WRESTLING: Oxford holds off Eisenhower for eighth regional title in nine years
End of the road for Clarkston, Rochester Adams
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Wyatt Hardin made a promise to his Oxford teammates Wednesday evening.
He delivered on the promise as well.
The senior 215-pounder pinned his opponent in just 20 seconds to clinch the deal, as Oxford led from start to finish in a 33-28 triumph over Utica Eisenhower in a Division 1 regional final at Rochester High School.
“He told the guys if they would put him in position, he would promise to finish it,” said longtime Oxford coach Paul McDevitt. “He came through on his promise.
“We had some guys where I wasn’t sure would win. Devin Trevino won his match at 152, Ethan Moll won his match at 160, and Ethan Kerin stayed off his back at 171 — those were nine huge swing points,” added McDevitt.
Oxford, ranked sixth, improves to 23-7 and advances to the state quarterfinals Feb. 26 at Central Michigan University.
“I was really nervous about Eisenhower, to be honest,” added McDevitt. “I was anxious all week. I was anxious all day about Eisenhower. They have some tough kids and we knew it would be close in a lot of matches.”
Oxford won its eighth regional crown in nine years (missing in 2013) and advanced to the Elite Eight for the 10th time since 1999. Eisenhower ended its best season in school history at 20-7.
Oxford never trailed rolling out to a 16-0 lead after four weight classes. Liam Hillery (103, major decision), Daltan Myers (112, pin), Jacob Call (119, decision) and Sergio Borg (125, decision) helped put the Wildcats in control.
Eisenhower won six matches and closed to within 27-22 thanks to Joe Mets’ 3-0 victory at 189. Oxford’s Harden responded with his 20-second slam to end the threat.
“This was probably the best team Eisenhower has ever had and one of the best two teams I have coached,” said Eisenhower co-coach Ricky Hinchliffe. “There were a lot of close matches that could have went either way. Oxford won a lot of bonus points. Those were huge. Oxford is always very good. They are here almost every year. We knew they would be tough to beat.”
In the semifinals, Oxford defeated Clarkston, 48-21, while Eisenhower dispatched Rochester Adams, 49-16.
It marked the fourth time in seven seasons under coach Mike holts that Adams (18-9) had reached the regional round. The end of the road came against a quality team in Ike.
“We battled and wrestled hard. But at the end of the day we lost to a team that was more talented than us,” said Holtz. “Hats off to t the Eisenhower staff. Their guys came ready and they were prepared.”
Oxford defeated Clarkston in a late-January dual match, while Clarkston edged Oxford at the OAA Red Division league meet two weeks ago to share the conference title with the Wildcats.
DIVISION 1 REGIONAL
OXFORD 33, UTICA EISENHOWER 28
103: Liam Hillery (O) maj/ dec. Dante Lumetta 17-3; 112: Daltan Myers (O) p. Lucas Beck 3:47; 119: Jacob Call (O) d. Anton Shkreli 3-0; 125: Sergio Borg (O) d. Hunter Irvegal 6-4; 130: Vince Marceau (UE) maj. dec. Garrett Tyrell 12-2; 135: Carlo Marceau (UE) tech. fall 20-5 (4:23); 140: Alex Hrisopolous (O) p. Andrew Jaracz 3:28; 145: Owen Donovan (UE) p. Trent Myre 3:12; 152: Devin Trevino (O) d. Andy Smyk 4-2; 160: Ethan Moll (O) d. Noah Lumetta 3-0; 171: Andrew Czarnecki (UE) d. Ethan Kerin 5-2; 189: Joe Mets (UE) d. Byron Schlickenmeyer 3-0; 215: Wyatt Hardin (O) p. Matt Surma 0:20; 285: Adrian Voksani (UE) by void.
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