The Lake Orion Dragon wrestlers are young but are winning and improving with bright futures ahead of them.
Coach Jeff Smart said he has been happy with the effort of the team and their confidence is growing match by match. ‘Overall we are young and inexperienced but are hard working. I really like this team,? Smart said.
There are 14 weight classes in Michigan High School wrestling. Lake Orion is starting five freshmen, which Smart said bodes well for the future.
Of course the Dragons also have some leaders in the upper-classes. Senior Logan Shadaia and junior Anthony Orselli are the captains and are doing well in the early season events.
In the first match of the season, the team fell behind but rallied to win the tournament. Smart said that showed a great competitive spirit.
‘They are starting now to believe in themselves and are gaining a lot of confidence. For a young team to rally and come back, it showed a lot. This is a fun team, Smart said.
In addition to Shadaia’s and Orselli’s leadership and performances, Smart said Daltan Myers, Dominic Fosmoen and John Moll are having nice starts to the season and are being counted on to be team leaders.
Other team members are Denny Mathews, Tyler Modock, Brendan Thompson, Noah Smith, Cameron Ingoglia, Josh Jones, Chris Kade, Vince Ritter and Austin Shugar.
Lake Orion hosted the Oakland County championships on December 19 and 20 and the team finished tenth place. It was pretty good considering Oakland County consistently produces the top wrestling teams in the state.
Eight Dragon wrestlers make it through day one and advanced, but only three placed.
Shadaia, at 215 pounds, finished second in a close match. A takedown with seconds left decided the contest.
Other top finishers were Daltan Myers (103) in seventh place and Dominic Fosmoen (119) finished eighth.
On December 27, Lake Orion fielded two squads to compete in the Milford Holiday Tournament.
The Varsity A team went 3-2 in team dual meets. Shadaia went undefeated. Modock, Myers, and Moll were 4-1.
The Dragons have a home meet this week on Wednesday against Seaholm, Pontiac and Southfield high schools and then travel to Clinton High School on Saturday for a dual meet.