The season’s finale event, five Oxford Wildcat wrestlers qualified for the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Individual State Meet at Ford Field on March 6-7.
Speaking to the youth on Oxford’s roster, only one of the team’s participants – Nate Call – is a senior. The other four Wildcats to compete were freshman Tate Myre, sophomores Jack Smith and Sal Vackaro and junior Jack Thompson.
Competing at 125 pounds, Thompson, also a defensive back on the football team, began the day’s festivities for Oxford. Facing West Bloomfield Lakers senior Jeremy Sarter, Thompson fell in the first-round, 5-4.
Thompson would rally to defeat Jenison Wildcats junior Trey Van Hooren, 9-3, before falling to Davison Cardinals sophomore Kyle White, 5-4, in the consolation quarterfinals.
Like Thompson, Call, wrestling at 135 pounds, began his day with a loss to Roosevelt (Wyandotte) Bears sophomore Nathan Jerore, 13-1. Call topped Macomb Dakota Cougars sophomore Austen Alkizar, 13-6, but was eliminated in the consolation quarterfinals by Caledonia Fighting Scots sophomore Owen Norman, 5-4.
Smith gave the Wildcats their first victory of the day, defeating Roosevelt senior Nick Biundo, 4-1, at 140 pounds. Brighton Bulldogs junior Zach Johnson bested Smith, 12-0, in the second-round and he knocked out in the consolation bracket by Hartland Eagles freshman Nick Rochowiak.
Vackaro, competing five pounds above Smith at 145, was dropped by Rockford Rams senior Evan Kaser, 11-4, in his first match of the competition. Harland freshman Nick Dimitroff handed Vackaro his second loss on the consolation side, 4-2.
Oxford’s final grappler at 160 pounds, Myre tangled with Kalamazoo Central Maroon Giants junior Leonardo Galasso in the first-round, falling in 42 seconds. Myre bounced back by beating Brother Rice Warriors senior Ohannes Sarkisian, 6-4, before dropping a consolation quarterfinal showdown with Traverse City Central Trojans freshman Remy Cotton, 11-5.