AUBURN HILLS -- Day 1 of the MHSAA individual wrestling state finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills was a mixed bag for Washtenaw County participants. Local wrestlers were a combined 7-9 on the day with top seeds falling, bottom seeds prevailing and everything in between.

Milan’s Dillon Farrell was the architect of one of the bigger upsets of the day, defeating Justin Blankenship of Marysville 4-2 in overtime to advance to the Division 2 quarterfinal round at 145 pounds.

Farrell placed fourth in his regional tournament while Blankenship was a regional champion.

After two scoreless periods, Farrell fell down 1-0 when Blankenship escaped from an attempted tilt. Farrell quickly took the lead, 2-1, with a double leg takedown with less than 30 seconds left in the match.

After a restart Blankenship nearly scored a reversal on Farrell, but Farrell recovered before points were rewarded and the ensuing scramble had both wrestlers on their backs for brief periods. The referee awarded an escape to Blankenship saying there was loss of control amidst the frantic finish.

Farrell wasted little time in the extra session, finishing with a single leg takedown.

“He’s lost a couple tight overtime matches during the course of the year, so for him to win one here at states should give him a nice boost,” said Milan coach Clint Kraft.

“I was a little disappointed at the end, with the escape,” Farrell. “But I just came back strong in overtime, did what had to be done.”