Still standing O: Oxford pounds opposition for fourth straight regional title

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

SAGINAW — Oxford made sure there would be no suspense at Wednesday’s Division 1 wrestling regional.

The second-ranked Wildcats rolled to their fourth straight regional crown and sixth in 13 seasons Wednesday at the Saginaw Heritage regional. Oxford cruised past host Heritage in the semifinal, while the Wildcats hammered Bay City Western 66-7 in the finals.

Bay City Western ousted Flint Carman-Ainsworth in the other semifinal, but none of the teams could match up with Oxford, which was a state semifinalist last season in its first season in D-1. The previous two seasons the Wildcats were in D-2, finishing as the 2009 state runner-up and a semifinalist in 2008.

“I thought wrestled very well. I think the guys came ready to wrestle. We were very focused,” said Oxford coach Brad Keeney. “I knew we had to win and win big. Now, we hope to gain a good seed. We’ll see what happens, but I feel that we should get a good seed.”

One week after defeating then-No. 2 Davison, 31-19, for the district crown, the Wildcats (31-4) had a more easier time in winning the regional title. Oxford wrestled 13 of its 14 regular starters in at least one match, plus some reserves shot once the meet was clinched.

“I think out of all of our varsity wrestlers tonight, only one didn’t win a match,” said Keeney. “We had a chance to put a couple of (junior varsity) guys in there and they did a good job.

“I know getting back to (Battle Creek) was the goal,” said Keeney. “I thought once we beat Davison, that we would have a really good shot.”

OXFORD 59, SAGINAW HERITAGE 12

(Regional semifinals at Heritage)

103: Dylan Smith (O) d. Anthony Schiavone 13-2; 112: Keegan Cantara (O) p. Andy Lopez 2:50; 119: Rocco Borg (O) p. Tyler Rose 1:11; 125: Kyle Hill (O) p. Trey McMiller 1:15; 130: Miller Cantara (O) d. Jared Keiser 9-1; 135: Jacob Peasley (O) p. Tyler Balderstone 1:23; 140:Mike Thomas (O) d. Scott Brown 12-7; 145: Marty Gainnola (O) d. Phil Wachowiak 11-1; 152: Ian Ousley (SH) p. Mike Baggett 1:07; 160: Dakota Peasley (O) d. Trevis Harold 3-1; 171: Ben Ralston (C) p. Mike Fee 1:07; 189: Matt Anger (O) p. Adrin Prince 4:45; 215: Nick McMaster (O) p. Brandon Kolko 4:45; 285: Brandon Midcaf (SH) p. Zach Wood 0:47

OXFORD 66, BAY CITY WESTERN 7

(Regional finals at Heritage)

103: Dylan Smith (O) p. Justin Ayers 1:15; 112: Keegan Cantara (O) p. Zach Davis 2:29; 119:Rocco Borg (O) p. Jacob Wibirt 3:24; 12: Kyle Hill (O) p. Mickey Gosselin 2:51; 130: Tyler Kuch (BCW) d. Jacob Peasley 3-2; 135: Mike Thomas (O) p. Nolan Davis 1:03; 140:  Wesley Maskill (O) d. Nick Rojewski 4-1; 145:Marty Gainnola (O) d. Chailes Practor 8-3; 152: Dakota Peasley (O) p. Brett Adcock 3:06; 160: Liam Logan (O) p. Mic Romen 1:19; 171: Ben Ralson (O) p. Brennan Ayers 2:14; 189: Matt Anger (O) p. Jacob Alarie 2:00; 215: Prescott Line (O) p. Jacob Fernandez 1:00; 285: Brandon Romen (BCW) d. Zach Wood 11-2

RECORDS: Oxford 31-4

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Tags: wrestling, wrestling state tournament

Category: Oxford, Prep Wraps