Pommerenke makes it four straight, Hurons take fifth
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
Senior heavyweight Devin Pommerenke added to his long list of accomplishments on the wrestling mat Saturday at the Marquette Challenge as he became just the eighth high school wrestler in the nearly 40 years the Challenge has existed to become a four-time champion. Before winning the title Devin also broke Duane Wolosyzk?s (1995-99) career pin record as he now has 136 career pins. Woloszyk set the bar at 134. Devin will continue to add to that record this season and his consecutive winning streak is now at 133 as he is now 186-11 in his career.
?Anytime you break a record that was set by Duane Woloszyk you have accomplished something. Duane was an accomplished wrestler and I can?t take anything away from what he has done and did for Rogers City wrestling. At the same time we aren?t even a quarter of the way into Devin?s senior year,? said coach Pat Lamb.
Following a round one bye Devin won by pin in 32 seconds in round two and 56 seconds in round three to break the pin record. In the finals against Adam Robinson of Mason he was able to pin him in 3:34 to take his fourth title as well as earn most outstanding wrestler of the day and most pins in the least amount of time. ?Four straight at Marquette and to do it in pretty much dominating fashion is unbelievable. The work that Devin puts into it and the leadership abilities that he has and just the quality he brings to the mat is amazing. Up there you can almost feel the love for Dpom up there, people really appreciate what he has done. That is heartwarming to me, that he affects people that way. It?s great to have people appreciate what he has done,? said coach Lamb.L
SOPHOMORE EVAN Lamb (125) placed second at Marquette after losing a heart-breaking 7-6 match in the finals to Iron Mountain?s Ryan Gauthier. Lamb won 14-3 in round one followed by a pin in one minute in round two. In the semifinals he won 3-1 over Escanaba?s Travis Heller. Trailing 5-1 in the final minute of his finals match Lamb was able to turn his opponent in the spladel for a reversal and near fall to take a 6-5 lead however when the move ended Gauthier was able to score a reversal to take the match 7-6.
?Evan wrestled well, he fell in a very close match with a touch of controversy to it. I am proud of the way he handled that controversy,? said coach Lamb. Senior Greg Tulgestke took third at 140 pounds. Tulgestke won by pin in 37 seconds in round one and by pin in 1:41 in round two before falling by pin at 5:38 in the semifinals to the eventual challenge champion. Tulgestke then won 4-0 to take third place. Junior Joe Sobeck (112) and sophomore Caleb Pommerenke (189) each took fourth on the day. Sobeck had a first round bye before winning by pin in 51 seconds to reach the semifinals where he lost a 4-0 match. He then lost in the match for third. Caleb was back in action for the first time this wrestling season as he returned from a major football injury. After two pins he lost a tight 5-2 match in the semifinals and then lost a hard fought 2-1 match to finish fourth.
Senior Keegan Urban (135) was the final placer for the Hurons as he battled back from a close controversial 4-2 loss to take fifth place. After losing in round two, Urban won by pin in 1:36 and 2:47 before winning 2-1 to take fifth. Junior Blaise Ryan (130) won by pin in the first round and was in his second match when he suffered a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the tournament. Senior Daniel Marx won 6-2 in round one before falling 4-0 and 8-1 to end his day. Senior Travis Fleis (119) fell 10-1 and lost in overtime 4-2 to go 0-2 on the day. Freshman Andrew Selke was unable to wrestle due to a questionable infection on his skin.
THE HURONS finished fifth on the day with 110 points with only eight wrestlers competing. ?To place fifth in a tournament of that caliber with just eight kids is an accomplishment. It is a true testament to the character of the kids on the team. They can not only come back and face adversity knowing that it?s hard to win with only eight guys, but come out and give their best and take fifth. I am very proud of the Rogers City wrestlers and am extremely proud of the fact that we faced controversy and our kids handled it with poise,?
Coach Lamb went on to say that it is not only the wrestlers, he said as a community the athletes accept losing with poise and dignity. IN JUNIOR VARSITY action Friday at Ishpeming Westwood the Hurons had three second-place finishes and a fourth place finish. Freshman Jack Ryan (119) was 3-1 to take second while senior Leilani Kortman (112) was 2-1 and placed second. Adam Pieczynski (215) was also 2-1 to take second. Freshman Noah Sobeck was 1-2 at 103 pounds to take fourth. Other wrestlers participating were Daniel Pflug, Chris Pflug, Zach Beland, Jared LaFleche and Shayne Kaszubowski.
The Hurons were in Grayling Wednesday (after press time) for a tri-meet with Grayling and Kingsley and will host the Bill Barrett Memorial Tournament on Dec. 29 beginning at 10 a.m.