Palace Crowning: Grajdzik, Line, Scott, Gonzales all claim wrestling titles to gain royalty
DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
AUBURN HILLS — Standing on center stage, Nick Gajdzik accomplished something Saturday night that no one else in his school’s 10-year history had done before.
The Rochester Stoney Creek senior claimed an individual state championship in wrestling.
Gajdzik took down Logan Rimmer of Temperance Bedford, 2-1, in the final match of the Division 1 285-pound weight class to claim some state glory at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Gajdzik finished his final prep season with a perfect 46-0 record.
“Ever since I lost last year in the finals (of 215), I wanted to come back and win it all,” said Gajdzik. “I wanted to win for my team, my school.”
Ironically, Oxford’s Prescott Line was the last wrestler to defeat Gajdzik, and that came in the finals at 215 a year ago on the same mat. This year Line, an All-America honoree in football, stayed at 215 and capped an unbeaten season, going 49-0. Line wrapped up his wrestling career with a 5-1 victory over Dimitrus Renfroe of Wayne Memorial.
Gajdzik, who will wrestle heavyweight at Division I Harvard next school year, finished
“It seemed tougher this year,” said Line, who will play football at Southern Methodist next year. “I had to work harder this year, maybe because I (was the defending champ). I had a lot of people pushing me this season.”
Oxford’s Mike Willits made a run at a crown at 130 but came up one win short, falling to Ken Bade of Novi Detroit Catholic Central. He lost to Bade the previous weekend at the team state finals.
A total of 20 area wrestlers from the www.northoaklandsports.com coverage area finished in the top eight to medal, including 16 in Division 1 and four in division 2. There were six wrestlers that made it to the final match and four came away with state championships.
Serge Andreou of Stoney Creek was fourth at 215 and Rochester’s Justin Kim placed sixth at 103, finishing the year 38-4. Scott Devos of Clarkston was third (285) and Oxford’s Kyle Hill hit 50 wins Saturday and placed sixth at 125. He finished 50-10 as part of an elite group that surpassed 50 wins in the area this season.
Rochester’s Kaelen Richards finished 50-6 at 135 and posted a fine third-place finish. He defeated Jake Johnson of Macomb Dakota, 6-2, in his third-place match. Oxford’s Noah Cantera was eighth in the same weight class.
Dean Vettese or Rochester aided the Falcons’ strong showing at the finals, earning third at 140. The sophomore transfer from Auburn Hills Avondale posted a 5-0 shutout of Said Youssef of Plymouth in the third-place bout. League rival Rocco Borg claimed fifth at 140.
Aaron Morgan claimed eighth at 145 and Schwan Shadaia placed seventh at 189 for Rochester. Both are sophomores and part of a six-wrestler contingent for Rochester that all medaled at the state finals.
Oxford’s Marty Giannola eighth at 160, the last of sixth Wildcats to reach the medals stand on the day.
Clarkston’s Chris Calvano placed a surprising third at 171 while Cody Devoe of Rochester, who defeated Calvano on a few occasions this season, was seventh after a tough draw of having to face eventual champion Drew Garcia of Catholic Central in the second round.
In Division 2, Holly’s Shawn Scott also discovered heaven with a state title at 215. Scott finished the season a perfect 52-0 — one of three local wrestlers to go unbeaten in 2011-12 — and posted more than 210 career wins that was capped with a 3-1 victory over Payne Hayden of national powerhouse St. Johns.
“This is what I worked for all season,” noted Scott, who led Holly to perhaps its best four-year run in school history which included back-to-back team league, district and regional championships.
“I really appreciate the fans. They had faith in me, they kept cheering me on,” added Holly. “That gave me some energy, because it was a really hard match.”
Scott was one of four wrestlers from the area to medal in Division 2, all from Holly. There were no area placers in Division 3 or Division
Anthony Gonzales of Holly followed suit with a title at 130, giving the Bronchos’ three finalists and two state champions on the day. Gonzales, a junior who finished 48-3, toppled Kyle Simaz of Allegan 10-9 in the finals.
4.
Holly’s Mason Cleaver had another dream run stalled in the finals at 125. Finishing the year 51-2, he fell prey to St. Johns Jacob Schmitt, 11-1, in the title bout.
Tyler Gibson of Holly placed eighth at 119.
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