After reaffirming their reign over the Oakland County tournament with their fifth straight title on Dec. 17, Clarkston let their loyal subjects do the heavy lifting at the County Duals in Roseville on Jan. 28.
‘The rest of the county helped us out,? Clarkston Coach Joe DeGain said.
The Wolves went 3-2 on the day, but were still on the victorious side as Lake Orion, West Bloomfield, Holly and Milford went a combined 17-9 in dual matches with Macomb County schools.
Earlier in the week though, Clarkston’s wrestlers stood on their own two feet defeating both Troy and host Troy Athens in a double dual meet on Jan. 25.
In a 49-18 victory over Athens, Clarkston received wins from Mike Maguire, Josh Booker, Mitch Miller, Eric Butterfield, Colton Tweed, Bryant Craft, Tommy Ellsworth, Josh McAllister, Adam Lauzen and Steve Cooper snatched victories.
Troy fared even worse than THEIR district brother as the Wolves pounded out a 54-15 victory.
Steve Herron and Tyler Schneider joined Maguire, Booker, Butterfield, Tweed, Craft, Ellsworth, McAllister, Lauzen and Cooper in victory against the Colts.
‘We’re peaking at just the right time,? Tweed said before practice on Jan. 30.
Not only are the Wolves wrestling well as they go into their final dual meet of the season at home against Avondale on Feb. 1 but also Clarkston is healthy for the stretch run.
‘This is probably the healthiest we’ve been at this time of year,? DeGain said.
Should Clarkston hold off the Yellowjackets in the regular season finale, the Wolves will finish the year with an unblemished 7-0 mark in the league and a 17-7 record overall.
The OAA DI league meet is scheduled for Feb. 10 and DeGain knows host Lake Orion will be waiting for the Wolves with bated breath after losing to Clarkston 30-25 on Jan. 18.
‘They’ll be gunning for us, they always are. That’s what makes it a rivalry,? DeGain said.
Looking past the league meet, Clarkston has team districts Feb. 15 and 16 at Holly High School.
‘We just have to get through districts and get to regionals and get through that to states, the big dance,? said Tweed.
While they qualified several wrestlers for the individual state finals last year, Clarkston’s 2004 campaign ended at team districts.