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