Rochester, Clarkston escape quad unscathed
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — With the championship wrestling season just around the corner, teams entertaining big plans are starting to gear to peak at the right time.
Rochester and Clarkston are doing just that.
The host Falcons solidified second place in the OAA Red Division dual standings, trailing only Oxford, with a pair of wins Wednesday. Clarkston also eqcaped the OAA quad unscathed with two wins.
Rochester dropped West Bloomfield (51-21) and Lake Orion (41-24) to move to 6-1 in the league and 16-6 overall. Clarkston also bested rival Lake Orion (58-13) and cruised past West Bloomfield (59-10) to move into fourth place in the league.
For Rochester, the Falcons have defeated several teams this season that it hasn’t been able to defeat in years. Lake Orion is one of those teams, and the Falcons enter the OAA Red Tournament Feb. 4 in second place behind state-ranked Oxford, a Final Four team the past three seasons.
“We would like to make it to (the Division 1 state quarterfinals),” beamed Rochester coach Frank Lafferty, whose team has never reached that destination since the adaption of the team state tournament in 1988. “We have to worry about leagues, then individual and team districts … One step at a time.
“This league is awfully tough,” continued Lafferty. “Like tonight, on paper we should have beaten Orion by a lot. But they were gunning for us. They are well-coached. They put it all out there. You can’t take any of these teams lightly. When you think they’re down, they’re up.”
Clarkston and Lake Orion have put together some epic battles over the years. Yet the Wolves are finally at full strength for the first time this season and Orion is still missing several key guys, setting up the meet to be a lopsided affair. West Bloomfield is also struggling through a rebuilding campaign.
Defending league champion Clarkston (17-8, 4-3) won 11 of 14 matches against the Dragons and 12 of 14 matches against West Bloomfield.
“We’ve lost to Oxford, we’ve lost to Rochester and we’ve lost to (Rochester) Adams,” said Andy Auten, Clarkston’s first-year head coach. “Tonight we were (at full strength). When we wrestled Rochester and Adams, we didn’t have our 103 pounder, we didn’t have our 140 pounder, we didn’t have our 112 pounder, and against Adams we didn’t have our 130 pounder. We were pretty rough then, but we got everyone back for when it matters.
“It’s always nice to beat Lake Orion, but I think we have a lot of other goals this season,” added Auten.
Lake Orion, which reached the Division 1 state semifinals in both 2008 and 2009, are forging through a rebuilding campaign, at least as far as the league is concerned. The Dragons are still 17-10 overall wrestling a tough schedule, and are 3-4 in the league.
“All things are relative to an extent. Some of the other teams are up more than we are down,” said Lake Orion coach Cory Kuzinski. “Rochester is up, Oxford comes (into the OAA), Clarkston is now the same old Clarkston now that they are 100 percent, Rochester Adams is up. There is no real shame losing to four teams in your league like that.”
Rochester won 8-of-14 matches against Lake Orion, dominating the lower weight classes to pull ahead. The Dragons led 15-9 early but could not withstand the Falcons’ strengths.
Rochester also won 10 of 14 weight classes against West Bloomfield and still had to void out one weight class due to injury.
The league’s other quad at Oxford, featuring Auburn Hills Avondale, Rochester Adams, Troy Athens and the host Wildcats, was postponed until Thursday. The final pecking order heading into the league meet will be released Friday.
Prep Wrestling Results
CLARKSTON 58, LAKE ORION 13
103: Bret Foltz (C) p. David Moore 3:10; 112: Raymond Wilkie (C) by void; 119: Cameron Wilkie (C) d. Anton Letica 9-0; 125: Cam Masters (LO) d. Mike Cardinale 6-2; 130: Jeff Sloney (C) p. Devon Fulcher 1:43; 135: Nick Vandermeer (C) p. Deven Ellis 5:29; 140: Ty Foltz (C) d. Anthony Grupido 22-7; 145: Dan Deachin (LO) d. Cody Ellsworth 16-5; 152: Chris Calvano (C) d. Zach Arnold 5-1; 160: Mike Henige (C) p. Ethan Gros 1:30; 171: Matt Vandermeer (C) d. Mitch Ladd 13-4; 189: Adam Gros (LO) p. Ethan Frick 3:10; 215: Mitch Manns (C) p. John Yeglinski 3:45; 285: Scott Devos (C) p. Paul Scott 1:00.
CLARKSTON 59, WEST BLOOMFIELD 10
103: Brett Foltz (C) p. Will Graku 1:20; 112: Raymond Wilkie (C) d. Ross Bahro 2-1; 119: Cameron Wilkie (C) p. Andrew Kas-Marogi 3:47; 125: Trace Williamson (WB) d. Mike Cardinale 12-2; 130: Jeff Sloney (C) p. Anthony Thompson 1:38; 135: Nick Vandermeer (C) d. Danny Davidson 5-4; 140: Ty Foltz (C) d. Mitchell Sable 21-6; 152: Chris Calvano (C) d. Avery Hasenauer 5-0; 160: Mike Henige (C) p. Pat Russell 1:05; 171: Matt Vandemeer (C) p. Darren Bahro 2:23; 189: Ethan Frick (C) d. Nick Alessi 7-0; 215: Mitch Manns (C) p. Zach Root :51; 285: Scott Devos (C) p. Brandon Shaya 2:31.
ROCHESTER 41, LAKE ORION 24
103: Justin King (R) p. David Moore 1:24; 112: Josh Wood (R) by void; 119: Todd Puchoven (R) d. Anton Letica 12-4; 125: Kaelan Richards (R) d. Cam Masters 13-4; 130: Devon Fulcher (LO) d. Joey Gunther 11-7; 135: Deven Ellis (LO) by void; 140: Diego Camp (R) p. Anthony Grupido 3:17; 145: Dan Deachin (LO) d. Trevor Elliott 6-2; 152: Zach Arnold (LO) p. Darrin Withersppon :53; 160 Cody DeVoe (R) d. Ethan Gros 4-3; 171: Adam Gros (LO) d. Matt Waskiewicz 5-3; 189: Mitch Ladd (LO) d. Jameson Joyce 12-2; 215: Marcel Johnson (R) p. John Yeglinski :22; 285: Fabian Villalobos (R) p. Paul Scott 1:54.
ROCHESTER 51, WEST BLOOMFIELD 21
103: Justin Kim (R) p. Will Graku 3:51; 112: Josh Wood (R) d. Ross Bahro 3:59; 119: Todd Puchoven (R) p. Andrew Kas-Marogi :30; 125: Kaelan Richards (R) d. Trace Williamson 6-4; 130: Anthony Thompson (WB) p. Joey Gunther 3:36; 135: Danny Davidson (WB) by void; 140: Diego Camp (R) d. Mitchell Sable 16-5; 145: Trevor Elliott (R) d. Phil Grier 13-2; 152: Avery Hasenauer (WB) d. Darrin Witherspoon 5-0; 160: Cody DeVoe (R) d. Pat Russell 16-3; 171: Matt Waskiewicz (R) p. Darren Bahro 3:01; 189: Jameson Joyce (R) p. Zach Root 2:37; 215: Marcel Johnson (R) p. Nick Alessi 1:50; 285: Brandon Shaya (WB) p. Fabian Villalobos 2:26.
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Category: Clarkston, Lake Orion, Prep Wraps, Rochester
