Senior Chris Calvano stepped up to the mat in the middle of Lake Orion’s gym and took his spot opposite from Nick Giese from Novi Detroit Catholic Central.
On the referee’s signal they battled for first place in the 189-pound weight class at the 53rd Annual Oakland County Wrestling Championships, Dec. 22.
Calvano took control of the match and ended it with a pin as the clock marked 3:34.
“It’s great,” said Clarkston Varsity Wrestling Coach Derek Moscovic. “Chris has had a good year. He has wrestled some good kids. He comes in every day and works hard. He is willing to learn and it shows. He comes out here and is pretty dominating. It is still early and he has to work to the end but I am proud of him with what he has accomplished. He should be proud of himself.”
The Wolves scored 239.5 points during the two day tournament to place in fourth. Novi Detroit Catholic Central took first place with 347 points followed by Oxford in second with 278 points and Rochester in third, 264 points.
“It is a tough tournament,” said Moscovic. “We wrestled well and I am proud of our kids. I think by no means did we wrestle our full potential. We had some kids walk out of here feeling like they could have done a little bit better. They should. Our ultimate goal is to win every time.”
The team placed nine wrestlers in the top eight finishers with Calvano leading the way in his first place finish in 189-pound weight class. He went 4-0 for the day beating Travis Tank from South Lyon East, Josiah Thomas from Brother Rice, and Shane Shadia from Rochester.
Nick Vandermeer (189) took second place after a 9-6 loss to Shon Powell from Birmingham Brother Rice. He finished 3-1 for the day with wins over Ken Daniels from Southfield, Aaron Bibik from Livonia Churchill and Aaron Morgan from Rochester.
“He had a good tournament,” Moscovic added. “I am proud of him. It’s a great accomplishment. He had a tough kid who was All-State. He went out a little cautious and it might have cost him instead of going out there and setting a tempo of his own style. I think next time it will be a different match.”
Cameron Wilkie (130) finished in fourth after a 5-1 loss to Sam Johnson from Holly. Nate Vandermeer (112) and Luis Reyes (289) took six place. Adam Myers (215) took seventh place after a pin against Ryan Groves from Livonia Clarenceville, 30 seconds into the final period.
Finishing in eighth place were Connor Ryan (119) and Mike Cardinale (130) going 2-3 for the tournament and Jake Dionne (135) who finished with a 3-3 record during the two days. .
“We did a lot better than last year,” said Moscovic, adding Clarkston only had four finishers in the top six including Nick Vandermeer, Myers and Wilkie.
“These kids are the ones to go out and compete and they work hard,” he continued. “It is something to be proud of. We are starting to bring back the tradition. If they keep working hard, setting their goals high and setting the standards for the young kids it will happen again. We are proud of our performance.”
The boys head to the Manning Vieau Invitational in Brighton on Saturday.
They head to Farmington Hills Harrison, 29995 West 12 Mile Rd, Farmington Hills, on Jan. 9 for a dual against Harrison and Lake Orion.