Wrestlers charged for title run;

It’s on to the state finals for the RCHS wrestling team after destroying Rudyard (57-12) and Gwinn (57-10) in the regionals February 23 in Munising. Rogers City (23-4) will make its sixth trip to the finals in Battle Creek to face Bangor (20-9) in the quarterfinals Friday at 1 p.m. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Dundee vs. St. Clair Shores Lakeview match Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Rogers City and Bangor have some similarities in that both schools qualified close to the same number of grapplers for the individual state finals next week. Bangor qualified wrestlers at 103 pounds, 119, 130, 140, 152, 160, 189, and 275.

Placing in the top four at the individual regionals from Rogers City were Brian Krueger (103 pounds), Brent Freel (119), Dylan Centala (130), Chase McLennan (160), Mark Grulke (171), and Chris Rhode (189). Krueger, Freel, and Centala all earned regional championships and will be top seeds when they wrestle at the finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Rhode placed second; Grulke, third; and McLennan fourth. First time state qualifiers include Krueger, Freel, McLennan, and Grulke.

“ON PAPER, it looks like we have a pretty good matchup with them,” Lamb said of the match with Bangor. “We have a regional champion at 103, they placed third. We have a regional champion at 119, they placed fourth. They have a state qualifier at 130, where we have a champion. We match up really well at 189, 215, 160, and 171. “If we can score over 35 points, I think we have a very good shot,” said Lamb.

Since none of the current Huron wrestlers have been to Battle Creek to wrestle before, Lamb is looking to his seniors to lead the young wrestlers. “If we don’t do well in our first match, we’re not going to be around on Saturday, unless we are going to be sitting in the stands watching,” Lamb said. “And I certainly don’t want to be in the stands watching on Saturday. I want to participate on Saturday.”

The coach would like every year to be a stepping-stone for the program. Huron squads have made it to Battle Creek five times, but never beyond the quarterfinal round. “I want this team to be the first to make it through to Saturday,” said Lamb. ‘Do we match up well with the teams in our bracket? Yes we do, but we have to prove that. We have to go out there and do the job on Friday.”

AT THE TEAM regional tournament, after polishing off Rudyard, the Hurons had to defeat Gwinn to earn the first trip to Battle Creek since 2000. McLennan started the match with an 8-4 win. The match was much closer with McLennan getting the final points with 20 seconds remaining. Grulke received a void, making the score 9-0. Rhode followed with a 16-6 decision and a 13-0 lead for RC. Tyler Gorlewski (215) battled into overtime before losing his match, 3-1. Scott Kamyszek (275) pinned his opponent midway through the third period for six points and a 19-3 advantage. Krueger needed a little more than a minute to take care of the Gwinn lightweight. Tharin Wilk (112) pulled out an exciting 13-10 decision, to up the score to 28-3, Rogers City. Freel (1:16) and Mike Mierzwinski (125, 5:00) earned six points each with pins, while Alex Matthews picked up six with a void. That brought up Centala, who was taking on the U.P. state champion at 135. He pinned the kid in the first period. It also was Centala’s 150th career victory, giving Rogers City a 52-3 lead. Cody Wenzel earned the final five points for the Hurons with a 17-2 technical fall.

KRUEGER (48-6) pinned two of his opponents at individual regionals, including Stevie Bassett of Onaway for the championship. Freel (42-7) earned a technical fall, pinned David Hoffman of Ithaca in 1:45, and then defeated Deforrest Warren of Mio in the finals, 5-3 in overtime. Centala (48-3) earned a pin, a technical fall, and a 7-5 decision in the finals. Rhode (50-2) had a pin and a 10-5 decision to make the finals, but lost to Marty Schafer of Beal City, 6-4 in overtime. Grulke (39-17) lost his first bout after a rare bye, but won the rest of the way, 11-2, and then

11-6, going for third. McLennan started his day with a pin, but lost an 8-6 decision to drop down into the consolation bracket. He defeated Nathan Ray of Mio to qualify for state. He lost a 7-3 decision while going for third. The four to not advance of the 10 who made it to regionals were Gorlewski, Wilk, Tyler Schuiteman (145), and Wenzel.

“Regionals are like an emotional rollercoaster for a coach,” said Lamb. “One minute you are up because you had a kid qualify, the next minute you come crashing down to earth.” Individual state finals are March 11 and 12 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Erik Nadolsky and Adam Saile will be broadcasting from Battle Creek Friday at 1 p.m. on 96.7, WVXA.