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2011 All-Area Wrestling: State champions head up deep and talented group of matmen

Dan Stickradt | March 31, 2011 | Comments (1)

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Simply put, this was one of the greatest seasons for wrestling in the area.

TITLE BOUT: Oxford's Prescott Line (top) edged Rochester Stoney Creek's Nick Gajdzik 3-2 in the Division 1 215-pound state finals. The duo make up two of the 15 individuals that made the first-team cut on the 2011 All-Area Wrestling Team. File Photo.

Oxford captured the state championship on the final match, which was one of the highlights of the 2010-11 campaign. The Wildcats reached the Final Four for the fourth straight time but finally came out on top with the Division 1 state crown.

That was just the icing on cake.

In the www.northoaklandsports.com coverage area, there were 35 individuals that qualified for the state finals. There were seven that reached the final match with four claiming individual state championships. A total of 21 matmen reached the medals stand in either Division 1 or Division 2 and claimed top-eight medals.

On the NOS All-Area Team, all 15 of the first-team members were state qualifiers with 14 of them earning a state medal, including our at-large position. There are several second-team and honorable mention selections that were state qualifiers or just missed out on a state berth after being placed in a loaded district or regional.

What a special group of athletes.

Brad Keeney, who finished his first season as a head coach with a state championship at Oxford, was named coach of the year.

Below are the capsules of all of the first-team honorees, as selected by NOS staff in conjunction with area coaches:

103 POUNDS: DYLAN SMITH, Oxford: In his first season as a varsity starter, the senior recorded perhaps the most memorable win in school history. He posted a 9-3 victory over Novi Detroit Catholic Central’s Evan Toth which helped give the Wildcats a 26-25 victory and the Division 1 state title. Smith finished 32-10. He was also a district champ, placed third at the regional and third at the Oakland County meet.

“I can’t say enough about this kid and what he did this season,” said coach Brad Keeney. “He couldn’t even break the lineup the past couple of years, then this year he comes through and is a state qualifier in both wrestling and cross country. Plus, he wins that match at the state finals to give us the title after losing to that kid commandingly twice earlier in the season. Dylan laid it all on the line for this team.”

SOLID AS OAK: Rochester's Josh Wood is a repeat performer on the AMASTERFUL: Oxford senior Matt Frisch (top) became a rare 200-match winner in his career and is one of four state champions on this year's All-Area First Team. File Photo.

ll-Area First Team after he reached the state finals match for the second straight season. File Photo.

112: JOSH WOOD, Rochester: A sophomore, Wood finished as the state runner-up in Division 1 for the second straight season after competing at 103 a year ago. A placer in a multitude of large meets this season, Wood claimed both district and regional titles after finishing second at both the OAA Red Division and Oakland County championships. He posted a 47-8 record this season, which ended with a 8-4 loss to Davison’s Justin Oliver in the 112 state-title bout.

119: ROCCO BORG, Oxford: This sophomore continued to improve and eventually wound up with a 49-12 record and a third-place medal at the D-1 state meet. He was also the OAA Red Division and district champion and finished second at the county meet and regional.

“He really developed this season, gained some confidence after finishing fifth last season,” said Keeney. “He was really reliable in terms of placing at meets this season. He has a lot of ability and we hope he has the ability to keep working hard and come back and try to contend next year.”

125: KAELEN RICHARDS, Rochester: After placing seventh as a freshman, Richards made another huge leap forward this season by placing third in Division 1. Finishing with a 55-3 record, most wins in the area, Richards was also the OAA Red Division league meet champion and recorded victories at the district and regional. He wrestled at 119 at the county meet and placed third.

130: JEFF SLONEY, Clarkston: Sloney became a four-time state placer, running all the way to the Division 1 state finals before being upset by Logan Marcicki of Novi Detroit Catholic Central, 5-0. Sloney upset top-ranked Terry Turner of Davison 4-3 in the state semifinals. Posting a 46-8 record, Sloney was third at the OAA Red Division league meet, second at the county and won both the district and regional crowns as a senior.

“I thought Jeff had a great season, he just didn’t wrestle well in the final match at the state finals. He was unbelievable in knocking off the No. 1 wrestler in the state in the semifinals,” said coach Andy Auten. “He was a four-time state placer, and not too many kids can say they did that.”

135: VICTOR VETTESE, Auburn Hills Avondale: This senior, who is being courted by some Division I colleges, wrapped up a stellar four-year career with 172-18 record and four state medals. He won the 103-pound title as a freshman, followed that up with 112-pound title as a sophomore and finished second as a junior at 130. As a senior, he finished fourth in the state despite battling diabetes all season long and posted a 43-5 record. This season, Vettese was the OAA Red Division and Division 2 district champion. He also claimed second at the county meet and third at the regional. He was also a four-time placer at the county and league meets as well.

140: DEAN VETTESE, Auburn Hills Avondale: As a freshman, the youngest Vettese brother was knocked out in the blood rounds at 125. This season as a 140-pound sophomore, he finished up with a fine 45-9 record and a sixth-place state-meet finish. He wrestled at 145 at the county meet and placed fourth, won the district and finished third at the regional at 140. He did not wrestle at the conference meet.

145: MATT FRISCH, Oxford: The all-time wins leader in school history, Frisch finished up with an eye-catching 206-21 career record and also became a four-time state placer. Posting a 50-3 mark this season, Frisch was second at the district due to an injury default, but still won Oakland County, OAA Red Division and regional titles before winning the Division 1 state crown with an 8-3 win over Jarred Zimmerman of Hudsonville. Frisch, a three-sport athlete who also plays soccer and lacrosse, was state runner-up as a junior, fifth as a sophomore and seventh as a freshman.

“You can’t say enough about Matt — what an incredible career,” said Keeney. “He had over 200 wins, most in school history and helped lead us to the state title. He’s a phenomenal kid, he has a good grade point average with a 3.3, so he gets it done in the classroom, too. He matured into a leader this season.”

152: MAC FISHER, Rochester Adams: After being knocked out in the district round as a junior, Fisher came back strong as a senior to earn his first state finals pass. He finished 1-2 at the D-1 state finals, one win from advancing to the medals round. Fisher finished the season 47-15, he placed third at both the district and regional and fourth at the count meet. At the OAA-Red meet, he bumped up to 160 and placed fourth.

160: BEN RALSTON, Oxford: Ralston poured in a significant amount of time to improve during his senior season and wound up with the D-1 state title, one of three Wildcats to claim individual crowns this winter. The Oxford Team MVP posted a 57-2 record, with both losses coming when he bumped up a weight class. He was the county, league, district and regional champion as well.

“He was our Team MVP, based on how much work he put in during the summer to improve this season. His goal was to be the state champion,” said Keeney. “He decided he wanted to be one of the most dominant wrestlers in the state and he was able to do that. He put on 15-20 pounds of muscle alone and when the season began, he was dominant and carried that all the way through.”

171: MATT VANDERMEER, Clarkston: One of seven wrestlers on the first team to reach the state finals, Vandermeer concluded his prep career by grinding out a 1-0 victory over Novi Detroit Catholic Central’s Kevin Beasley in the 171-pound title bout in Division 1. Posting a stellar 53-4 record as a senior, Vandermeer was second at the county meet but came back to win the OAA Red Division league meet, district and regional titles. At the state finals, he outscored the opposition 35-3 in his four matches.

“Matt is the kind of wrestler who knows his strengths and learns what the strengths and weaknesses are and find a way to win,” said Auten. “I think that helped him in the state meet, he knew what type of wrestler his opponent (Beasley) was and he beat him 1-0. It was nothing fancy. He knew how to beat guys in a bunch of ways.”

189: MITCH LADD, Lake Orion: Ladd came on like gangbusters as a senior and capped the year with a fine sixth-place finish in Division 1. Ladd posted a 40-12 record, won the OAA Red Division league meet, placed second at the district and third at the regional. He was injured at the county meet.

“Mitch came a long ways from last year to this year, he was one of the most improved on our team,” said coach Cory Kuzinski. “He put it all together both between wrestling and business in the practice room. He had a great season.”

215: PRESCOTT LINE, Oxford: A standout linebacker in football, Prescott took his hard-hitting mentality to the wrestling mats and often punished people. The junior posted a 44-3 record and included wins at the county, league, district and regional. At the state finals, he edged Nick Gajdzik of Rochester Stoney Creek, 3-2, for the state crown.

“What an amazing athlete,” said Keeney. “Prescott is so strong and he’s one of the most hard-working kids on the team. That makes him easy to coach because he has all of the tools. He’s an all-around great athlete.”

285: SCOTT DEVOS, Clarkston: One of the most improved wrestlers in the entire OAA, Devos went from a five-hundred wrestler to a junior that posted a 44-15 record and a fourth-place finish at the D-1 state finals. Devos was also the Oakland County, OAA Red Division and district champion and finished second at the regional.

“Heavyweight is so different because the matches are usually low scoring. For Scott, he was an improved wrestler because he started to win those close matches,” said Auten. “I think he started a little slow, but then he won the county and we saw that he was capable. We’re hoping he can come back next year and contend for the (state title).”

AT-LARGE: NICK GAJDZIK, Rochester Stoney Creek: The second wrestler in Stoney Creek history to reach the finals, Gajdzik fell to the aforementioned Prescott Line 3-2 in the D-1 state finals at 215, the second time he lost to Line. He also dropped a double-overtime decision to Line at the county meet last December. Gajdzik, who was seventh in the state as a sophomore, finished up with a fine 50-4 ledger as a junior. He was the OAA White Division champ and followed that up with wins at the district and regional. He was also champ at the Grand Blanc and Rochester Adams tournaments.

“Nick had a great season. His only losses were to state placers,” said coach Jeff Smart. “He lost to Line in the finals and likely, they will be the top guys in the state again next season.”

COACH OF THE YEAR: BRAD KEENEY, Oxford: Keeney joined the staff as an assistant last season, when the Wildcats bumped up to Division 1 and reached the Final Four. This season in his first season as head coach, Keeney and his staff of veterans put together the most memorable season in school history.

Posting a 34-4 record with all four losses coming against schools that made the state semifinals in various divisions, Oxford claimed the school’s first state championship in the sport and the first in any sport in 18 school years. Oxford, which switched from the Flint Metro League to the OAA Red Division, finished 7-0 in league duals and won the league meet by a substantial margin, making it 11 straight years that the Wildcats have finished in the top two in their conference.

Oxford was also second to Novi Detroit Catholic Central at the Oakland County meet that featured 46 teams was and second at the Macomb-Oakland Duals. The Wildcats repeated as district and regional champs for the fourth straight season, topping second-ranked Davison in the district finals. Oxford also avenged one of its other losses in the state finals, topping Catholic Central, a team that defeated the Wildcats in last year’s state semifinals and in three previous dual meets the past two seasons, 26-25.

“It was a storybook season,” reminded Keeney, who was quick to point out that the program is virtually all “Oxford kids that grew up in the community.”

“It’s a family,” he continued. “Even the coaches are a family. There are no egos. We all work together, share ideas, and we are there for the kids. Everything was special this season, because the coaches, the kids, the parents all came together for one goal, and that was to win the state championship.”

2011 ALL-AREA WRESTLING TEAM

FIRST TEAM

103: Dylan Smith Oxford

112: Josh Wood Rochester

119: Rocco Borg Oxford

125: Kaelen Richards Rochester

130: Jeff Sloney Clarkston

135: Victor Vettese A.H. Avondale

140: Dean Vettese A.H. Avondale

145: Matt Frisch Oxford

152: Mac Fisher Roch. Adams

160: Ben Ralston Oxford

171: Matt Vandermeer Clarkston

189: Mitch Ladd Lake Orion

215: Prescott Line Oxford

285: Scott Devos Clarkston

A-L: Nick Gajdzik Roch. Stoney Creek

COACH OF THE YEAR

Brad Keeney Oxford

SECOND TEAM

103: Justin Kim, Rochester soph. ; 112: Keegan Cantera, Oxford sr. ; 119: Trevor Wright, Auburn Hills Avondale sr. ; 125: Kyle Hill, Oxford jr. ; 130: Ryan Howcroft, Rochester Adams jr. ;135: Mike Thomas, Oxford sr. ; 140: Diego Camp, Rochester sr. ; 145: Dan McKay, Rochester Adams sr.; 152: Dakota Peasley, Oxford sr.; 160: Mike Henige, Clarkston sr. ; 171: Adam Gros, Lake Orion sr.; 189: Paul Mikhjian Rochester Adams sr.; 215: Marcel Johnson, Rochester sr.; 285: Serge Andreou, Rochester Stoney Creek jr. ; At-Large: Cody Devoe, Rochester jr.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

103: Bret Foltz, Clarkston fr.; Daniel Curtis, Oxford fr.; Justin Schofield, Rochester Adams soph.; Steven Biebelhausen, Rochester Adams soph.; Kyle Noonan, Rochester Stoney Creek fr.; Keenan Moffitt, Rochester Stoney Creek fr.; 112: Charlie Highlen, Lake Orion fr.; Thomas Keyes, Troy Athens fr.; Colton Skinner, Rochester Stoney Creek soph.; John Ko, Rochester Adams soph.; Raymond Wilkie,Clarkston sr.; 119: Alex Potoniec, Rochester Adams soph.; Cameron Wilkie, Clarkston fr.; Anton Letica, Lake Orion soph.; 125: Noah Cantera, Oxford soph.; Cam Masters, Lake Orion sr.; Sam Trella, Auburn Hills Avondale sr.; 130: Jacob Peasley, Oxford jr.; Dylan Moffitt, Rochester Stoney Creek sr.; John Atwater, Lake Orion jr.; 135: Nick Vandermeer, Clarkston soph. ; Andrew Sabuda, Rochester Adams soph.; Kevin Jock, Rochester Adams sr.; Jake Hazelton, Rochester Stoney Creek soph.; Grant Sharkey, Auburn Hills Avondale soph.; 140: Kyle Reinhart, Auburn Hills Avondale sr.; Eric Confer, Troy sr.; Ty Foltz, Clarkston sr.; Wesley Maskill, Oxford soph.; Marty Giannola, Oxford soph.; 145: Trevor Elliott, Rochester sr.; 152: Darren Witherspoon, Rochester jr.; Dom Arnold, Lake Orion sr.; Jarrell Fields, Auburn Hills Avondale jr.; Ben Hart, Rochester Adams soph.; Dom Waldorf, Rochester Stoney Creek sr.; 160: Jordan Gowman, Rochester Adams sr.; Liam Logan, Oxford soph.; Joe Walsh, Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; Ethan Gros, Lake Orion soph.; 171: Matt Waszkiewicz, Rochester sr.; Austin Dehna, Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; Jack Sichender, Rochester Adams jr.; James McCoury, Auburn Hills Avondale sr.; 189: Matt Anger, Oxford jr.; Jamerson Joyce, Rochester sr.; 215: Ethan Frick, Clarkston jr.; Mitchell Manns, Clarkston sr.; Chris Wilson, Auburn Hills Avondale jr.; 285: Josh Daniel, Troy Athens jr.; Nick McMaster, Oxford sr.