By Krisit McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
It was an emotional week for the Oxford wrestlers and their fans.
On Wednesday the Wildcats took their undefeated Flint Metro League record into Lapeer West’s gym to take on Linden, the other undefeated team in the league.
The Eagles got the upper-hand, defeating the ‘Cats 25-39. The loss put Oxford in second place going into the FML tournament on Saturday.
The overall championship is made up of two equal parts; the dual meet record and the placement at the tournament. In order for Oxford to win the league, the team needed to win the tournament.
If Linden finished second, they would share the title of Co-FML champs with the Wildcats. If any other team finished second, Oxford would be outright league champs.
‘We typically are a better dual meet team than a tournament team so we knew we had our work cut out for us if we were going to finish ahead of Linden.? Coach McDevitt said.
As mentioned, the dual meet season came down to the last meet with the two top teams facing each other in a closely contested match.
Ironically the tournament was a back and forth battle between Oxford and Linden as well. Going into the final round Linden had a one point lead with 11 finalists; 7 in championship, 4 in consolation.
Oxford also had 11 finalists; 8 in championship, 3 in consolation. As the finals progressed each team seemed to be matching the other.
For each Oxford win, Linden would win. For each Linden pin, Oxford would pin.
In the last match of the afternoon Linden scored a pin to make the final tournament score Linden 183.5 and Oxford 182.5, giving the Eagles the outright league championship. Holly was a distant third at 118 points.
‘It was a lot of fun today.? McDevitt said. ‘I was very pleased with our effort and our overall performance. To put our selves in a position to win and the excitement that came from the see-saw battle in the finals is what high school sports is all about. I would have loved to come out on top, but I think our kids, our coaches and our fans all had a great time being part of it.?
Individually, Oxford had 2 FML champs.
Mike Upshur won the crown at 112 pounds and Nick Murray won the tournament at 215 pounds Nathan Musgrove, Bobby Rhodes, Mike Myer, Zach Line, John Logan, and Adam Duncan each finished second while Mike May and Brent Mueller each finished third.
The wrestling team is back in action Thursday night as it takes on Fenton and Brandon in the team district at Brandon at 6pm.
The winner will advance to the team regional to be held at Fenton High School next Wednesday.
Oxford has already defeated Fenton 63-8 and Brandon 65-15 earlier in the season. There is a good chance that Oxford could advance to the regional to face none other than Linden who has a good chance to win their district as well.
Three strikes and your out is usually a phrase used in baseball, but in this case the Wildcats could get their third try in as many weeks to defeat Linden with a lot at stake. The winner would advance to the MHSAA state quarter-finals to be held in Kellogg arena in Battle Creek March 3-4.
‘We were disappointed in our loss to Linden last week and came up short at the FML tournament to Linden this weekend.? McDevitt said. ‘However, I would trade the league championship for a trip to Battle Creek and birth in the state quarter-finals any day.?