For the last six years, Lake Orion Baptist School has offered boys and girls soccer and basketball, girls volleyball and boys baseball. Each sport participates in the Fundamental Baptist Athletic Conference (FBAC) and the Michigan Association of Christian Schools (MACS) which provides state tournament play.
Though LOBS, with 120 enrolled in kindergarten through 12, doesn’t have the numbers or facilities for football, lacrosse, or swimming, they’ll join the MACS wrestling program this year.
Some teams in MACS carry full rosters, while others will have only a handful of wrestlers. With the smaller student numbers at most of the schools in the MACS, wrestling is an abbreviated, one- month season. It follows basketball and precedes baseball, so players can participate in all the sports at LOBS.
‘We want to give the student athletes some of the same opportunities that they might have elsewhere? said Athletic Director Bill Welby. ‘I just had to assure some of the mothers regarding the sport. At first we were going to give it a go with only two guys. I was surprised by the numbers we did have come out.?
The Lions carried six men on their inaugural squad. The team was coached by Scott Tucker, who wrestled at Waterford Mott and at Bethany Christian School.
Senior Stephen Watson was the only wrestler with experience, having wrestled his freshman year at Oxford High School. He ended up winning LOBS’s first MACS wrestling title at 171 pounds.
Quick-study senior Jon Jenkins was pinned in his first match of the season, but lasted the distance with every opponent afterward, posting a 7-5 mark and finishing second at the MACS Tournament at 145 lbs.
Also placing were sophomore Conner Welby (6-6), who finished fourth at 139 pounds, and Joshua Jenkins (9-5) finished third at 80.
Eighth grader, Ben Case at 132 and seventh grader Joshua Gobrogge at 86 also participated in the tournament.
‘I’m very proud of the way we performed this year. The kids picked up things fast and put it to work? said first-year coach Scott Tucker.
‘If you knew what we have to work with for practice mats, we really exceeded expectations. We have about nine to 10 4’x6? tumbling mats taped together that slip and separate.?
‘There is a much bigger interest for next year. We have been looking for some real wrestling mats, so we can work more than two guys at a time.?
Lake Orion Baptist School is looking forward to watching the wrestling program grow.