A strong season came to a close for the Lake Orion High School wrestling team with a 52-18 loss to defending state champion Davison on Feb. 22.
The team finished with an overall record of 35-6, though a few individual wrestlers are still going strong.
The Dragons battled hard at the outset and trailed by just a point (19-18) after getting pins from heavyweight Shane Tobin and 103 pounder Spenser Grzadzinski.
But Davison responded and lived up to their number three ranking in the state, closing out the match with six consecutive victories (including four pins) to make the final score seem somewhat lopsided.
Davison then qualified for the state quarterfinals by beating Waterford Kettering 53-18.
Meanwhile, eight Dragon wrestlers continued their search for glory at the individual regionals held Feb. 25 at Davison.
Seven of those eight finished in the top four and advanced to the state meet, March 9-11 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Evan Gros (189), Tobin and Jake Varilek (130) all took second for the Dragons.
Scott Avery (215), Grzadzinski, Ian Rocheleau (145) and Allen Sigler (160) also qualified.
Coach Doug Kline, who had just two wrestlers qualify a year ago, was voted Regional Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches.
LO assistant Corey Kuzinski was voted Regional Assistant Coach of the Year.