Oxford’s wrestling season came to a close last Saturday in Battle Creek, when the Wildcats fell 43-16 to Eaton Rapids in a Division 2 semifinal at Kellogg Arena.
That loss came just 16 hours after the team topped Tecumseh 36-21 in the quarterfinals.
‘It’s hard to take a loss, but we haven’t had this talk in a long time,? Oxford Coach Scott Couch said.
‘We’ve got nothing to hang our heads about,? he added. ‘We’re a top-four team in the state.?
Against Tecumseh, the Wildcats got three straight pins from Josh Villarreal (189, in the closing seconds), Zach Line (215, in just over a minute) and Dylan Smith (heavyweight, at 3:42), then another two matches later from Matt Frisch (112, at 1:19) to put the dual out of reach.
‘We look for pins out of those guys at the top,? Couch said. ‘I’m just happy they came through.?
‘We weren’t satisfied just getting here,? he added. ‘We wanted to advance.?
And they did in a match-up between the state’s #8 team (Oxford) and #10 team. But a day later, #2 Eaton Rapids presented a much stiffer test, winning six straight matches to turn a 18-10 lead into a rout.
Zach Line scored a pin in just 32 seconds at 215 for the Wildcats in the dual’s final match. Other victories included Mike Thomas (major decision at 103), Matt Frisch (112) and Kyle Brammer (135). But the highlights were just few and far between.
‘With the lineup they have, I don’t know if there’s anybody we could have moved around to make a difference,? Couch said. ‘We wrestled our horses and they wrestled their horses. We just came up on the short end this time.?
Couch called Eaton Rapids the best team his squad had seen all year in Division 2. They fell 33-30 to Greenville in the finals.
Though Oxford’s team season came to a close at 26-4, a few members still have a chance to claim a state championship.
The team has five wrestlers that will compete at this weekend’s Division 2 individual meet at the Palace of Auburn Hills, including Frisch (112), Brammer (135), Bo Cantera (140), Line (215) and Smith (285).