Grapplers pinned their way to a win when they took on Troy High School last Wednesday.
Upon returning from Christmas break the boys headed to Lake Orion High School for a dual meet against Troy Athens and Troy.
‘It’s been awhile since we wrestled,? said Varsity Head Coach Joe DeGain. ‘The boys were a little tense at the beginning. The guys wanted to wrestle well and I think they were putting pressure on themselves. We need pressure but they were putting pressure on themselves to the point they were tensing up.?
The boys took on Athens first and beat them, 45-22. The boys relaxed a little bit between the matches and came back to take on Troy in a more relaxed state. They beat the Colts, 58-15.
‘They did fantastic in the second match,? said DeGain.
‘The guys did a nice job of keeping enough pressure to keep the seriousness of the match but allowing themselves to have fun while they competed. They were able to wrestle a lot better because they weren’t too pressured.
Leading the way with pins against Athersfor were Mike Richmond (275), Mike Henige (125), Matt Deitz (135), and Evan King (160).
Four wrestlers won their matches by defeating their opponents; Sloan Hadsall (189) by 12-2, Zak Roberson (112) by 10-0, Chris Burkhart (140) by 6-4, and Alex Popp (145) by 16-8. Derek Booker (152) won by void.
Against Troy Burkhart, Popp, King, Vandermeer, Hadsall, Richmond, Roberson, Mike Williams (119) won their matches by pinning their opponents. Booker won by major decision, 15-6.
A stand-out for DeGain for the night was Ty Foltz (130). Though he lost two matches during the night, it was how he performed when he was on the mat.
‘The first match he was very tense,? said DeGain. The second match he let go the pressure to win and concentrated on doing his best. He really wrestled a heck of a match. Ty should be proud of himself. He wrestled so hard and so much harder than his opponent. He should be more proud to lose that match and in that fashion than win the match in the fashion his opponent did.?
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The varsity team took third place with 174.5 points at the Detroit Catholic Central Invitational on Saturday.
Alex Popp (145) defeated the second ranked Brent Winekoff from Canton, 6-5, to take first place and won Most Outstanding Wrestler. Sloan Hadsall (189) also took first place after defeating Oxford’s Josh Villarreal, 3-1.
Matt Deitz (135) and Mike Richmond (215) placed in second. Deitz lost to Donnie Watkins from Canton, number one ranked in the state.
Jeff Sloney (112), Chris Burkhart (140), and Evan King (152) took third place. During the meet, Burkhart defeated Oxford’s Ben Ralston, the Oakland County Champ.
Finishing in fifth place were Zak Roberson (103) and Matt Vandermeer (160).
Five of the Wolves currently hold positions in the top ten in the state in their weight classes. Popp at third; Deitz, fourth; Hadsall, seventh; King, ninth; and Vandermeer, tenth.
Oxford and Detroit Catholic Central finished in the top two places.
The boys see Detroit Catholic Central again on Wednesday for a meet. Then, the Bay City Western Invitational on Saturday.