Grapplers posted their first wins in the OAA Red league over opponents Lake Orion and Farmington Hills Harrison.
“They wrestled really well,” said Clarkston Varsity Wrestling Coach Derek Moscovic. “They are both good teams and both well coached. We showed up and we competed well. It showed in the end.”
The Wolves started their 44-15 victory with three wins from Brett Foltz (119); Cameron Wilkie (125); and Mike Cardinale (130) and Jake Dionne (135).
“Jake had a great match against Lake Orion,” Moscovic added. “He upset a kid that he shouldn’t have, but he did.”
After a loss from a Dragon grappler, the Wolves continued towards the win with pins from Nolan Eriksen (145), Nick Vandermeer (160), Chris Calvano (189) and Mitchell Nelson (103).
Adam Myers (215), Luis Reyes (285) and Nate Vandermeer (112) aided in the victory with wins of their own over the Dragons.
Clarkston continued on with a win over Harrison, 50-19.
They opened up with a win by Wilkie with a void and Cardinale with a 11-2 win over Gabe Colston.
The Hawks took control after winning the next three matches and Clarkston fell to 16-10.
It didn’t deter the Wolves as they got back on the mat and Nick Vandermeer and Josh Cohoon (171) boosted the team with two pins to take the lead back.
Calvano struck with a pin over Mike Robinson within the first 39 seconds of his match to put more distance in the score.
The Wolves continued on with wins by Myers with a void, Reyes with a pin, a defeat by Nate Vandermeer, and another pin from Foltz to end the night.
“Nate has been wrestling at a higher level now,” Moscovic added. “He is beating some kids on paper he shouldn’t. We have had some good wrestlers and competition and we have been stepping up to the challenge. ”
The Wolves finished the week at the Detroit Catholic Central Super Duals with Nate Vandermeer undefeated in his three matches.
“He wrestled some tough competition,” Moscovic added. “Chris had one tough match this weekend but overall he is competing very well.”
They lost to Hudson, 40-27, with wins from Wilkie, Cardinale, Vandermeer (152), Josh Cohoon, Calvano and Adam Myers (215).
For the next round, they lost to Temperance – Bedford, 49-14. The three wins came from Nate Vandermeer with a pin, Nick Vandermeer (160) with a 16-0 win, and Calvano with a pin.
The Wolves finished the day with a 57-6 loss to Dundee. Nick Vandermeer (152) posted the only win with a pin made at 3:42.
“We had a decent weekend,” Moscovic said. “We gained a lot of positive things out of the weekend and from the tough competition. The end result in the team score doesn’t always reflect how close all the individual matches were. If we had won a few more it would have changed the outcome of every dual meet but that is just the way it is sometimes.”
He added it is the tough competition they go down there to compete. Moving forward, he said the boys can take with them the fact they can compete with any of those teams and those individuals.
“We knew it is going to be tough,” Moscovic said. “We competed against some of the best in the state. I am proud of them.”
The dual meets bring the team to 13-6 overall and 2-0 in the OAA Red.
The boys head to Rochester Adams on Wednesday for two more league meets against Adams and Birmingham Seaholm.
“It looks good,” Moscovic said. “We have to soak some of our bruises and lick some of our wounds and get back out there. We are definitely a good team and we can compete at a high level.”
Adams is on the corner of Adams and Tienken Roads at 3200 West Tienken Road.