Hurons join northern Michigan?s top wrestlers in Gaylord Saturday; sweep home triangular
At last Thursday?s triangular meet, the host Hurons had something in common with visiting St. Ignace, which toppled Rogers City as Straits Area Conference champ in 2003. Both strengthened their lineups with the return of wrestlers to the mat. How would they fare against each other? The final score clearly indicates that Rogers City?s lineup is stronger than it was when the Hurons defeated the Saints at the Bill Barrett Memorial, 45-33 earlier this month. This time around, the Hurons widened the gap with a 51-24 triumph.
?We had comments from a few of our fans that our conditioning really showed against St. Ignace,? said head coach Pat Lamb, whose squad improved its dual record to 12-5. ?Our kids just wrestled extremely tough.? The Hurons had six pins against St. Ignace and eight against a young Onaway team, they easily defeated, 69-6.
FRESHMAN TYLER SCHUITEMAN and sophomore Cody Wenzel came through with clutch pins against the Saints for the orange and black. Wenzel extended a 3-0 lead to 9-0 when he pinned Steve Chan with 51 seconds remaining in the third period. Schuiteman followed him to the mat and faced Zane Johnson, a more experienced wrestler. With the score tied in the second period at 7-7, Schuiteman finished off Johnson with a pin at the 3:37 mark. That gave the Hurons a 15-0 advantage. St. Ignace came back with two pins to narrow the lead to 15-12, but junior Chris Rhode avenged a 4-0 loss against Rand Litzner at the Bill Barrett Memorial earlier this month, with a 13-3 win.
?On Thursday he (Rhode) left little doubt who the better wrestler is,? said Lamb. The Saints got another pin (six points), and Rogers City was only on top by one, 19-18. St. Ignace would be stuck at 18 for a while, though, as the Hurons rattled off five consecutive wins. After the Hurons voided at 130 pounds to make the score 45-24, sophomore Austin Fairbanks ended the dual with a pin midway through the final match.
ROGERS CITY won its first 10 matches against the Cardinals, seven from pins and two on voids. The only decision was an 8-3 victory by sophomore Brian Krueger (112 pounds) against Steve Bassett. Double winners on the day included senior Justin Kelley (140 pounds), junior Josh Christ (275 pounds), freshman Brent Freel (112 pounds), sophomore Dylan Centala (125/130 pounds), Wenzel
It was the closest the Hurons have been to filling all 14 weight classes, with the return of Kelley, and Keller facing his first action of the season. ?They both were a little rusty and need time to get going again,? said Lamb. Rogers City voided 125 against Onaway and 130 against St. Ignace. ?Naturally it would be nice to fill all 14 weight classes but we have tough kids at every weight class,? said Lamb.
NEXT UP is the annual Northern Michigan Wrestling Championships at Gaylord High School on Saturday. Lamb said Gaylord might be the front-runner, but schools such as Grayling, Mio, Munising, and of course the Hurons, have a shot at winning the team title. ?I want to see our boys,? said Lamb, ?with the squad that we have, competing against the best teams in northern Michigan, to see how we fare.?