BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Grapplers move forward in the post-season after success in the team district and individual district meets last week.
The Clarkston Varsity Wrestling team claimed their 14th consecutive crown in the MHSAA Division 1 District 105 meet at Lake Orion, Feb. 12.
“I am proud of the kids,” said Joe Wood, head coach. “They rose to the occation and the kids stepped up. On paper it was really tight. Lake Orion has some good kids, and Waterford Kettering and us matched up really well. It was something we have been looking at for a few weeks and it was something we prepared for.”
The Wolves opened the first four matches against Waterford Kettering with pins in their 52-18 win.
Ashton Anderson (130) had a 14-0 lead over Blake Mojica before he ended his match with a fall with 57 seconds remaining in the third period.

Nicholas Franco was up next in the 135-pound weight class and was behind in points against Rieley Brado going into the final period. Franco had a reversal and put Brado in a fall position before winning with a pin with 1:25 remaining.
Presley Pearce (140) pinned Teshawn Johnson within a span of a minute and Connor Ulrich (145) won with a fall three seconds remaining against Ben Regner.
“These are all against quality opponents,” said Wood. “Nico pinned a state qualifier. The kid Presley went against is pretty good. Then, we have Connor who was sick (the day before). We told him, ‘you have to go out there and be a senior.’ And, he goes out there and pins the guy. To go out there and start that way – it’s a big momentum boost with us.”
The Wolves won six more matches. Three matches were won by pins by Jacob Jones (215) over Bryan Donner, 4:16; Dru Martin (103) over J.J. Ferrell, 1:20; and Auggie Anderson (112) over Carter Melonio, 4:27.
Hayden Payne (171) won his match in a 18-8 major decision over Jack Wilson while Frank Davis (189) posted a 5-1 win over Drake Spencer and Gabriel Gipe (125) posted a 7-2 win over Jacob Corcoran.
The Wolves opened the night winning nine matches against Lake Orion for a 46-19 victory in the district semifinals.
Gipe opened with a fall over Ryder Smith, 2:25 and Ashton Anderson followed with a pin of his own over Nicholas Nowakowski, 2:43.
Clarkston posted two more falls with Pearce over Kai Smith, 2:31; and Cayden Strong (112) over Roberto Felicia, 1:43.
The Wolves won five more matches with Payne with a 18-3 technical fall over Daniel Zeka; Franco with a 11-0 win over Cavan McIntyre; Jones 11-0 win over Judah Kinne; Grady Castle (152) 8-6 win over Anthony Vellucci; and Martin with a void.
Ten finished in the top four last Saturday in the individual district meet at Rochester to continue on to the regional meet.
Jacob Jones, Dru Martin, Ashton Anderson, Pearce and Payne finished as district champions in their weight class.
Jones claimed the 215-pound weight class by winning the championship round over Rochester Adams’ Mohammad Murray with a fall, 4:44. He also posted a 6-3 win over Utica’s Zach Dries; and a fall over Waterford Mott’s Tertius Mills, 4:20.
Martin (103) also claimed his title with a pin at 1:05 over Stoney Creek’s Zack Gittens. It was his third pin of the day as he won by a fall over Warren Mott’s Joe Hupfer, 1:19; and Troy Athens’ Caden Christie, 2:44.
Ashton Anderson (125) won all three matches with pins beginning the day with a win over Utica’s Nikko Simovski, 51 seconds; Waterford Kettering’s Jacob Corcoran, 3:39; and Stoney Creek’s Luke Gittens, 3:43.
Pearce (140) went undefeated in four matches to be champion of his weight class. He won the first three matches with falls over Troy’s Adrian Janarthanan, 1:08; Kettering’s Ben Regner, 3:59; and Rochester Adams’ Kevin Gibbons, 4:29. He won the championship match with a 13-10 decision over Warren Mott’s Trave`air Barbour.
Payne (160) won his championship match over Troy Athens’ Ryan Demattei in a 8-3 for the district title. He also posted a 10-5 win over Kettering’s Jack Wilson; and a fall over Lake Orion’s Daniel Zeka, 1:12.
Auggie Anderson, Grady Castle and Frank Davis finished in second place.
Auggie Anderson (112) went 2-1 for the day with falls over Troy’s Justin Surrett, 2:57; and Waterford Kettering’s Carter Melonio, 53 seconds. He lost to Utica Ford’s Tamin Machart, 11-10.
Castle (152) went 2-1 for the day and posted wins over Stoney Creek’s Zach Hager with a fall, 3:00; and Lake Orion’s Anthony Vellucci, 7-5. He lost to Utica Ford’s Gary Nilson, 3-0.
Davis (189) finished in second place going 2-1 for the day. He posted wins over Rochester’s Nick Terenzi, 13-4; and Warren Mott’s Lucas Glentzer, 12-6. He lost to Lake Orion’s Isaac Kinne, 7-1.
Drew Stark (189) finished in third place going 4-1 for the day. He posted wins over Troy’s Max Stromberg with a fall, 3:25; Rochester Adams’ Chase Montour, 7-0; Warren Mott’s Glentzer, 6-4; and Kettering’s Drake Spencer, 2-1. He lost to Kinne from Lake Orion by a fall, 3:11. Gabriel Gipe (125) finished in fourth place and went 2-2 for the day with a technical fall over Waterford Mott’s Deacon Jacobson, 16-1; and a fall over Warren Mott’s Andre Saffar, 1:44. He lost to Gittens, 9-5; and Corcoran, 10-4.
Nicholas Franco (135) finished in sixth place and went 2-2 for the day with a fall over Utica Ford’s Nathan Carney, 42 seconds; and a win over Rochester’s Ronin Mason, 15-1. He lost to Kettering’s Rieley Brado by a fall; and Stoney Creek’s Parker Yearego, 11-9.
Connor Ulrich (145) finished in sixth place and went 2-2, winning his match over Stoney Creek’s Jake Schuman with a fall, 1:35; and Utica Ford’s Mark Crossen, 9-3. He lost to Troy’s Brendan Worton, 4-0; and Lake Orion’s Andrew Miller with a fall, 3:58.
Collin Trevino (171) finished in sixth place going 1-2 for the dya. He won his match against Utica Eisenhower’s Aleks Gjeiaj, 3-1. He lost to Rochester Adams’ Joseph Dreon, 7-0; and Utica Ford’s Noah Bright, 2-1.
Owen Masters (140) did not place for the day and finished with three losses.
Clarkston heads to Rochester Adams this Wednesday to compete for the team regional crown. They face Warren Mott in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. The winner moves on to the championship round to compete against the Adams/Utica Ford winner, 7 p.m.
“We will just treat it like we did this week,” said Wood. “We are going to scout the teams, get the kids prepared and go battle. The goal is Kalamazoo, get to states and we will take it from there. I told the kids we have four steps to get there. We have done two. We have two steps to go. Just one step at a time.”
The individual regional meet is on Saturday at Oxford, with the starting weight class is 152 pounds.

  Clarkston Varsity Wrestling, districts