The Lake Orion wrestling squad is off to Battle Creek next week, after topping Utica Ford (50-10) and Romeo (42-24) at home on Wednesday to win a regional title.
The team advances to take on L’Anse Creuse next Friday, with the semifinals and finals slated for the next day. It is their first trip to Battle Creek since 1990, when they won the school’s first state title.
‘They were tense, but boy did they come out and wrestle,? Coach Doug Kline said. ‘We saw two very good teams and put them both away.?
The Dragons didn’t trail in either match, getting off to a 34-0 start against Ford before voiding at 103 pounds. They led 28-3 in the championship match before Romeo made a late comeback.
Up 34-24 with two wrestlers left, Justin Ruddy punched the ticket to Cereal City with a one-point victory at 130 pounds over Nick Bara.
‘He’s wrestled a lot of state qualifiers and state placers,? Kline said. ‘To get this win tonight was huge for his confidence, particularly in a pressure situation.?
The Dragons were favorites coming into the night, having beaten all three potential opponents (Anchor Bay was the other) at the Oakland-Macomb Challenge a few weeks ago.
‘There was that first one with Ford that kind of stuck with us,? Kline said of an early season meeting won by Ford. ‘Then we got a little bit of satisfaction at the clash of the counties, but they didn’t have their full lineup. Neither did Romeo when we saw them.?
‘Every time we’ve beaten somebody they’ve said, ‘well we had this guy out? or ‘we were missing that guy,?? Kline added. ‘So tonight, this is what they got.?
And the Dragons get a chance to wrestle for a state title. Rockford and Bedford (a pair of top-five teams) are on their side of the draw for Saturday morning, should the #6 Dragons top L’Anse Creuse on Friday.
But first things first, as the coaching staff has a little history lesson in store for their team, most of whom weren’t even born when the Dragons won states.
‘We’re definitely going to show them the videos from that year,? Kline said. ‘They need to know a little more history.?
The coach admitted that this team might be better than the 1990 squad.
‘The bad news is that there are a lot of teams out there that are better than anything we saw back then,? Kline said.
‘We’re deep,? he added. ‘We’ve got a lot of flexibility throughout our lineup.?
A full preview of the final eight teams will be included in next week’s Lake Orion Review.
Meanwhile, 12 wrestlers will compete at Saturday’s individual regionals at Ford.
Kline said the goal is to meet or exceed the ?90 team’s school record of sending eight wrestlers to the state meet.
Regional qualifiers include Jake Pratt (who injured his knee on Wednesday) at 112, Doug Mack at 119, Ruddy at 130, A.J. Pratt at 135, Jeremy Peshl and A.J. Fligger at 140, Jake Varilek at 152, Joe Graffeo at 160, Morgan Maciejewski and Bobby Harr at 171, Evan Gros at 189 and Layne Upcott at 215.
Individual state finals are two weekends away at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The top four placers in each region (meaning half of the regional field) will qualify.