Brandon’s wrestling squad got back on the winning side of the ledger at the Lake Fenton Duals Saturday, Dec. 13.
The Blackhawks captured four out of five matches at the competition, earning a second-place finish and improving its record to 6-5 on the season. The lone loss for Brandon came at the hands of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, who defeated the Blackhawks 66-11 in the title match.
Brandon earned convincing wins against the other four teams it faced, defeating Warren Mott 60-23; Morrice 60-6; Lake Fenton 63-12; and Capac 45-32.
Coach Kent Bailo said he was pleased with the Blackhawks? performance in the competition. ‘The kids needed to get some wins to build their confidence,? he said.
Leading the charge for Brandon was Brian Slaght, who competed at both 119 and 125 lbs. and went 5-0 on the day to improve his season record to 8-1.
Jimmy Millar also competed at 119 and 125 for Brandon, and earned a 4-1 record on the day. Also posting 4-1 record at the event were Robert Speedy (152), David Geeham (135) and Austin Hickman (275).
Bailo said Speedy, in particular, stepped up his efforts in the day’s competition, showing his moxie after facing some tough competition early in the season. ‘He was the only guy to have five actual matches without any voids, and he went 4-1,? he said.
The Blackhawks captured 10 of 14 matches against Warren Mott. The results were as follows: Andrew Hyde (140) pinned Keith Fournier in 55 seconds; Speedy pinned Aaron Rice in 45 seconds; Justin Eimers (171) pinned Adam Maes in 1:19; Joe Tolan (215) pinned Kevin Haberski in 1:07; Hickman won by default; Travis Murphy (112) won by default; Millar (119) pinned Adam Stepp in 1:19; Slaght (125) pinned Joe Ceravolo in 1:02; John Soave (130) pinned Garrett Mezuk in 5:16; and Geeham pinned Chris Czapp in 1:20.
The Blackhawks were dominant against Morrice, going 12-1-1 in their match. Brandon won the following matchups: Speedy pinned Kevin Schneider in 2:45; Jacquie Warrilow (160), Eimers (171) and Cody Sisk (189) won by default; Hickman (275) pinned Cody Lee in 3:06; Murphy (103) and Slaght (119) won by default; Millar (125) defeated Forrest Harris by a 7-0 decision; and Soave (130), Geeham (135), Hyde (140) and Marcus Pesavento (145) all won by default.
The Blackhawks continued their winning ways against host Lake Fenton, taking the following matchups: Eimers (171) defeated Josh Braden by an 18-13 decision; Sisk (189) pinned Bryan Byrd in 22 seconds; Hickman (275) pinned Reid Lanning in 13 seconds; Murphy (103) won by default; Slaght (119) pinned Krystle Stasik in 21 seconds; Soave (130), Geeham (135), and Hyde (140) won by default; Pesavento (145) pinned Tom Tarkleson in 2:22; and Speedy (152) pinned Justin Cortese in 48 seconds.
In their next matchup, the Blackhawks held off the challenge of Capac, with the following Brandon wrestlers winning: Tolan (215) pinned Brad Wright in 1:25; Hickman (275) pinned Lee Peters in 1:57; Braun (103) pinned Travis Murphy in 3:53; Millar (119) defeated Jake Nemecek by a 14-6 decision; Slaght (125) pinned Brian Fortin in 37 seconds; Geeham (135) pinned Scott Kulman in 1:59; Pesavento (145) pinned Neil Murray in 1:00; Speedy (152) pinned Chad Chalabian in 1:51; Sisk (189) earned a 17-0 technical fall against Blaise Pewinski.
Brandon found the going significantly tougher against Notre Dame Prep, as only two Brandon wrestlers earned victories: Millar (119) pinned Ryan Corcoran in 1:59; and Slaght (125) earned a 15-0 technical fall against Nick Sinishtaj.