Many tears were shed when Lake Orion’s team wrestling season came to a close last Saturday, as the team fell 40-25 to Temperance Bedford in a Division 1 semifinal at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
‘They’ve gone through a lot this year and they deserved to be here,? said Coach Doug Kline. ‘The fact that we didn’t get it done today doesn’t tarnish anything. We’ve accomplished so much this year.?
‘They’re a special group of kids,? Kline added, wiping away a tear of his own. ‘They’re a special group.?
The Dragons advanced to Saturday’s semis by beating L’Anse Creuse 38-26 in a match that wasn’t really even that close. But Lake Orion could never get on track against Bedford.
Bedford opened the match with a pin at one of the swing weights. Mason Cole pinned Tyler Benson at heavyweight with less than a minute left in their match.
Kline said that was a key pin, as Benson had lost by just a point to Cole earlier in the season and their rematch was close throughout.
The Dragons voided the 103 weight-class and took tough pins at 119, 130 and 135. Justin Ruddy was leading his match 6-4 at 130 when he was pinned by Mike Peck. Billy Osborne took down A.J. Pratt, 3:55 into their key match at 135.
‘You’ve got to give them all the credit,? Kline said of Bedford. ‘They were loaded for bear, or loaded for dragon I should say.?
‘They caught us in a couple of situations and got some pins,? Kline said. ‘That’s the big deal, the momentum. But none of our kids laid down. They fought with everything they had.?
The Dragons scored a major decision from Joe Graffeo at 152, a comeback win from Morgan Maciejewski in overtime at 171 and pins from Phillip Antosh at 189 and Evan Gros at 215 to close out the match.
All of those victories, however, came after the Dragons had fallen behind by an insurmountable 37-6 deficit.
Jake Pratt, wrestling for the first time since injuring his knee at team regionals, scored a decision at 112 and Doug Mack bumped up to 125, where he got a decision as well.
The highlight match came at 160 between Jake Varilek (moved up from 152) and Alex Ortman. Both have over 50 wins on the season, with Varilek’s only loss coming to Ortman earlier this year at Adrian (when Bedford topped LO 36-33).
The match had no effect on the outcome of the team dual, but was still a back and forth battle, with Ortman prevailing 4-3.
‘Jake wanted a little revenge on Ortman today and he didn’t get it,? Kline said. ‘He lost by a point again.?
Kline quickly pointed out that the loss could provide as motivation for Varilek, with individual state finals starting Thursday at the Palace.
He’ll compete there at 152 and be joined by Mack (119), Ruddy (130), A.J. Pratt (135), Jeremy Peshl (140), Graffeo (160), and Gros (189).
‘You saw them all crying, this doesn’t sit well with them,? Kline said. ‘We’ve got another week with those seven and I’ve got a funny feeling that all 42 guys will be in that room next week.?
Kline said the experience was a positive one for all involved, as it was the team’s first trip to Battle Creek since they won the state title in 1990, before just about everyone on the current team was even born.
‘When we were walking around in the parade, the kids were asking if we could get back here,? he said. ‘I said ‘of course we can.? That will be our goal, to get back here again.?
The coach added that it will be extremely difficult to replace a senior group that won 138 dual meets over their four years and never lost more than six in a season.
That group includes Antosh, Ryan Bertucci, Graffeo, Maciejewski, Miquel Mattsen, A.J. Pratt, Peshl, Garrett Roberts and Varilek.
A day earlier, Kline said his team proved they belonged among the state’s elite by beating L’Anse Creuse.
‘There were some comments made earlier this year that this team couldn’t wrestle six (minutes), and we wanted to make sure they knew we could,? Kline said.
The Dragons lost just two of that dual’s first 11 matches, building an insurmountable 38-9 lead. They voided the final two weight classes (103 and 112) in part to save their 112-pounder Jake Pratt (injured knee) for the semifinals.
Among their winners were Bobby Harr, seeing his first action of the postseason team tourney at 189 (he’s usually in the 171 class), and Gros, bumping up from 189 to 215.
Harr earned the team five points for his 23-8 victory and Gros won on a pin just 34 seconds into his match.
Prior to that, the Dragons did some moving, again bumping Mack from 119 to 125 (where he earned a major decision), and again flopping Graffeo (usually 160) and Varilek (usually 152).
‘It’s just another illustration of the depth that this team has,? Kline said. ‘We can make those kinds of moves and we were kind of surprised that L’Anse Creuse didn’t do any more bumping than they did. We thought they were going to bump to avoid Jake (Varilek) with (Josh) Batkins.?
‘That was one of the pairings that we wanted to see,? he added.
And the Dragons won that match 6-0, while Graffeo earned a major decision in his contest.
Ruddy (pin), A.J. Pratt, A.J. Fligger, and Maciejewski (major decision) were also victorious for LO.
Kline said he was particularly pleased to get guys like Antosh and Harr matches in Battle Creek, as they were valuable, but sometimes overlooked, members of the team all season.
Though they won’t put another state championship trophy in the LOHS case, the Lake Orion coach said history will remember this team well, as they were one of just four teams to compete on final day of the team season.
‘I’m every bit as proud now as I was (back in ?90),? Kline said. ‘Nobody’s a loser here in this gym today.?
Kline has said repeatedly that this year’s team has more depth than the 1990 squad, on which he was an assistant coach.
‘I don’t like to compare,? he said. ‘It’d be fun to see them both in their prime. Get me a computer program. I’d like to see it.?
Among other things, the team won the OAA I and ended Clarkston’s six-year run as Oakland County champ.
Bedford eventually lost to undefeated Holt in the state final.