Matt Deitz made Clarkston’s presence known at the Goodrich Tournament of Champs when he took first place in his weight class.
It was the grapplers first time at the tournament and they took seventh place, on Dec. 30.
‘We started off real slow, kind of like a deer in the headlights,? said Clarkston Varsity Wrestling Head Coach Joe DeGain. ‘We didn’t have the fighter’s mentality when stepped on the line but after that we hit a little run.?
The boys turned it around and while Deitz placed in first in 140-pound class, six of his teammates placed for the Wolves.
Matt Vandermeer (171) and Evan King (160) took third; Ty Foltz (135) and Jeff Sloney (130), in fifth; and Zak Roberson (112) and Raymond Wilkie (103), in seventh.
‘We came here to grow,? said DeGain. ‘I think we did.?
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The boys came back from break taking on Avondale and beating them, 50-20.
‘I was happy with a couple of the performances,? said DeGain, adding Matt Vandermeer, Ty Foltz and Matt Deitz stood out for the night and had good matches.
Though keeping their competition from scoring points and making pins, DeGain saw a balance of strong and lacking performances.
‘We had guys there were kind of flat and we had guys that put their foot on the line and were not flat at all,? said DeGain.
‘They were full of energy and they really had a burning ability to win.?
He didn’t know what to contribute it to because the boys had home advantage. But he did note the boys could have had nervous energy building all day because weigh-in was one hour before the meet.
‘It changes the focus,? said DeGain. ‘It is something we have to overcome. We need to weigh-in an hour before we wrestle and ready to put our foot on the line. We need attitude and be ready to go. By the end of the year we need to make sure we have 14 guys in the line up for finals. We need to be firing on all cyclinders.?
DeGain did point out the boys do have an advantage from their conditioning and it has helped and will continue to help going further into the season.
‘I don’t think there is another team in good shape as we are right now,? he added.
The boys host Waterford Kettering on Wednesday.
‘If we put our foot on the line with attitude we should be just fine,? said DeGain. ‘If we show up ready to go it will be a good dual meet.?
It begins at 6 p.m.