Five first-place finishes and five more second-place finishes helped Lake Orion earn its first OAA I wrestling title since 2005 and first outright title since 2003, as the host Dragons routed the field at the league tournament last Saturday.
Lake Orion broke a three-way tie for first place by winning the meet. Their 221 points beat both Rochester Adams and Clarkston, who settled for a second-place tie with 142 points. All three entered the meet at 7-1 in league action.
‘This is something we’ve been talking about since the first week of December when we lost the dual to Clarkston,? said Coach Doug Kline.
Undersized heavyweight Tyler Benson and teammates Justin Ruddy (130), A.J. Pratt (135), Jake Varilek (152) and Joe Graffeo (160) all won individual league titles for the Dragons.
Varilek’s title was his fourth. The senior has a chance at 200 career wins, but the team will have to advance deep into the state tournament for that to happen.
‘Our team has been working hard in the practice room and it shows out here on the mat,? he said. ‘We’re ready for a trip to Battle Creek.?
Kline said the team has accomplished two of their preseason goals, winning both the county and league championships. Now the team turns their undivided attention to winning district and regional titles, and advancing to the quarterfinals in Battle Creek for the first time in 18 years.
‘The kids wrestled great all day,? Kline said. ‘We were aggressive all day.?
With 10 wrestlers advancing to the finals, the meet was essentially over before the final rounds even began.
‘That really created a gap going into the finals,? Kline noted, quickly pointing out that things didn’t go exactly according to plan.
‘If we won all 10, it might make us a little complacent,? he said. ‘But we still have got room to improve.?
For Graffeo, a senior captain, the individual title capped a long road back to the top, as he missed all of last season due to injury.
‘Last year just gives me the gas to keep going,? he said. ‘It showed me how much wrestling means to me.?
Still, Graffeo said the team title felt much more significant that his personal one.
‘We’re such a strong team,? he said. ‘We’ve got a kid on almost every podium, and this isn’t an easy league.?
Runner-up finishers for Lake Orion included Jake Pratt (112), Doug Mack (119), A.J. Fligger (140), Evan Gros (189) and Layne Upcott (215). Upcott, a senior, joined the team when the new semester started, after his family moved into the district from Clarkston.
Morgan Maciejewski (171) placed third and Lance Grzadzinski (103) finished fourth.