Simply the best: Dylan Centala wins second state championship
There was no stopping Dylan Centala at the individual state finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills, as the gritty senior became the first Huron wrestler to win back-to-back state championships. He also was the first Huron to claim a title in overtime. Centala (60-2, 130 pounds) won his second straight state championship by being aggressive in the extra period. The warm up T-shirt he wore before taking the mat against 50-2 Chris Sandison said it all: ?Attack.? That is what he did to come away with the title.
Centala?s energy already had been sapped late in the third period and there was not much left in the tank. He gave up three points with 20 seconds left, but it annoyed the determined senior more than anything. ?I was a little tired and upset that I let him score three points,? said Centala, after receiving his first place medal and getting hugs from his mom and dad in the concourse.
THE MATCH was tied at 10-all heading into overtime and the first wrestler to score a take down would leave the mat as a state champion. Centala and Sandison had their arms locked up when Centala went on the attack. He tried a shot at Sandison, but stopped. Dylan held tough and remained aggressive and eventually took Sandison to the mat and went with the combination move — front headlock, knee block, and a spin behind — to earn the take down, and a state title. The final score in the match was 12-10.
?I was pretty confident because Dylan scored most of the takedowns in that match to begin with,? said Andy Centala, Dylan?s father and assistant coach. ?That is Dylan?s strength.? Through the first two periods, the only legitimate points Sandison earned was from a reversal. Centala had the first take down in the match in the first period and led 2-0.
Centala picked up another three take downs in the second period and gave up two escape points. With the reversal, the match was still close at 8-5 heading into the third. Dylan surged ahead with just under a minute left, but could not hang on to the three-point advantage.
?I KNEW HE was going to give Dylan some trouble, because he is tall, lanky and strong at the same time,? said head coach Pat Lamb. ?A wiry guy like that sometimes gives Dylan trouble because he can?t hook up his cradles. ?I?ve run out of adjectives to describe the young man so I will just t
Centala is the all-time win leader with a career mark of 220-14. His 60 victories this season is also a new school record, among many. It is the fourth inidividual title for the program. Chris Rhode and Andy Keller won the other two. On his way to the state title match, the four-time state placer absolutely steamrolled the competition. He won with two technical falls (16-0, 5:09 and 22-6, 6:00). The latter came against a 60-1 wrestler from Martin. In the semifinals against Brian Burke of Reading, Centala pinned him at the 1:07 mark of the second period.
Andy Centala said his son overcame some major obstacles late in the season, including a bout with stomach flu a few weeks ago during the individual regional tournament. It hurt his seeding, but he was not going to be denied. ?It feels pretty good,? said Centala, who said the second title had not quite sunk in. ?Overall I ended up with a ?W? ?. One last win — and now ? there is nothing more to prove. He is Rogers City?s best wrestler ever.