Past wrestlers who returned to Lake Orion High School on Jan. 11 for a reunion had more than one reason to celebrate, as they watched the varsity team defeat Notre Dame Prep, 47-21.
Dragon wrestlers from as far back as 1968 returned for the event. In the varsity match, Lake Orion had winners at 189, with Scott Avery pinning Tony Perlotto in 2:44; and at 215 and 275, with Shane Tobin and Darren Peshl winning by voids.
At 103, Dragon Brendan Tobin defeated Colin McGreevey in 3:15, and at 119, with A.J. Pratt defeating David Mosely, an Oakland County Tournament runner-up at 112, 11-5. Jake Varilek had a Lake Orion win at 125, pinning Ryan Corcoran in 1:59.
Jason Bothwell won for the Dragons in the 130-pound match, with a major decision over Domenic Terenzi, 14-6. Teammate Ian Rocheleau took the win at 140, with a major decision over Paul Halabu, 17-9.
Gerry Webber won for Lake Orion at 152, pinning Doug Everhart in 2:54, as the Dragons? record went to 16-3.
The Dragons defeated Sterling Heights, 46-18, on Jan. 14, recording Lake Orion wins from Brendan Tobin (by forfeit), Pratt, Varilek, Bothwell, Rocheleau, Webber, Allen Sigler at 160, Ben Knight at 171, Avery, and Shane Tobin.
Lake Orion also defeated Southfield Lathrup, 76-3, raising their record to 18-3.
On Jan. 15, the team raised their overall record to 23-3 with five victories at the East Detroit Dual Invitational.
Warren Cousino, Royal Oak Kimball, Ypsilanti and East Detroit fell to Lake Orion, 58-19, 53-12, 52-19 and 53-24, respectively.
These wins set the Dragons up for a final with the other side’s pool winner, St. Clair Shores Lakeview. Lake Orion head coach Doug Kline said this final was much tougher, as both teams had strong lineups with an aggressive style.
Lakeview started out with a 27-12 lead, with Lake Orion’s only points coming from Peshl and Varilek, as they posted pins. Rocheleau recorded a pin to bring the team a bit closer, 27-18.
Two more Lakeview wins raised the score to 37-18, with only four matches remaining. Sigler raised the Dragons with a victory at 160, 6-4, followed by Dragon Knight’s defeat by a major decision, 15-3, at 171.
Lake Orion was trailing by 12 points, and needed pins from their final two wrestlers, Avery and Shane Tobin. Both wrestlers brought fans to their feet with dominating performances, Kline said, as both Lakeview opponents were pinned.
The final team score was Lake Orion, 37, Lakeview, 37.
Both head coaches and the official met to go over the tie breaker criteria. After going through the first five criteria, and a decision couldn’t be reached, the sixth criteria finally produced a winner, going by the most individual points scored in matches, not won by pin.
The Dragons outscored their opponents, 38-36, in non-pin matches. The championship marks the first tournament title in over five years for Lake Orion.
‘I turned to the team and gave them the thumbs up sign, and they erupted in a celebration worthy of a team that had just endured such a rigourous contest,? Kline said.