Conference title streak on the line this weekend
History is on the side of the Huron wrestlers as they travel to the Straits Area Conference meet at Rudyard Saturday, winning six consecutive (1997-2002) conference championships, and it?ll also be a source of motivation as they don?t want the streak to come to an end. The biggest challenge should come from a school that?s better known for its tenacious basketball. St. Ignace has put up quite a fight against Rogers City this season, and probably will be the only school that can stop the Hurons from winning their seventh consecutive conference title.
?ST. IGNACE has been coming on of late,? said coach Pat Lamb. ?I feel it?s going to be a battle between us and St. Ignace for the conference crown this year.? Lamb said his wrestlers, dominated by a roster of freshmen, will have their work cut out for them. ?We?re going to need every ounce of energy from every wrestler we have,? said Lamb. Rogers City defeated St. Ignace in the finals of the Bill Barrett Memorial last month, 46-28, but were only 11 points better earlier in the day, 44-33. The Hurons? dual record is 18-8.
THE CONFERENCE meet ushers in four weeks of post-season wrestling, which will be capped off by the individual state tournament at the Palace of Auburn Hills, March 6-8. Following conference, Rogers City will host individual and team districts. The Hurons have won 16 consecutive team district titles, dating back to 1987. The winner of team districts, which is Wednesday, moves on to team regionals. The Hurons are coming off a second place finish at the Standish-Sterling Invitational last Saturday, as they lost in the finals to Hemlock, 42-36. On their path to the finals, Rogers City defeated Tawas 53-15, Brown City 49-27, Mio 37-33, and then dropped the final match to the Huskies.
Five Hurons went undefeated: freshman Austin Fairbanks 4-0 (112 pounds), freshman Dylan Centala 4-0 (119 pounds), senior Mackenzie Grulke 1-0 (171 pounds), and sophomores Tyler Gorlewski 4-0 (215 pounds) and Joshua Christ 4-0 (275 pounds).
ROGERS CITY started well against Hemlock in the finals, getting three consecutive pins from Gorlewski, Christ and freshman Brian Krueger (103 pounds), which gave the Hurons an 18-0 advantage. Wrestling at 119 pounds, Fairbanks picked up six points when Hemlock voided the weight class, and with a pin by Centala, the Rogers City lead was 30-6. Junior Justin Kelley lost a close match, 4-2, which was followed by four Hurons wreslters getting pinned, and a void at 145 pounds. The Huskies? advantage was nine with two weight classes to go, 171 and 189 pounds. Grulke, still nursing a bad knee, was asked to wrestle in one match at 171 and picked up six points with a pin.
Hemlock, clinging to a three-point lead, sent their 189-pound state-ranked wrestler against sophomore Chris Rhode, and handed Rhode his only loss of the day, 6-0.
KRUEGER WAS 3-1 at Standish, Kelley 2-2, Cody Wenzel 2-1 (130 pounds), sophomore Matt Tomas 1-3 (135 pounds), Ben Collins 2-2 (140 pounds), Mark Grulke 1-3 (152
Christ continues to wrestle with patience and the experience of a veteran. The Hurons took both ends of a double-dual Thursday (Feb. 6) in Rudyard. Rogers City topped Rudyard 54-5 and then beat Newberry 47-21.
Double winners for the Hurons were Krueger, Fairbanks, Centala, Kelley, Wenzel, Mackenzie Grulke, Rhode, Gorlewski, and Christ.
Rogers City now stands at 20-8 headed into Saturday’s conference meet in Rudyard.
