It was a night for traditional powerhouses and fresh faces at the Dec. 30 Goodrich Wrestling Tournament of Champions.
Addison, a school in the south central part of Michigan, won the tournament with 144 points. Dundee, which won the tournament the past two years, finished second (136.5), while Lapeer West finished in the top four for the sixth straight year, placing third (120.5).
The host Martians finished 12th out of 18 teams at the tourney, finishing with 82.5 points. Goodrich has not finished among the top four teams at the tourney since taking first place in 1997.
Goodrich’s Mark Webber (103 lbs.) captured the only first-place finish for the Martians, defeating Garrett Stevens of Dundee 7-1 in the finals of that weight class. Garrett Higdon (112) finished second in his class, dropping a 17-5 decision to Cody Marcicki of Lapeer West.
Joe Mendez of Lowell, who wrestled at 135 lbs., was named the most outstanding wrestler in the lower weight classes, while Dundee’s Martin Rusek (152) received that same honor in the upper weight classes.
Webber began his day by defeating James O’Keefa of Byron 18-1. He then scored 10-4 decisions against Roseville’s Phil Noriega and Swartz Creek’s Dave Priest before his win against Stevens in the division final.
Higdon had a bye in the first round of the 112-pound class before defeating Kearlsey’s Dustin Anger 12-9 and Dundee’s Justin White 5-2.
Three other Goodrich wrestlers placed in the tournament: Jason Fischer (119) finished third, while Grant Overcashier (130) placed fourth and Kyle Fletcher (189) sixth.
Fischer started off the tournament by pinning Bronson’s Aaron Losinski in 5:02 before losing to Dundee’s Zach Donofrio 21-11. Fischer then rallied to defeat Addison’s Tyler Boss 6-4 and Lapeer West’s Myron Vandecar 7-4 in the third place match.
Overcashier won his first two matches at the 130-lb. mark before being pinned by Napoleon’s Richard Murphy in 4:42. Overcashier then pinned New Boston Huron’s Chad Koch in 4:12 before losing by pinfall to Kearsley’s Lance Goodell in 2:52 in the third place match.
Fletcher captured his first two matches at 189 lbs., earning a 15-0 decision against Lapeer West’s Tom Younger and an 8-4 decision against Addison’s Justin King. However, Fletcher lost a 19-4 decision to Dundee’s Aaron Maciver.
He then lost a 13-6 desicion to Warren Woods Tower’s Chris Rempe before dropping a narrow 7-6 contest against Tristian Burnette of New Boston Huron in the fifth-place bracket of the 189-lb. division.