Individual Wrestling finals Hurons have five state placers
by Angie Asam– Staff Writer
Five Huron wrestlers traveled to the individual state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills over the weekend and all five were able to place in the top eight, earning all-state honors as well as medals. ?We had a very good weekend. To my knowledge, this is the first time that we have ever placed one hundred percent of the wrestlers that we took to the state tournament. Our young men really represented Rogers City wrestling well and gave it a total effort down there,? said coach Pat Lamb.
SENIOR THARIN WILK (56-3) placed third at 135 pounds. Wilk defeated Justin Kirby of Byron by pin in 4:57 in round one and won a 2-1 decision over Erick Matthews of New Haven to earn a spot in the state semi-finals. In that match against defending state champion Cody Dunn of Leslie, Wilk lost on a late reversal 5-4; Dunn would go on to win his second consecutive state title. In a consolation match to get into the match for third and fourth place, Wilk defeated Alex Dalton of Carolton 14-1. Wrestling against Hesperia?s Malcolm Martin, who had beaten him earlier in the season, Wilk would not be denied winning by a convincing score of 9-4. Wilk finished his career with 193 wins, was a three-time state qualifier, and a two-time state placer.
?Tharin lost a heartbreaking match in the semi-finals that would have put him in the championship match. The hardest thing for a young man to do who really has his hopes and dreams set on winning a state championship, especially after losing a match like he did, is to get yourself motivated to come back and take third, especially for a senior. Tharin just came back and did it in dominating fashion. In a match for third place he beat a young man who had given him one of his two losses coming into the state tournament in dominating, typical Tharin Wilk, butt-whooping fashion — a great accomplishment. I am ecstatic, extremely proud of the way he battled back,? said coach Lamb. SENIOR CHASE MCLENNAN (56-4) took third place at 189 pounds. McLennan defeated Corey Drury of Byron 10-4 and Gabe Elliot of Hudson 8-6 to get into the state semi-finals. In his semi-final match against Conrad Bovee of Ithaca, the eventual state champion, McLennan lost a close 4-3 battle. McLennan would battle back, defeating Travis Morrill of Union City, setting up a rematch with Elliot of Hudson. McLennan would again win the match, this time in double overtime by a score of 2-1 to secure third place. McLennan finished his career as one of three wrestlers in Rogers City wrestling history to be a four-time state placer and ended his career with 197 career wins.
?Chase finished his career in some pretty good company with Duane Woloszyk and Dylan Centala as the only wrestlers to place at state all four years. Chase lost a very heartbreaking match in the semi-finals, 3-2, to the eventual state champ. The easiest thing to do at that point would be to let your guard down and let some matches slip away. Chase was not to be denied; he won a thrilling double overtime victory to win third place against a young man he had defeated in the quarterfinals. One of the toughest things to do is to wrestle the same opponent twice in the same tournament. I am very proud of all that Chase accomplished in his career. He is just a few wins shy of 200 victories and is high on the list for Rogers City wrestling,? said coach Lamb.
SENIOR T.J. SOBECK (52-7) lost his opening match against Jordan Capen of Ithaca 8-6 in overtime but battled all the way back to place fourth. Sobeck defeated Jorge Gallegos of Covert 7-0, Kevin Vanderpool of Hudson 1-0, Cevin Walker of Manchester 23-0, and Anthony Burris of Harper Woods 4-2, to earn a spot in the match for third place. Pitted against Jacob Eagen of Springport, who had defeated Sobeck by major decision at the team quarterfinals a week prior, Sobeck lost 6-1 to finish in fourth place. Sobeck finished his career as a three-time state qualifier and two-time state medalist with 152 career wins. ?T.J. lost to a wrestler his first match, and I am not sure if it was first match jitters or not, but he lost in overtime. T.J. came all the way back and wrestled his butt off to get into the consolation finals for third and fourth place, which is a major accomplishment after losing your first match. The competition at 119 pounds was arguably the toughest weight class in division four, in my opinion it was; it featured two returning state champions as well as a state runner up, and those three young men were the only ones to finish ahead of T.J. He really made the best of his opportunities to finish his career with a fourth place finish. T.J. earned his 150th win at the tournament, which is a major accomplishment for a young man who didn?t wrestle varsity his freshman year. He won his 50th career match as a sophomore at the state finals, his 100th career as a junior, and now, as a senior his 150th. I am very proud of T.J. He wrestled to the best of his ability and really got the most out of himself,? said coach Lamb.
SENIOR JEROME GAPCZYNSKI (47-9) made his second appearance at the state finals and finished in fourth place. Gapczynski defeated Eric Ford of Blissfield 9-2 and Eric Lawrence of Saginaw Valley Lutheran 4-0 to earn a spot in the state semi-finals. Gapczynski would lose to eventual state champion Kyle Hillard of Hudson 8-0 before battling back to defeat Robert Hall of Decatur 11-3 to earn an opportunity to wrestle for third place. Gapczynski would fall to Trent Morris of Reading 9-4 to finish in fourth place. Gapczynski finished his career with 151 career wins and as an all-state wrestler. He earned his 150th victory at the state tournament.
?Jerome defeated some very quality wrestlers to end up wrestling for third place. He lost in the semi-finals to the young man who would go on to win the state title. Jerome came in with the mindset that he was going to do whatever it took to place at state and he did just that. He beat the number two rated wrestler by convincing fashion to get into the match for third place. He wrestled very, very, well throughout the tournament to place fourth. He had a great year to finish his career. He also attained his 150th career victory at the state tournament, a fitting tribute to a fine senior wrestler,? said coach Lamb.
FRESHMAN DEVIN POMMERENKE (53-11) finished sixth in a senior dominated 285-pound weight class. Pommerenke was pinned by eventual state runner up Ryon Barker of Adrian Madison in round one. Pommerenke battled back, defeating Julian Williams of Mayville in 2:33, Bill Kirk of Marcellus in 1:39, and Shane Hettinger of Martin in 3:49. Wrestling to get into the match for third place against Rudy Spalding of Hesperia, who had a record of 55-0 coming into the state tournament, Pommerenke was pinned in 1:49. In his match for fifth place, Pommerenke was defeated by Carnell Porter-Giles of New Haven 10-1 to finish in sixth place. The seven other placers in the division four heavyweight bracket were all seniors.
?Our freshman sensation came up and defeated a young man from Martin, who had beaten him earlier in the season, to stay alive in the tournament. Devin lost to the young man who would finish as runner up in the first round and then came through to finish sixth as a freshman in a very senior dominated weight class. The sky is the limit for what this young man can and will accomplish in our sport. Just knowing his work ethic, his drive and his love for the sport, I know it will take him to places unprecedented for Rogers City wrest
?I am very pleased and very proud, but at the same time sad, because it was the last time I will see these four seniors wrestle. It is a very emotional time for a coach and an athlete when they know it is the last opportunity they have to wear that Huron uniform and compete. It is tough, but at the same time it is a happy time, because of what they have accomplished, brought to our program, and what they have done for me personally, and have served as role models to my young son. I can?t thank them enough for these four years; it?s just awesome,? said coach Lamb.