Oxford wrestlers Kyle Rowley and Kyle Oliver demonstrated their skills this past weekend with fourth place finishes at the MHSAA State Wrestling Finals held at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Kyle Rowley, 189, may not have achieved his goal of becoming a state champion, but the Oxford senior proved what years of training at a lower weight class can accomplish.
In the opening round, Rowley pinned Birmingham Groves senior Ryan Cahill in 3:18. He then moved into the quarterfinals where he won 8-7 against junior Dustin Speerbrecker of St. Johns. However, Rowley faltered slightly with a 6-8 loss in the semifinals to Adrian’s Cody Waters.
The Oxford senior regrouped in the semifinals consolation round to defeat Algonac’s Ed Dysarczyk 12-8. Rowley took fourth in the state when he was pinned in 2:04 by Donald Dryer. He finished the season 50-5.
“I think he ended up a little disappointed with his finish,” said Coach Paul McDevitt. “He’s been fighting injuries with his ribs for the past two weeks – in wrestling that’s huge. But he fought through the pain and still took fourth, that’s impressive.”
Kyle Oliver, 215, was Oxford’s “come from behind” surprise. In round one, the Wildcat junior pinned Cedar Springs junior Ryan Case in 4:50. His second match though did not happen as smoothly. Oliver lost 1-7 to DeWitt’s Casey Curtis.
However, the Oxford grappler didn’t let the setback hold him down. Oliver came back in consolation round two to defeat Birmingham Groves’ Levi Stegeman 12-7. He then continued his climb by pinning senior Chuck Cobb of Clintondale in consolation round three.
In the semifinals consolation round, Nick Grenke, of St. Joseph, was defeated by Oliver 4-0. In the finals, Oliver was placed fourth in the state (with a 45-15 record) after losing to Chelsea’s Joel Powers 9-6.
“I think he surprised a lot of people,” said McDevitt. “He’s showed so much improvement over the year. He placed this past weekend, while guys that defeated him earlier in the season didn’t even place.”
“I hope that this carries into the next year for him and gives him the confidence to push even farther.”
Oxford’s Varsity Wrestling team is graduating five seniors this year: Kyle Rowley, Mike Potter, Shawn Gall, Scott Hyder and Ron Mantel.
“It’s going to be a tough group to lose,” said McDevitt. “The number alone is a big part of the team.”
This group of seniors was special because they were groomed under the “years of glory” for Oxford’s grapplers. Every year these five seniors wrestled, Oxford High School sent state finalists.
“These seniors saw nothing but success, which helped lead this year’s young team,” said McDevitt. “They set the bar high for themselves because that’s all they knew and they expected nothing less.”
“I hope we’ll be able to carry on that tradition and continue to succeed.”