Hands hoisted the glass trophy into the air as the Wolves celebrated their victory as the OAA Red tournament champion.
‘It’s a good thing for the program,? said Freddie DeRamus, head coach. ‘It gets us in the conversation. I think people forgot about us. Last year we were banged up and a young team. We are still young but we managed to keep everyone healthy and keep the attitudes positive. It is a good thing for Clarkston, the kids and the parents. We put a lot into it.?
The Clarkston Varsity Wrestling team scored 218.5 points at the Stoney Creek High School meet on Friday, with seven individual champions out of the nine finalists.
‘It’s big,? said DeRamus. ‘A lot of these kids are kids you didn’t think about last year. They are stepping up and wrestling for each other. That’s what’s important – they are wrestling for each other and wrestling for their town.?
Finishing in first place were Houston Hemingsen, Alec Bills, Nate Vandermeer, Kyle Masters, Nathan Hayes, Nathan Troutvine and Mackenzie Hanselman.
Hemingsen defeated Dylan Howcroft from Rochester Adams in the 125-pound weight class. Both had four points at the end of the third period. Hemingsen took the win after scoring two points 29 seconds into the overtime period.
Bills won his match against Rochester Adams? Jake Anderson in the 140-pound match with a 13-11 win. He also defeated Brandon Drazgowski from Stoney Creek and Vinny Vackaro from Oxford with falls.
Vandermeer (160) won the championship with a 8-0 win over Rochester Adams Sam Addy.
Masters (171) defeated Rochester Adams? Anthony Tuppins with a 19-4 major decision. He also defeated Dallas Winkelman from Oxford, 4-0.
Hayes (189) won with a 14-4 major decision in the second period against Rochester’s Demarco Howard. He also defeated Ethan Kerin from Oxford, 7-4, and Hunter Lee from Rochester Adams with a fall.
Troutvine (285) defeated Oxford’s Wyatt Harden, 8-2. He also defeated James Stirnemann from Stoney Creek with a fall. Hanselman (103) won his match against Oxford’s Liam Hillary, 12-7. He also defeated Varun Mangal from Rochester Adams, 5-4.
Harley Susalla (130) lost to Oxford’s Sergio Borg for second place, 6-3. He defeated Stoney Creek’s Chris McGinnis with a fall.
Jake Calvano (152) lost to Rochester’s Ryan Morgan for second place. Calvano defeated Oxford’s Trent Myre earlier in the day, 3-2, and also Rochester Adams? Les Bleil with a fall.
Cole Wiegers (112) finished in third place with a 5-0 win over Rochester Adams Anvj Mangal. Wiegers also defeated Aiden Kilcline from Farmington and Conner Davis from Stoney Creek, both with falls.
Sean Lucas (145) defeated Louis Eble from Rochester Adams for his third place finish, 6-1. He defeated Eble earlier in the night in the
quarterfinals with a fall at 3:45.
For fourth place, Jake Billette (135) lost to Caleb Tabert from Oxford. Billette defeated Brendon Gibbons from Adams in a 8-0 win and Logan Krauthofer from Farmington with a pin.
Percy Fowler (215) lost to Rochester’s Brandon Jones, 3-0. Fowler defeated Stoney Creek’s Luke Lowery with a fall. He defeated Ben Petersmark from Rochester Adams with a fall.
Oxford finished the tournament in second place with 188 points but tied with Clarkston for the league title as the Wildcats were unbeaten in league dual meets.
‘We knew what to expect,? DeRamus added about the Wildcats. ‘We see tham a lot. We follow each other. Maybe one or two surprises but that’s about it.?
Rochester finished in third place at the meet with 131 points; Rochester Adams, fourth, 105.5; Stoney Creek, fifth, 77; and Farmington, sixth, 55.
The Wolves head to Waterford Kettering this Thursday for the MHSAA Wrestling Team District. They compete against Pontiac at 5 p.m. The winner moves on to battle the Waterford Mott/Kettering winner for the championship.
They competed in the MHSAA Individual District on Saturday at Troy.
DeRamus added the wrestlers finish at the league tournament will help for seeding in Saturday’s meet.During the meet, they will also see league foes again.