Wrestlers suffer close loss to Whittemore, defeat Mio last week

In spite of injuries and forfeits, the Huron wrestlers managed a split last Thursday against visiting Mio and Whittemore-Prescott. Rogers City defeated Mio 35-24, but couldn?t get past perennial wrestling power Whittemore-Prescott, 34-30. ?It was some of the best wrestling we?ve been treated to in a very long time,? said Huron coach Pat Lamb, whose squad is now 15-7 in dual action.

?I was very pleased with the way our kids wrestled,? Lamb said. ?Any time you give up 12 points to a team like Whittemore and end up losing by four, you know your kids put a major effort out there on the mat.? Rogers City voided two weight classes against W-P: 140 and 160 pounds. Each void costs six points.

Lamb said all three matches were ?awesome,? whether it was Mio wrestling Rogers City, or the Whittemore vs. Mio dual. ?Anybody that was at the Rogers City gym saw some exciting wrestling,? Lamb added.

IN THE dual against W-P, Joe Marcotte started the match at 145 pounds with a pin in 5:58, to give the Hurons a 6-0 lead. Mackenzie Grulke lost 2-0 before Chris Rhode (189 pounds) earned a 6-2 decision. Rogers City trailed the Cardinals 9-14. The Hurons took a 21-14 lead on back-to-back pins by Tyler Gorlewski (21 seconds) and Joshua Christ (41 seconds). The match was tied at 21 when Dylan Centala pinned his opponent in 1:05 and Justin Kelley earned an 8-3 decision. The score was 30-21, in favor of Rogers City.

After two defeats, and the Hurons in the lead 30-28, W-P?s final six points came from a forfeit at 140 pounds. Against Mio, Gorlewski and Christ provided back-to-back pins again. Austin Fairbanks won a 1-0 decision on an escape late in the second period. Kelley also took a tight 2-0 match. Other winners against the Thunderbolts were Rhode, Krueger (9-1 decision), Centala, and Cody Wenzel. While it was an excellent night of wrestling, the Hurons came out of the competition a little banged up. Mackenzie Grulke has a deep knee bruise and is out indefinitely, while Matt Tomas has a hamstring injury.

ROGERS CITY traveled to Ithaca Saturday for a tournament which can be considered a preview of what the competition is like at the regional and state level. Four Hurons medaled, of the 10 athletes Lamb took to the invitational. Centala and Christ both took second place medals at Ithaca. Centala lost his first match as a varsity wrestler, an 8-6 decision. ?He wrestled well, he wrestled tough. He lost to a boy from New Lothrop who has been in this pressure situation before,? said Lamb. ?I?m extremely proud of Dylan, he ha

ndled it like a true champ. In this day and age you see so many kids lose, especially when they lose their first match of the year, come off the mat moping and throwing things, and hitting the mat,? said Lamb of the freshman, who was the Huron?s last undefeated grappler. ?Dylan doesn?t have any of that in his system.?

Christ and Centala were both 2-1. Rhode took third with a 4-1 record. Kelley was a fourth place finisher with a 3-2 record. Gorlewski, Krueger, Fairbanks and Wenzel were 1-2. There is no scheduled matches tonight (Thursday) but the Northern Michigan Wrestling Championships are in Gaylord Saturday.

Lamb said he?ll split the squad up, taking some wrestlers to Gaylord and some to Sault Ste. Marie.