GLADSTONE — One celebration was delayed a few minutes here Wednesday night as the Gladstone Braves squeezed past the Kingsley Stags 39-38 for their second straight regional championship.

The conclusion was out of the ordinary to say the least as it appeared Kingsley would be crowned champion after Sam Goethals pinned Braves’ sophomore 73 seconds in the 215-pound bout, which would have given the Stags the 39-38 victory after the evening’s last match.

Goethals then threw his headgear in celebration, prompting the officials to deduct a point from Kingsley’s team total and tying the score at 38.

The penalty point enabled the Braves to be awarded the title on tie-breaking criteria, qualifying them from the state tournament Feb. 24-25 at Kalamazoo.

Kingsley, believing it had won, began celebrating. The Stags, however, wasted little time leaving the gym after the ruling became final.

“I was out of breath,” said Ketcham. “I can’t believe it. He got a little happy. Somebody said he threw his headgear, and I knew we had the title because we had the tie-breaker.”

Max Goethals (175) pinned Owen Mattonen at 3:44, giving the Stags a 33-32 lead.

Braves’ senior Cole Potier (190) overcame a 3-0 deficit with a reverse before pinning Kyan Fassbender 40 seconds into the third period, giving the Braves a 38-33 advantage going into the finale.

“I was kind of waiting for him to get tired,” said Potier. “Once I noticed that was happening, I put him on his back which gave us a lot of momentum. I’d say it’s a relief. Some kids can’t control their attitude, though. I hope to be the first one from Gladstone to take a state title. That would be awesome.”

The Braves gained a 24-6 advantage after Connor Britton was awarded a forfeit victory at 126 pounds.

Kingsley shaved its deficit to 24-15 after Jon Pearson (138) took a 9-2 decision from Mason Wells.

Austin Solis then provided the Braves with 29-15 cushion after defeating Isaac Grahn on a technical fall (16-0).

Tyler Unterback (150) brought the Stags within eight points by pinning Max Wilson in 3:21.

Trevor Thorbahn (157) gave the Braves a 32-21 advantage by taking a 5-2 decision from Justin Grahn.

Caleb Bott (165) then pinned Jack Savard in just 29 seconds, enabling the Stags to close within 32-27.

“That was crazy,” said Braves’ coach Jeff Brazeau. “It’s unfortunate the tournament ended the way it did. Cole getting that pin was huge. All the kids wrestled great. Before the match we told the kids it could go either way. We knew this would be a great match and needed bonus points from some of our guys.”

Gladstone defeated Kingsford 57-21 in its regional opener and Kingsley got to the title round by eliminating West Branch Ogemaw Heights 53-24.

Kingsford gained an early 6-0 lead as Elizin Rouse (215) needed just 21 seconds to pin Brenden Milligan.

The Braves took the next five weight classes by forfeit and extended their lead to 33-6 after Adam Belanger (132) edged Tegan Ray 6-4.

Kingsford, making its first regional appearance in 12 years, gained six points when Reed Degroot (138) pinned Mason Wells in 5:20.

The Braves, however, took the next two weight divisions by forfeit for an insurmountable 51-12 advantage.

“It’s a numbers game,” said Kingsford coach Darren Groleau. “Gladstone has a good team and a full squad. “We took our first district title in 12 years and finished fourth in the U.P. Championships with just 8-9 guys. We’re happy to get this far. Mathematically, we couldn’t win, but our guys wrestled hard and tough which is all we can ask for. We wanted to gain some momentum going into this weekend (Saturday’s individual regional at Grayling).”

Gladstone 39, Kingsley 38

285 — VanDyke, K, def. Depuydt, DQ

106 — Spriks, G, pinned Drury, 2:30

113 — Terrien, G, pinned Roelefs, :44

120 — Hansen, G, won by pin, :53

126 — Britton, G, forfeit

132 — Merchant, K pinned Belanger, 1:22

138 — Pearson, K, dec. Wells, 9-2

144 — Solis, G, dec. I. Grahn, 16-0 (tech fall)

150 — Unterback, K, pinned Wilson, 3:21

157 — Thorbahn, G, dec. J. Grahn, 5-2

165 — Bott, K, pinned Savard, :29

175 — M. Goethals, K, pinned Mattonen, 3:44

190 — Potier, G, pinned Fassbender, 5:20

215 — Ketcham, def. S. Goethals, DQ

Gladstone 57, Kingsford 21

215 — Rouse, K, pinned Milligan, :21

285 — Depuydt, G, forfeit

106 — Spriks, G, forfeit

113 — Terrien, G, forfeit

120 — Britton, G, forfeit

126 — Hansen, G, forfeit

132 — Belanger, dec. Ray, 6-4

138 — Degroot, K, pinned Wells, 5:20

144 — Wilson, G, pinned Hendrickson, 1:48

150 — Solis, G, forfeit

157 — Thorbahn, G, forfeit

165 — Reed, K, pinned Savard, 3:37

175 — Peterson, K, dec. Mattonen, 10-2

190 — Potier, G, forfeit