The Oxford Wildcat grapplers had a successful run on the mats last week.
The boys began the week by defeating OAA Red opponents Clarkston and Rochester Adams during their home dual meet Jan. 13.
‘We knew they were the two top teams with us in the league and that it was going to be a big night because we were going to see both of them,? said Head Coach Paul McDevitt. ‘We knew it was going to be a battle.?
First off, the boys defeated Clarkston 35-23. McDevitt said they really laid out the game plan to the entire team, letting each wrestler know what his job was for the night because on paper it was an even match-up.
‘If we had one kid who went above and beyond their job, then we would win the dual,? McDevitt explained. ‘Every kid knew what they had to do or what the expectation was and what the outcome could be.?
He noted that it was all about the ‘little things? that could swing the match one way or the other.
‘I think it helped for our kids to know what their expectation was because otherwise you just go out and wrestle and you don’t really know. You just know what you’re doing for yourself. You don’t see the big picture of how you fit in with the whole team. And sometimes a loss can be a win when you know what it does for the whole team,? McDevitt added. ‘Our kids came out with the mindset that they were all going to try and do something better than what I predicted they would do and they did a pretty good job at that.?
The Wildcats went on to defeat Adams 44-27, but it wasn’t an easy task, according to McDevitt.
‘We didn’t prepare as well for Adams as we did for Clarkston. We kind of came off that big win against Clarkston and fell flat against Adams and almost got upset,? he said. ‘We ended up pulling it out in the lower weights, but we had some kids getting pinned up top who shouldn’t have gotten pinned and we fell behind and really had to battle back. Adams was a really tough team, too and they have some really good kids.?
Those two wins bring the Wildcats? record in the OAA to 4-0 and their overall record to 11-4. Seven wrestlers out of the 14-man lineup went 2-0 for the evening, including senior Captain Wyatt Harden with a pin against Clarkston and a victory by forfeit against Adams, securing the 100th win of his high school career. Sophomore Ryan Miller also went 2-0 for the evening. Miller had an explosive 21-second pin against Clarkston to cement the lead and guarantee Oxford’s victory and a major decision against Adams.
Other 2-0 wrestlers included Vinny Vackaro and Shane Moore, who each had one pin against Adams and one decision against Clarkston; senior Captain Alex Hrisopoulos, who won by technical fall against Clarkston and won by major decision against Adams; Garrett Tyrrell with one decision and one victory by forfeit; and Liam Hillary and Byron Schlickenmeyer, who each had two-decision victories, including Byron’s thrilling come-from-behind match against Clarkston, where his take down in the last two seconds of the third period put him ahead of his opponent to win the bout.
On Saturday, Oxford sent 11 of their Oxford Varsity A wrestlers to compete in the annual Hudson Super 16 Individual Tournament. With only a partial team, Oxford had a solid sixth place finish in the pack of 34 schools, behind Dundee, Hudson, St. Johns, Springport, and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
‘We only took 11 out of the 14 weight classes because we have some kids who are banged up right now and some kids who need some experience at a different type of tournament. This one is pretty competitive (because it includes) some of the best teams in the state,? said McDevitt, noting he was happy with the sixth place finish. ‘All the teams in front of us were powerhouse programs, so we were pretty pleased with that.?
The multi-division tournament included more than 240 wrestlers, almost 100 of whom are individually ranked in the top 10 in the state. Oxford had four medalists ? senior captain Wyatt Harden (215) with second place, senior captain Alex Hrisopoulos (140) with third place, and juniors Garrett Tyrell (135) and Byron Schlickenmeyer (189), each with fifth place finishes.
McDevitt said Schlickenmeyer was the one he was the most impressed with that day.
‘He lost (at a point in the tournament) where the best he could do is come back and take fifth and he really wasn’t expecting to,? McDevitt explained. ‘He was thrown in and ended up upsetting kids along the way. He was definitely a surprise at the tournament for me. I was very pleased with his performance.?
Meanwhile Oxford’s varsity B team traveled to Almont where they competed in a dual team tournament. The Wildcats defeated four out of five teams to come home with a third place finish.
‘That was pretty nice to have a good showing at third, especially from our B team,? noted McDevitt.
They defeated Bad Axe 49-22 and Chippewa Valley (B team) 58-18 before falling to Essexville 42-33. They also defeated Lakeview 44-27 to advance to the third-fourth place dual against Ferndale, defeating them in a close match up of 35-31. Leading the Wildcats with an undefeated showing was freshman Joe Vackaro (5-0) and four wrestlers who each had a 4-1 record for the day. They were Matthew Curtis, Garritt Mahoney, Thomas Wandrie and Ethan Moll.
The boys will take the mat next when they travel tonight (Wednesday) to Stoney Creek for a dual meet. The action begins at 5:30 p.m.