With seven wrestlers in the field at the Division I individual wrestling championships, the Dragons expected to get a few top eight finishes at the Palace of Auburn Hills over the weekend.
But where they came from even surprised coach Doug Kline a little.
Evan Gros, a freshman who improved steadily all season, paced Lake Orion with a 5th place finish at 189 pounds.
Sophomore Spenser Grzadzinski finished sixth at 103 pounds and senior Shane Tobin closed out his high school career with an eighth place result in the heavyweight category.
Grzadzinski (51 wins) and Tobin (50 wins) led the team in wins all season, so their results were no huge surprise.
Kline was particularly happy to have two underclassmen place at states and the strong finish to the season for Gros pleased him most.
‘For a freshman to do what he’s done here and place at the state finals is unbelievable,? the coach said after Gros had won his second match and guaranteed a top eight finish.
Jake Varilek (130 pounds), Ian Rocheleau (145), Allen Sigler (160) and Scott Avery (215) also competed in the three day event.
Varilek, Rocheleau and Sigler all got one victory before being eliminated in the double-elimination style format.
Varilek, a sophomore, finished his season with 48 wins, while Rocheleau ended his senior season with 45 wins.
The lone junior, Sigler, had 41 wins, followed by Gros with 36 and the senior Avery, with 35.