Nothing, not even Clarkston senior Braden L’Amoreaux could stand in the way of history on March 12, at the MHSAA individual wrestling finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Davison’s Brent Metcalf would not be denied as he grappled his way to a fourth consecutive championship, accenting his unblemished high school record of 228-0 with this year’s 145-pound division crown.
‘He’s strong,? said L’Amoreaux of Metcalf. ‘Stronger than he needs to be.?
‘I thought (L’Amoreaux) brought everything he had to the table against Metcalf,? added Clarkston Coach Joe DeGain. ‘I give Braden credit, he could have cut weight or gone up a class, but he didn’t. He wanted to wrestle the best competition out there.?
On his way to the title match, L’Amoreaux, who won the state championship last year at 140 pounds, was able to exact some revenge, besting Grand Ledge’s Brandon Johnson in the semifinals 10-5. Johnson was the only other wrestler from Michigan, other than Metcalf, who had beaten L’Amoreaux this year. In a tournament midway through the season he lost to an Ohio wrestler.
In the semifinals and finals, L’Amoreaux adopted a more conservative attack than his normal fire and fisticuffs approach in order to counter Johnson’s inane ability to counter and Metcalf’s vaunted speed, power and technical prowess. While Johnson succumbed in what DeGain described as a ‘dominating? performance, Metcalf was not to be denied the chance to become Michigan’s 11th four time state champion.
‘I hadn’t wrestled that kind of style before so it was kind of difficult for me. Honestly, I don’t think I should have changed up. I wrestled my normal style two weeks ago against (Metcalf) and I lost by 12 points then and I lost by 12 points this time,? said L’Amoreaux.
Three other Clarkston wrestlers, Juniors Tommy Ellsworth (145 pounds) and Josh McAllister (152), and Sophomore Mike Maguire, also qualified for the individual state finals. All three lost their opening round matches on March 10. Maguire started on the comeback trail, winning his first consolation match, but bowed out to his next opponent. DeGain feels the experience gained by the three who did qualify for states will be invaluable to next year’s wrestling team.
‘We’ve got more of a core returning this year than this past year,? said DeGain.
Aside from the three who soaked in the experience of wrestling under the big lights this year, the Wolves will hopefully return a healthy Steve Smiley, who finished sixth in the state in the 171-pound division. Smiley was slowed at the end of the year by a lingering knee injury.