Missing weight, a concussion and the flu bug plagued the Lake Orion wrestling squad at their Dec. 2 home invitational.
The end result was a third place finish for the Dragons, with wins over South Lyon, Holly and Plymouth Salem and losses to Holt and Hartland.
The 37-25 loss to Holt was a tough one, given that the team had just sent A.J. Pratt (135 pounds) home with the flu and lost Billy Bissett (130 pounds) who went to the hospital with a concussion suffered in the previous match versus Holly.
The team also had to bump scheduled 103 pounder Spenser Grzadzinski up to 112 after he missed weight.
‘We’re struggling at 103, getting Spenser down,? said Coach Doug Kline, who also missed his 103 pounder in matches against Oxford and Lapeer East earlier in the week.
The day started with a dominant 67-4 win over South Lyon, followed by a 32-24 win against Holly.
After the Holt loss, the team fell 49-15 to Hartland, before regrouping with a 72-6 win against Salem to close out the day.
‘We battled and it was a good experience,? Kline said, noting his B-team also got an opportunity (coming close to victory against both Salem and South Lyon).
The Dragons started their season by splitting the Oxford/Lapeer East matches on Nov. 30, falling 39-30 against the rival Wildcats.
‘It was a really good dual,? Kline said. ‘They’re a good team.?
The brightest star on the mat for the Dragons so far is senior co-captain Allen Sigler.
‘Sigler, at 160, is 7-0,? Kline noted. ‘He is the only one to go unscathed on Saturday and he beat a really good kid from Hartland.?
After a quad meet this week at West Bloomfield, the Dragons head to Lansing Sexton on Saturday for the Sexton Duals.