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Clash of the Titans…No. 3 Oxford pins down No. 2 Davison for district title

Dan Stickradt | February 9, 2011 | Comments (1)

CLINCHER: Oxford's Ben Ralston provided the clinching points with a win in 171-pound division during the No. 3 Wildcats' 31-19 victory over second-ranked Davison. Staff Photo

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

OXFORD — Seven straight years, Oxford has walked off the wrestling mats with a district championship. Perhaps none were bigger than Wednesday’s title.

The third-ranked Wildcats avenged an earlier defeat to Davison, topping the visiting No. 2-ranked Cardinals, 31-19, in a Division 1 district final.

Oxford, which has appeared in three straight Final Fours, advances to the Region 102 semifinals next Wednesday at Saginaw Heritage, where they will go after their fourth straight regional crown and sixth overall. The Wildcats will wrestle at 6 p.m. against an undetermined opponent.

Oxford (29-4) never trailed, going up 9-3 and keeping the Cardinals at bay throughout. When Ben Ralston defeated Dom Diaz 13-5 in a 171-pound match, the top-ranked Ralston cinched the win for Oxford, giving his team a 15-point lead with one weight class to go..

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” smiled Ralston, one of the senior leaders for the Wildcats. “I just happened to be out there at that time.

“We went to the semifinals last year, and this year (our goal) is to win it,” added Ralston.

In a season-opening quad match on Dec. 1, Davison edged Oxford 33-30, where both teams won seven weight classes. Oxford dominated the Cardinals in last year’s district finals, 66-7, en route to the D-1 Final Four.

Davison suffered through a rebuilding campaign a year ago, but had bounced back for a 32-3 record this season. The Cardinals did not have the experience factor as Oxford, which last failed to win a district in 2004.

“When you have the opportunity, you have to seize it and (Oxford) did just that,” said Davison coach Roy Hall. “Give them credit. They were prepared and they wrestled well.”

Oxford won eight of the 14 weight classes this time around, opening with Nick McMaster’s 6-4 triumph over Kyle Thick at 215. Prescott Line avenged an earlier defeat to Ryan Hankins, who had over 60 pounds on Line, with a pin in 2:52 at 285.

That gave Oxford a 9-0 cushion and the Cardinals were never able to cut the deficit to under three points the rest of the way.

Derek Humphrey (103) put Davison on the board with a 13-11 overtime win over Dylan Smith, while Justin Oliver, the top-ranked 112-pounder, clipped Keegan Cantera, 6-4, to close the Cardinals to within 9-6.

Oxford responded with three straight wins, as Rocco Borg (119, 7-2 decision), Kyle Hill (125, pin in 1:58) and Jacob Peasley (130, 10-5 win) put the Wildcats in control by a 21-6 count.

Davison did cut it back down to eight points, thanks to wins from Terry Turner (135, 13-5 decision) and Thomas Garty (140, 14-8 decision), but that was as close as the Cardinals would get.

In a bout of the state’s top-two 145-pounders in D-1, Oxford’s Matt Frisch outlasted Jordan Cooks, 1-0, while Dakota Peasley followed that up with a 5-0 shutout of Ryan Thick at 152 to put the Wildcats up 14 points (27-13).

Brennan Simmerau (160, 11-9 win) and Jared LaBelle (189, 4-1 decision) recorded Davison’s other wins, but it was a little too late for the Cardinals.

Oxford’s first-year coach Brad Keeney felt his team recorded several swing match wins, and Line’s upset at 285 set the tone for the Wildcats.

“Prescott’s win was huge. He got stuck earlier in the year, but he made up for it,” said Keeney. “He went out and wrestled smart. Prescott’s good at recovery, he gets (the other guy) in position. He capitalized.”

The win over Davison was one of the biggest in school history for Oxford.

“We avenged a loss. Beating a team like Davison, this should have been a state semifinal,” offered Keeney, noting the 1,500-plus fans in attendance. “Beating Davison right now is huge. We haven’t established ourselves quite like Davison has — Davison is a great team. For our kids to win, we got some big points (in swing matches). We did exactly what we needed to do.”

In the semifinal of the three-school district, Davison breezed past Grand Blanc, 67-0, in a match that lasted only 45 minutes. The Cardinals picked up six pins, three technical falls, three decisions and a void. Davison opted to double void at 130.

Kyle Thick (215), Hankins (285), Oliver (112), Matt Miller (119), Jordan Cooks (145) and Dom Diaz (171) all record pins against Grand Blanc.

The closest match came at 152, where Ryan Thick outlasted Grand Blanc’s Carson Whaley 8-6 in overtime.

BOX SCORES

DAVISON 67, GRAND BLANC 0

(District semifinals at Oxford HS)

189: Jared LaBelle (D) maj. dec. Cameron Baird 5:22; 215: Kyle Thick (D) p. Bruce Hardy 1:09; 285: Ryan Hankins (D) p. Eveon Delaney 0:33; 103: Derek Humphrey (D) by void; 112: Justin Oliver (D) p. Robert LeGreca 0:44; 119: Matt Miller (D) p. Donald Storm 2:40; 125: Carter Stoddard (D) by void; 130: Double void; 135: Pat Rucker (D) d. Parker Wheatley 13-5; 140: Terry Turner (D) tech. fall George Camden 24-9; 145: Jordan Cooks (D) p. Conner Moran 0:45; 152: Ryan Thick (D) d. Carson Whaley 8-6 (OT); 160: Brennan Simmerau (D) tech. fall Adam Carson 22-7; 171: Dom Diaz (D) p. Brandon Link 0:19.

OXFORD 31, DAVISON 19

(District finals at Oxford H.S.)

215: Nick McMaster (O) d. Kyle Thick 6-4; 285: Prescott Line (O) p. Ryan Hankins 2:52; 103: Derek Humphrey (D) d. Dylan Smith 13-11 (OT); 112: Justin Oliver (D) d. Keegan Cantera 6-4; 119: Rocco Borg (O) d. Matt Miller 7-2; 125: Kyle Hill (O) p. Carter Stoddard 1:58; 130: Jacob Peasley (O) d. Patrick Rooker 10-5; 135: Terry Turner (D) maj. dec. Mike Thomas 13-5; 140: Thomas Garty (D) d. Marty Giannola 14-8; 145: Matt Frisch (O) d. Jordan Cooks 1-0; 152: Dakota Peasley (O) d. Ryan Thick 5-0; 160: Brennan Simmerau (D) d. William Logan (O) 11-9; 171: Ben Ralston (O) d. Dom Diaz 13-5; 189: Jared LaBelle (O) d. Matt Anger 4-1.