Two Huron wrestlers crowned Northern Michigan champions
It was a day in which some of the best wrestlers from northern lower Michigan and the upper peninsula gathered in Gaylord to compete in the annual Northern Michigan Wrestling championships. Three of the five Rogers City wrestlers the coaching staff took to Gaylord made the finals, and two won exciting matches to claim first place finishes.
Freshman Dylan Centala (33-1, 119 pounds) won his match in the finals with less than 10 seconds to go, while sophomore Joshua Christ (27-3, 275 pounds) pinned a previously undefeated wrestler from Petoskey. Sophomore Chris Rhode?s (34-4, 189 pounds) only loss of the day came in the finals against state placer Zack Galer of Onaway. Rhode took a second.
Freshman Austin Fairbanks (26-9, 112 pounds) won his final match of the day, over Deforrest Warren of Mio, convincingly 16-2, to take fifth. Junior Justin Kelley (125 pounds) was 1-2 in Gaylord. Even with five wrestlers, Rogers City took eighth place among the 23 participating teams.
The Hurons will be at the Standish-Sterling Duals this Saturday, and coach Pat Lamb said he will take as many wrestlers ?as are healthy.? Lamb is hoping to get everybody back for the tournament. Mackenzie Grulke is trying to return from a knee injury, Matt Tomas was practicing after suffering a hamstring pull, and Scott Keller was ill, after he suffered a hip injury in the Bill Barrett Memorial, a couple of weeks ago.
CENTALA PROVIDED one of the most exciting finishes of the day in his title match against Josh Churchill of Gaylord. In front of a group of cheering Gaylord fans, Centala was able to rally from a 1-4 second period deficit, to take a brief 5-4 lead, only to have Churchill get a reversal, seconds after Centala went on top. Churchill?s lead was 6-5, and he was seconds from taking first, when Centala ?back-doored? the legs for a reversal, and a 7-6 lead that would stand.
?Dylan could tell his opponent was tiring…? said Lamb. ?The reason his opponent was tired was because of all the pressure that Dylan put on him. Dylan was definitely the aggressor in the match.? Churchill scored four of his points on Centala?s aggressiveness, ?with Dylan shooting in on shots. He was able to counter his (Churchill?s) shots for four points,? said Lamb.
CHRIST?S FINALS match didn?t start well, as the Petoskey heavyweight caught the sophomore in a body lock and threw him to the mat for five points. But the Huron heavyweight fought back against one of the biggest grapplers at the meet. ?I have to give Josh a lot of credit for fighting off his back, because that guy was strong,? said Lamb.
Christ chose ?up? to start to the second period, so he could try and turn his opponent. He kept the pressure on and the opportunity presented itself, and Christ pinned him for first place. ?He works hard and he never lets anything rattle him, he just forges forw
The Petoskey wrestler had torn through the competition in impressive fashion, and suffered his only defeat of the year on 16 wins. The other finals match, at 189 pounds, the final weight class to wrestle, featured Onaway senior Zack Galer and Chris Rhode. It was the first of many meetings for the two Presque Isle County wrestlers, with Galer coming out on top this time with a pin, with seconds left in the first period.
athletes are likely this weekend, at conference in nine days, individual districts, and possibly regionals and state.
ASSISTANT COACH Chad Coolman took eight wrestlers to Sault Ste. Marie Saturday for a junior varsity tournament. Freshman Cody Wenzel (130 pounds) was 3-0 and took first place while sophomore Tyler Gorlewski (215 pounds) ended up tied for first place. Freshmen Brian Krueger and Ben Collins were both 2-1 and placed second. Freshman Mark Grulke finished third with a 1-2 record.
