Nine attempt to advance to state, third straight team regional in sight

This is qualifying week for wrestlers looking to qualify for the Michigan High School Athletic Association?s state tournaments. For the Huron wrestlers, they will be vying for a third straight trip to the team state finals in Battle Creek. Only the top eight schools in all four divisions get to compete at the Kellogg Center. Rogers City was in action Wednesday (past press time) against St. Ignace. The match was to begin at 6 p.m. with the winner facing either Iron Mountain or Munising in the regional championship. The winner of the tournament advances to BC. Check for results at PIAdvance.com early Thursday afternoon.

INDIVIDUALLY, THE top four placers at the regional meet in Manton Saturday will advance to The Palace of Auburn Hills. Rogers City is sending nine wrestlers to the meet, the same number of athletes that made it to state a year ago. Rogers City was the site of the individual district tournament last Saturday. The Hurons had six reach the finals and two win district championships. Juniors Tharin Wilk (130 pounds) and Chase McLennan (171) both earned titles on the home mats.

Placing second were T.J. Sobeck (103), Jacob Vogler (112), Tyler Schuiteman (152), and Jerome Gapczynski (160). The rest of the regional qualifiers included Brent Freel (3rd, 130), Zak McLennan (4th, 140), and Alex Matthews (4th, 125). Lamb said the Rogers City district was a tough meet, particularly in the middle weight classes of 140 and 145. But the hardest pill to swallow for the coach was watching two of his top wrestlers going head-to-head in the semifinals of 130 as Brent Freel and Tharin Wilk were in the same weight class for the individual meet. ?It is the first time I sat on the sideline and was that quiet,? said Lamb. ?It is one of the toughest things I have ever had to do as a coach was to see two of my best wrestlers go out there and battle.? Both went into the match with nearly identical records. Wilk was 43-5, while Freel was 44-5. Wilk prevailed 8-1 and claimed a district title with a 7-3 decision over Robert Morris of Pine River. ?Ever since Gaylord, Tharin has been gaining confidence,? said Lamb. ?He is a determined young man, who makes very few mistakes.? Freel (45-6) wanted to bump up to 130 from 125 for the individual tournament because it was difficult to make weight at state two days in a row last year. CHASE MCLENNAN (47-4) will wrestle at 171 for the individual tournament and was impressive at home. After a bye he pinned Ben Ellenberger of Onaway (2:45) and then won back-to-back major decisions. In the finals he won a 21-6 decision against Rob Kautman of Kingsley. ?Ever since he lost at the Bill Barrett he has been on a roll,? said Lamb. ?I think Chase has his mind set on a state title and I am not going to bet against him. Nothing seems to rattle that young man.? Schuiteman (40-12), who has one last shot at qualifying for individual state, lost to undefeated Andy Anderson of Traverse City St. Francis in the finals, 8-4. He should have a solid seeding th

is weekend and a good shot at state. Sobeck (40-5) was pinned by Steve Bassett of Onaway. Lamb said he could not fault T.J. in the match because he tried to pick up some points and took some risks in doing so. ?He was trying to win the match,? the coach said. It was another Presque Isle County war at 160 between Gapczynski (42-11) and Tyler Chapman of Onaway. After Gapczynski won during the team district meet a few days before, 4-1, Chapman edged Gapczynski in the rematch, 4-2. Vogler (31-17) was down in the finals, but in control, when he got caught in an offensive pin. He lost to Zeke Daman of Charlevoix (3:28).

AT TEAM districts in Onaway, the Hurons upped their remarkable streak of consecutive titles to 21. They easily defeated Boyne City, 70-8, in the semifinals and then ended Onaway?s season, 47-22. The Cards threw out all the stops and had the crowd behind them, but could not pick up enough points in the lower weights. After 103, Jacob and Michael Vogler pinned their opponents, which was followed by a 9-0 decision from Matthews. Freel picked up six points on a void and then Wilk pinned James McDowell, who usually plays point guard on the basketball team, in a time of 1:51. Zak McLennan ended the day for the Hurons on a winning note, with a 13-5 victory.