When the wrestling season draws to a close, the Wovles wrestlers may be able to look back on the past week as a catalyst for whatever success they enjoyed down the road.
Clarkston showed Lake Orion what they thought of the Dragons reign over the OAA Division I on the mats on Jan. 18, winning 30-25.
‘It was emotional. There were a lot of close matches. There were some matches that were some real gut checks,? Clarkston Coach Joe DeGain said.
With the Wolves holding a 27-25 lead going into the final match, Clarkston’s Josh McAllister (171 pounds) fended off Ben Knight to seal the victory.
‘We just needed to dethrone the Dragons,? McAllister said, referring to Lake Orion’s OAA League title in 2005.
?(Beating Lake Orion) was really big because they beat us last year. I think it will give us an advantage at the league meet,? Bryan Craft, who pinned his Dragon counterpart at 152 pounds.
Other Wolves having their hands raised by the referee against Lake Orion were: Steve Herron (275), Adam Lauzen (189), Tommy Ellsworth (160), Colton Tweed (145), Tyler Schneider (125) and Mike Maguire (119).
DeGain was somewhat worried about a let down after his Wolves beat Lake Orion, as host Rochester was still on the dual meet dance card, but Clarkston handily dispatched the Falcons 45-21.
Maguire, Tweed, Craft, Ellsworth, McAllister, and Herron picked up their second wins of the day against Rochester. Josh Booker (130), Eric Butterfield (140) and Steve Cooper (215) all vanquished their Falcon opponents as well.
With matters in their backyard in order, Clarkston traveled to Ohio to wrestle in the Western Brown Invitational on Jan. 21.
‘It’s a tough tournament. There were two state runners-up from Ohio and the Kentucky state champs,? DeGain said.
The Wolves ended up in fourth place out of 16 teams on the day.
‘We kind of fell apart at the end. It’s good we were able to put some guys into the semifinals though. I’d rather have them lose in the semis in Ohio than in districts here,? DeGain said.
Both Maguire and Ellsworth finished in second place in their respective weight classes. Craft and Herron finished in third. Tweed and McAllister managed fourth place finishes. Mitch Miller (135) took fifth and Cooper, Butterfield and Booker ended up in eighth place.
Up next Clarkston has a double dual hosted by Troy Athens on Jan. 25 and compete in the county duals in Roseville on Jan. 28.