Onaway wrestlers compete at tournament at Roscommon

Five members of the Onaway High School wrestling team competed at a tournament Saturday at Roscommon, with one of them going unbeaten and another dropping just one match.

Because the tournament was a team format, and Onaway fielded just five athletes, several “extra” Roscommon wrestlers joined the Cardinals to create a team.

Joe Traynham, wrestling at 112 pounds, won all four of his matches to improve to 18-2 on the season. He defeated tough opponents from both Roscommon (13-0) and Traverse City St. Francis (5-3) and won a pair of matches by forfeit.

 

SOPHOMORE JOE Traynham hasn’t been fazed by moving up a weight class as he has picked it up right where he left off as a freshman. Traynham and the Cardinals will host the annual Dick Dunn Memorial Round Robin this Saturday. (Photo by Angie Asam)

Isaac Nave, wrestling at 103 pounds, won three of his four matches, with a quality win over a St. Francis opponent who will wrestle in college, and a tough loss to a tough opponent from Grayling.

Casey Watson (189 pounds) also won a match for the Cardinals, with Justin Gedda (160) and Bryan Brenner (140) wrestling hard as well, according to coach Mark Grant.

A week earlier, the same group of five Cardinals competed at a team tournament at Ionia, with Traynham a

nd Watson winning tournament titles and Nave and Gedda both finishing fourth.

Traynham wrestled up a weight at 119 pounds, going 5-0, including a win by major decision over a Carson City Crystal wrestler ranked 10th in the state in his weight class.

Watson, seeded fourth at the tournament at 189 pounds, had what Grant called “one of the best days of his career,” going 4-0 and winning the gold medal in his weight class.

Nave, wrestling up a weight class at 112 pounds, went 3-2 to finish fourth, with one of those losses coming to a two-time defending state champion from Carson City Crystal.

Gedda, who Grant stressed is wrestling at an extremely difficult weight class, also finished fourth at the tournament, with Grant saying that he is making great strides in overcoming his lack of experience on the mat. The wrestling team will host the annual Dick Dunn Memorial tournament Saturday, with action scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.