Huron wrestlers improve to 21-11 on the season

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer The Rogers City wrestling team traveled to Cheboygan Wednesday for a Straits Area Conference Quad meet with Sault Ste. Marie, Mio and Cheboygan.

In their first match of the evening, the Hurons grappled with the Mio Thunderbolts. The dual began at 189 pounds and Mio took an early 12-0 lead as Mike Pacella (189) and Jordan Karsten (215) would both get pinned.

Devin Pommerenke (285) would win by void and Joey Sobeck (103) would win by pin in 3:16 to even the score at 12. The teams would then flip flop points as Travis Lafferty (112) would win by pin before Travis Fleis (119) lost by pin evening the score at 18. Cameron Wilk (125) would win by pin in 1:22 and Keegan Urban would win by void at 130 pounds giving the Hurons a 30-18 edge with seven matches remaining.

Greg Tulgestke (135) would lose 4-14 and Brandon Rickle (140) would lose by pin as would Daniel Marx (145) putting the Hurons down 30-34. Ben Tulgestke (152) and Jacob Reisener would both win by void to give the Hurons a 42-34 advantage with just one match remaining. Jim Tomas (171) would get pinned but the Hurons would win the match 42-40 avenging an earlier loss to the Thunderbolts.

?The team wrestled really well on Wednesday, and it was heartwarming to watch. These young men really came through for us and are showing flashes of brilliance. Wednesday was a real fun meet. Hopefully we are peaking at just the right time,? said coach Pat Lamb.

Next up for the Hurons were the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils. Starting at 215 pounds Karsten would lose by pin before the Hurons rattled off five straight victories to take an early lead and never look back.

Pommerenke (285), Sobeck (103) and Lafferty (112) would win via the pin before Fleis (119) won 12-4 and Wilk (125) would win by pin to give the Hurons a 28-6 lead. Urban (130) would lose 11-9 and Greg Tulgestke (135) and Marx (140) would both win via the void making the score 40-10. Rickle (145) would lose by pin making the score 40-16 before Ben Tulgestke (152) would win 9-2. Reisener (160) and Tomas (171) would both lose by pin making the score 43-28 with one match remaining. Pacella (189) would win by pin in 3:53 to secure the 49-28 victory over the Blue Devils, a team the Hurons have now defeated three times this season.

?Cameron Wilk wrestled awesome Wednesday and avenged an earlier season loss pinning his opponent in the first period. Travis Fleis really came on strong at 119 pounds, he had his Mio oppon

ent on the ropes but just couldn?t secure it; then he beat a kid from the Sault that has pinned him a few times. Travis Lafferty wrestled down at 112 pounds and got two pins for us. That is the key for the team, get pins and avoid getting pins, that helped us get the win and avenge the earlier loss to Mio,? said coach Pat Lamb.

The Hurons dual meet record now stands at 21-11 on the season as the season is winding down. The Hurons faced Gaylord and Alpena at home Wednesday and will be at the Straits Area Conference meet Saturday in St. Ignace before Team Districts at home next Thursday beginning at 6 p.m.

The Hurons will face Onaway in the district semi-finals and then take on the winner of Boyne City and St. Ignace in the district final.