Mark Weber is just starting out his Goodrich wrestling career, while Garrett Higdon and Jason Fischer hope to make one last stand.
However, all three have set a standard of excellence for the Goodrich wrestling team this season, and they continued that trend in individual district competition Feb. 19.
Weber (103), a freshman, and seniors Higdon (112) and Fischer (119) ? won their weight classes at the meet, moving on to individual regional action Feb. 26.
In addition, four other Martian wrestlers advanced to the individual regional meet by placing fourth or better in individual district action. Grant Overcashier (130), Erik Fernelius (171) and Kyle Fletcher (189) finished second in their weight classes, while Billy Feldmann (145) took fourth place.
Weber (38-2) had a bye in the first round, then, in a twist of fate, faced his Goodrich teammate Brian Grzecki in the second round. Weber pinned Grzecki in 34 seconds to advance to the semifinals.
After pinning Kyle Reich of Madison Heights Lamphere in 1:07, Weber captured first place by pinning Dominic Deyonker of Imlay City in 1:06.
Higdon (42-7) started out with a bye, then earned a technical fall against David Elwart of Imlay City in 3:21. In the semifinals, he earned a 9-0 decision against Jeff Schweiger of Richmond, then won first place by earning a 4-3 decision against Lance Pitcel of Richmond.
Like Weber and Higdon, Fischer (46-6) had a bye in the first round. He then pinned Armada’s Rob Harms in 1:18. He then earned a 5-3 decision against Don Corby of Croswell-Lexington in the semifinals before defeating Nick Rudy of Madison Heights Lamphere 6-5 in the finals.
Overcashier, Fernelius, and Fletcher made it to the finals of their respective weight clases. Overcashier (33-15) was pinned by Tony Schweiger of Richmond in 1:20; Fernelius (35-16) lost a 16-8 decision to Brett Seres of Croswell-Lexington; and Fletcher (38-12) lost a 7-0 decision to Jon Vanderbossche of Yale.
The Martians faced a tough challenge at the Genesee Area Conference Meet Feb. 16.
Heading into the meet, the Martians were in second place in the GAC with a 7-1 dual meet record, ahead of New Lothrop, which sported a 6-2 record in league action.
However, the Hornets edged out the Martians for second place at the meet, held at Lake Fenton High School. New Lothrop finished with 149 points at the meet, while Goodrich finished at 145.
As a result, the two schools wound up tied for second in the league this season. Montrose, which garnered an 8-0 record in league action this year, dominated the league meet with 264 points to capture first place in the GAC.
Weber continued his strong freshman year by capturing the 103-lb. championship at the meet. Weber pinned Kevin Smith of Byron in 47 seconds to win the crown. He earlier pinned Jon Beach of LakeVille in 18 seconds.
Fletcher (215) captured the Martians? other individual championship, earning a 6-5 decision against Lake Fenton’s Troy Smith in the championship meet. Fletcher reached the finals by pinning A.J. Dowd in 49 seconds.
Two other Goodrich wrestlers, Higdon (112) and Fischer (119) took second place in their respective weight classes. Higdon lost a 2-1 decision to Montrose’s Brian Hittle, while Fischer lost an 11-5 decision to Montrose’s David Cheza.
Overcashier (130) and Feldmann (145) earned third place finishes for the Martians.