Oxford avenges Rochester, wins fifth straight regional crown

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

UTICA — Jacob Peasley sat on the sidelines on Jan. 12, as his Oxford wrestling team dropped a 37-29 heartbreaker to Rochester.

Peasley had an injury that kept him out of action for a couple of weeks.

With the senior in the lineup, the Wildcats are a different team.

With Oxford locked in a 27-27 tie with one weight class to go Wednesday in a Division 1 regional final at Utica Ford, Peasley defeated Rochester’s Shane Shadaia, 9-1, in the 152-pound match to give the seventh-ranked Wildcats a thrilling, 31-27, victory over sixth-ranked Rochester.

”After we lost to Rochester the first time, we really worked our butts off to get better,” said Peasley, who is 30-2 on the season. “We knew we had to go out there and win. I knew I had to go out and win my match to keep us alive.”

The win gave Oxford its fifth straight regional championship and seventh overall in 14 years, while it also sends the Wildcats (18-5) into the state quarterfinals Feb. 24-25 at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.

“The senior class is pretty special. They were part of that state championship team last year and they contributed so much last year,” said Oxford coach Brandon Rank. “In our meeting earlier, we asked our underclassmen to step up and help these guys. These guys are our heart, they are our soul. The underclassmen stepped up, too, to help us win.”

Rochester led 27-24 with two weight classes to go following Dean Vettese’s pin at 140. Oxford took a gamble and bumped up senior Rocco Borg to 145 and he defeated district champion Aaron Morgan, 10-5, to tie the match at 27-27, setting the stage for Peasley’s heroics.

Both schools won seven matches, both sides gained two pins and Oxford picked up one void victory from unbeaten Prescott Line.

Oxford also avoid disaster at 103, where they were pinned in the last meeting to end the match. Rochester’s Justin Kim scored a takedown with nine seconds left in regulation, then picked up an 8-3, overtime win over Daniel Curtis.

Josh Wood (119) and Vettese had Rochester’s pins, while Cody Devoe (171), Shwan Shadaia (189), Matt Liappart (285) and Kaelen Richards (135) also had wins for Rochester, which shared the OAA Red Division crown with Oxford this season.

Oxford led 3-0 early thanks to Marty Giannola’s 3-0 win at 160. Oxford’s largest lead was 24-18 after Mike Willits’ 8-2 decision at 130.

Edwin Schlickenmeyer (112), Kyle Hill (125), Line , Borg, Willits and Peasley were Oxford’s other winners.

“This wasn’t relief, because this was one of our goals,” added Rank. “Rochester is one heckuva team and they had a fantastic year. I can’t say enough about them. In all reality (getting back) has been our goal.”

Rochester finished a school record 26-5 on the year. The Falcons, who won their first district since 1993 and first league since 1997 this season, advanced further than any other Rochester team since the adoption of the team state tournament in 1988.

“This was a great high school wrestling match,” offered Rochester coach Frank Lafferty. “We knew it would be close. It went down to the pins and they had a couple more than us.

“We’ll be back,” continued Lafferty. “We have a really young team. We started six sophomore and five juniors tonight (and lose only three starters). We’re going to be good again next year.”

Rochester pasted Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse in around 45 minutes in one semifinal, 68-12. Oxford had little resistance from ninth-ranked New Baltimore Anchor Bay, 50-18.

Wrestling

OXFORD 31, ROCHESTER 27

(Regional finals at Utica Ford)

160:  Marty Giannola (O) d. Darren Witherspoon 8-3; 171: Cody Devoe (R) d. Liam Logan 10-4; 189: Shwan Shadaia (R) d. Matt Anger 6-0; 215: Prescott Line (O) by void; 285: Matt Lippart (R) d. Zach Wood 5-2 (3OT); 103: Justin Kim (R)  d. Dan Curtis 8-3 (OT);112: Edwin Schlickenmeyer (O) p. Seth Birchmeyer 1:!0; 119: Josh W0od (R) p. Anthony Moore 3:30; 125: Kyle Hill (O) p. Tyler Dukart 0:51; 130: Mike Willits (O) d. Joey Gunther 8-2; 135: Kaelen Richards (R) d. Noah Canters 6-4;140: Dean Vettese (R) p. Noah Kinne 5:43; 145: Rocco Borg (O) d. Aaron Morgan 10-5; 152:  Jacob Peasley (O) d. Shane Shadaia 9-1.

ROCHESTER 68,

HARRISON TOWNSHIP L’ANSE CREUSE 12

(Regional semifinals at Utica Ford)

152: Shane Shadaia (R) p. Ethan Dunlap 4:44; 160: Darren Witherspoon (R) maj. dec. Thomas Dzierbicki 15-6; 171: Cody Devoe (R) p. Josh Lerche 0:41; 189: Shwan Shadaia (R) p. Dallas Cote 2:26; 215: Matt Lippart (R) by void; 285: Jeff Tautolo (HTLC) by void; 103: Justin Kim (R) maj. dec. Dan Colon 13-0; 112: Tyler Sexton (HTLC) p. Seth Birchmeier 1:59; 119: Josh Wood (R) p. Nick Bratto 1:05; 125: Tyler Dukart (R) p. Nick Brunt 3:05; 130: Joey Gunther (R) p. Jacob Pritchett 3:09; 135: Kaelen Richards (R) p. Richard McCauslend 0:50; 140: Dean Vettese (R)p. Ian Weldron 1:35; 145: Aaron Morgan (R) maj. dec. Pieter Barone 17-4.

OXFORD 50, NEW BALTIMORE ANCHOR BAY 18

(Regional semifinals at Utica Ford)

152: Jacob Peasley (O) p. John Yank 0:54; 160: Marty Giannola (O) p. Chris VanOverbeke 1:02; 171: Liam Logan d. Jonathan Bourcier 11-3; 189: Nick Black NBAB) p. Grant Krause 112: Edwin Schlickenmeyer (O) d. Chad Medley 3-0; 119: Joey Dombrowski (NBAB) p. Anthony Moore 1:02; 125: Mike Willits (O) p. Aaron Dawidowski 1:11; 130: Noah Cantera () d. Eric Rybarz 8-6; 135: Kyle Hill () p. Mike Pickerin 0:24; 140: Rocco Borg (O) p. Kevin Craft 2:34; 145: Wesley Maskill (O) d. Tyler Grinsley 6-5.

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Tags: Division 1 Team Wrestling Regional, featured, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse Wrestling, high school wrestling, New Baltimore Anchor Bay Wrestling, Oxford Wrestling, prep wrestling, rochester wrestling, wrestling

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