior season.
He went 24-13 at 285
pounds, led Berkley with 15
pins, and surprised himself by
qualifying for the Division 1
state tournament.
Not even a bout with
COVID-19 that sidelined him
late in the season slowed him
down.
“I didn’t expect to get to
state. I didn’t think that was a
possibility,” Mechnikov said.
It was a possibility.
Mechnikov pinned Fraser’s
Lawrence Dubay in 1:05
in what’s called the “blood
round” at regionals to earn a
state tournament berth.
Winners in the “blood
round” qualify for state.
Losers are done for the sea-
son.
After he cleared the “blood
round” hurdle, Mechnikov
pinned RJ Hancock of St.
Clair Shores Lakeview in 4:09
in his next regional match
to finish third in his weight
class.
Mechnikov lost both of
his matches at state March 4
while fighting off the flu, but
he loved wrestling at Ford
Field in Detroit and being a
part of the grand match of
more than 1,000 wrestlers.
“It was a cool experience.
Amazing. Surreal. I had a
good time,” he said.
Mechnikov was pinned by
Kalamazoo Central’s Joshua
Boggan in 27 seconds in his
first match at state. Boggan, a
future Kent State University
wrestler, went on to finish
third at 285 pounds.
Mohammad Hazime of
Dearborn Fordson, a future
Kent State football player,
beat Mechnikov 9-4 in wres-
tle-backs.
“I don’t want to use hav-
ing the flu as an excuse,
but I was only about 80%
when I wrestled at state and
I was more fatigued than
normal during my match-
es,” Mechnikov said. “It just
wasn’t my day.”
At 5-foot-9 and 230
pounds, Mechnikov was
smaller than most of his
Berkley wrestler Lev Mechnikov
ends his resurgent senior season in
the state tournament at Ford Field.
Surprise Party
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
36 | MARCH 24 • 2022
TOP: Lev Mechnikov is in control of Fraser’s Lawrence Dubay before
pinning Dubay at regionals. MIDDLE: Why is Lev Mechnikov smiling?
He just pinned his opponent and qualified for the state tournament.
BOTTOM: Lev Mechnikov shows off his third-place medal at regionals.
SANDY MCKENZIE
SANDY MCKENZIE
SANDY MCKENZIE