Four local high school seniors are hoping their previous state finals experience can lead them to the ultimate prize of an individual state championship this weekend at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Milan’s Tim Sims and the Manchester trio of Ryan Abrigo, Austin Deacons, and Dylan Neff are part of a contingent of 16 Washtenaw County wrestlers headed to the MHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals that start today and run through Saturday.

All four won regional championships two weeks ago, were state medalists as juniors and are top seeds this weekend. Sims and Abrigo are both undefeated.

Sims’ 55-0 record is a small number compared to the 4,000 takedowns that Milan coach Clint Kraft said he drilled over the summer in preparation for his senior season. Sims, who will vie for a Division 2 championship at 152 pounds, is using his experience from last year, when he placed sixth at 145, to ignore another number.

“I learned not to look up and see the 20,000 people that are there,” said Sims in reference to the nerves he experience at The Palace last year.

Abrigo (60-0) is aiming for a Division 4 title at 119 pounds. He’s still bothered by a fifth-place finish at 112 last year.

“Don’t coast,” Abrigo said. “Last year I was up and just tried to hold on. Gotta attack all six minutes.”

Neff (44-3) and Deacons (51-2) both have losses in championship matches last year to motivate them. Deacons - who competed at 119 last year and is at 125 this year - had his match all but won, but was hit for a phantom stalling call and lost in double overtime to finish as the runner-up. Deacons hasn’t forgotten the sting of the loss.

“I thought about it every day since last year,” Deacons said.

Just making the 285-pound title match against two-time champion Devin Pommrenke of Rogers City was an accomplishment for Neff, who entered last year’s state tournament as a No. 4 seed. Pommerenke will suit up for Central Michigan next year, but he will not be at The Palace this weekend after suffering a season-ending knee injury in January.

“I think about (last year’s loss) every day,” Neff said. “I just want to get back so bad I want to win it this year.”

DIVISION 1

112 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Adam Bruley, so., Saline, 39-15; 4th at regional; 4th at district. Favorites: Undefeated (49-0) Davison freshman Justin Oliver. Breakdown: Making the tournament as a sophomore is a plus, anything extra is icing on the cake. Still, this is a young weight class (four freshmen, six sophmores), so the field is as inexperienced as Bruley.

140

Washtenaw County Wrestler: Eddie Nuttall, jr., Lincoln, 48-14 3rd at regional; 4th at district. Favorites: Bedford senior Brian Gibbs (53-2), who took third at 135 last year. Gibbs also happens to have possibly the most ridiculous tattoo (left) at the tournament, which is saying something. Breakdown: Don’t be fooled by all the losses on Nutall’s record. He competes in the toughest area in the state for his weight class with Gibbs and Monroe’s Derek Davison in his district, region and league. Nuttall is battle-tested and could be one of the few All-Staters who placed fourth at districts.

DIVISION 2

103 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Steve Bleise, fr., Dexter. 48-5; 1st at Regional; 1st at district. Favorites: St. Johns’ Zac Hall (49-1), Lapeer West’s Dean Somers (52-4) and Allegan senior Andrew Betke (50-6). Breakdown: As a regional champion, Bleise has a favorable path to the medal podium, except for his possible quarterfinal rendezvous with Hall. If that happens, he’ll have 50 wins and be on his way to equaling and maybe surpassing the Marsh brothers on Dexter’s all-time list.

140 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Andrew Nold, sr., Chelsea, 45-14; 4th at regional; 4th at district. Favorites: Lowell’s Gabe Morse (29-1), and St. Johns’ Payne Hayden (44-6). Breakdown: Nold faces the ultimate test right away, facing Hayden in the opening round. An upset like the one he pulled in the first round of regionals is unlikely, but would almost guarantee him a spot on the medal stand. Nold will more than likely have to battle his way through the consolation rounds to get make it to Saturday, though.

145 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Dillon Farrell, jr., Milan, 20-5; 4th at regional; 3rd at district. Favorites: Lowell’s Andrew Morse (40-2) and St. Johns’ Travis Curley (48-0). Breakdown: The draw is as favorable of one as Farrell could have hoped for as a No. 4 seed. Instead of facing undefeated Curley or 2010 Division 1 runner up Morse in the opening round, he’s facing the only regional champ in his weight with more than five losses in Marysville’s Justin Blankenship (48-10).

152 Washtenaw County Wrestlers: Tim Sims, sr., Milan, 55-0; 1st at regional; 1st at district. Drew Barnes, jr., Dexter, 48-7; 2nd at regional; 2nd at district. Favorites: Sims and St. Johns’ Jordan Wohlfert (54-0). Breakdown: Fortunately, Sims is on the opposite side of the bracket as Wohlfert, so if it all works out, the final will be an undefeated affair. Sims can’t get caught looking ahead though as his potential semifinal opponent is Lowell’s Dan Fleet, who was third at 152 in Division 1 last year. Barnes, meanwhile, should be among the final eight on the medal stand on Saturday.

215 Washtenaw County Wrestlers: Trey Sweeney, sr., Ypsilanti, 52-5; 2nd at regional; 2nd at district. Matt Schultz, sr., Milan, 47-8; 4th at regional; 4th at district Favorites: Fowlerville’s Adam Coon (52-0). Breakdown: Coon raked through the 189 as a freshman last year and there’s no reason to believe he won’t do the same at 215 this year. To Sweeney’s credit, despite having lost to him in the district and regional final, he is one of the few people in the state that isn’t drinking the Coon Kool-Aid and believes he can beat the super sophomore. Last year Schultz was the beneficiary of two defaults on his way to placing seventh, he’ll have to earn his medal this year, coming in as a No. 4 seed.

DIVISION 4

119 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Ryan Abrigo, sr., Manchester, 60-0; 1st at regional; 1st at district. Favorites: Abrigo and Marlette’s Matt Mata (44-1). Breakdown: Mata beat Abrigo 5-3 in the semifinals at 112 last year before losing in the finals. Abrigo was ahead in the match early, and it has haunted him ever since. The two are on opposite sides of the bracket and wouldn’t meet until the finals.

125 Washtenaw County Wrestlers: Austin Deacons, sr., Manchester, 51-2; 1st at regional; 1st at district. Tom Conway, jr., Manchester, 27-12; 3rd at regional; 2nd at district. Favorites: Deacons and New Lothrop’s Bela Nemeth (44-8), Breakdown: Deacons would lost in last year’s state finals at 119 in double overtime after a phantom stalling call despite him pushing the action for the entire match. His experience should trump all else this weekend.

145 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Johnny Woolams, sr., Manchester, 52-7; 2nd at regional; 1st at district. Favorites: Hudson’s Joel Varney (51-11). Breakdown: Varney beat Woolams, and Hesperia’s Lee Siersema at the team state finals over the weekend. It’s his weight class to lose, and Hudson wrestlers haven’t exactly made a habit of that of late.

152 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Cody Render, jr., 42-18; 3rd at regional; 4th at district. Favorites: Napoeon’s Lealand Weatherspoon (48-0), Hesperia’s Jordan Bates (49-3). Breakdown: Bates was runner up last year at 140 and Weatherspoon was 7th at 145 in Division 3. Render could find himself on the medal stand on Saturday, but he’ll need to upset Bates in the quarterfinals if he hopes to be at the top.

215 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Austin Hamilton, jr., 44-11; 3rd at regional; 1st at district. Favorites: Dansville’s Arthur Bunce (55-0). Breakdown: Last year’s runner up, Bunce, is the man to beat in this weight class and Hamilton will need to beat him in the quarterfinals if he hopes to vie for the ultimate prize. A more likely scenario is that Hamilton will need to fight back through the consolation rounds. His first round match against Fife Lake Forest Area’s Tom Hall (38-4) should be one of the better matches of local interest on the day.

285 Washtenaw County Wrestler: Dylan Neff, sr., 44-3; 1st at regional, 1st at district. Favorites: Neff, Hesperia’s Cody Wolever (49-1) Breakdown: This weight class was two-time defending state champion Devin Pommrenke of Rogers City’s to lose…which he did by blowing out his knee back in January. This opens the door for the man he beat in the finals last year: Neff. He can’t rest of his laurels, though. If anyone knows that upsets can happen, it’s Neff, who tore up the state tournament last year despite coming in unsung after finishing fourth at his regional.

Pete Cunningham Covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com, or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.