Devin Pommerenke becomes Hurons fourth state champion
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
Huron sophomore Devin Pommerenke won the Division Four state title at 285 pounds Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills to join Andy Keller, Chris Rhode and two-time state champion Dylan Centala as the only Huron wrestlers to win state titles. Pommerenke became the youngest Huron to win the title and did so in convincing fashion, finishing the season 59-0.
Up against Marcellus senior Bill Kirk in the finals Pommerenke would score a takedown just seconds into the match to take the 2-0 lead. After going out of bounds the referee reset the grapplers in the center of the mat. Pommerenke then went to work on top turning Kirk onto his back and pinning him at the 1:24 mark to earn the title.
?I dug in a wing and a cross wrist and I just ran it. I used my weight, ran my hips across his body and then once he got to his back I just held him there with all my might. The ref was counting and I was like okay, alright, its almost over and then all of the sudden the mat was slapped and I was just pumped,? said Pommerenke minutes after winning the state title.
Pommerenke advanced to the finals after defeating Joe Young of Constantine 6-1 in the semifinals, his first full-length match of the season. Pommerenke pinned Marco DeSantiago of Bangor in 54 seconds in the quarterfinals and Shea McGillen of New Lothrop in 46 seconds in round one.
?To finish 59-0 and finish it with a pin in 1:24 in the first period was awesome. You just knew going out that if he got the first takedown he was going to dominate and he did,? said coach Pat Lamb.
?He had a tough match in the semifinals, I?ve got to give Joe Young of Constantine a lot of credit, he fought Devin hard. But I really feel Young?s main goal was not to get pinned and he didn?t and he was excited about that. Down here its all about getting that ?W? and once you get that ?W? it doesn?t matter if you pin them, win by one, win in triple overtime, sudden death, it doesn?t matter, it?s the ?W? that counts.?
Coach Lamb said that what Pommerenke has accomplished is just unbelievable. ?You look at the school records that he has set as a sophomore; most team points, best season record, most consecutive wins, most consecutive pins, most pins in a season, the list goes on and on and its just phenomenal. But this coach knows that Devin would trade in all of his individual accomplishments for a team district, regional or state title, that?s just the kind of young man he is,? said coach Lamb.
?To think that we?ve got two more years of fun like this to look forward to is awesome. I just hope that some of the other Hurons can latch on to it and come along for the ride. There is a lot to learn from a young man like this, there really is. If we could just get to a point where we learn from it and everyone strives to be state champions, the sky is the limit for what we can accomplish based on what one person already has. The same holds true for every state champion we have ever had, it?s a stepping-stone for our program to grow and grow and grow. We had a rough year but this is just a compilation of just a super season for a super young man. I don?t think I could be anymore proud than what I am to be a Huron. It?s a great day to be a Huron,? Lamb said.
Pommerenke finished the season undefeated with 47 pins and 420 team points, all school records. His career record now stands at 112-11 with 84 pins and 757 team points. ?Its really exciting to be a state champion, to be in the company of Chris Rhode, Dylan Centala and of course one of my biggest heroes, Andy Keller. I?m just really excited. To be in front of 4,000 people and get a pin and have the crowd go wild, that?s pretty exciting for me. Being a state champion isn?t something everyone is going to do; you have to have the right state of mind, the right emotional drive, the right physical conditioning, the proper preparation technique and you always need a little bit of luck, I think,? said Pommerenke.
Pommerenke isn?t finished yet, he has new goals to achieve, ?Now I go for another state title. I?m going to get stronger, get faster, get more agile and go wrestle some freestyle and Greco and try to be a national champion and help Team Michigan win a national championship this summer.? Pommerenke gave credit to people who helped him along the way.
?I would like to say thank you to my whole coaching staff, coach Pat and coach Rob Kortman have been awesome to me as well as coach Greg Pietsch who has been there for me. Chase McLennnan has been a really big help in the last couple of weeks. To my teammates, going to practice everyday and having teammates that push you to get better and push your buttons to try to break you mentally and build you back up, that means a lot,? said Pommerenke.
He went on to thank many other people, ?My parents play a pretty big role in my mental preparation, giving me my space when I need it and making sure everything is packed and ready to go when I have a meet. My brother Caleb is pretty supportive, he is someone to talk to, if I have a bad day at practice I come home and I can talk to him about it, a big thanks to him for being there. Evan Lamb has been there to talk to a lot and criticize me when I am wrestling sloppy, that?s always a big help,? said Pommerenke.
?Anybody in the community that comes out and makes a point on a Wednesday night to come watch the Rogers City wrestlers or like Peggy and Leo Parsons traveled all the way to the state finals to watch as did a lot of Rogers City fans, that?s big to me, that means a lot and is really dear to me. A lot of thanks to the Presque Isle Advance for all their awesome coverage throughout the year, and to all of my friends and other family members, I couldn?t have done it without all of them,? said Pommerenke.
FRESHMAN JOEY SOBECK also qualified for the state finals at the Palace but was unable to earn all-state status as he went 0-2 at the finals. Sobeck (103) faced Luke Bell of Decatur in the first round and fell 9-0 to put him in the cons
?Joey had an awesome season. To go 48-10 as a freshman is a major accomplishment. It?s tough going down to the Palace for the first time, naturally you are going to be a little bit jittery, you are going to have nerves, it?s a big difference wrestling in front of 500 people and 10,000. There is a lot of people there and you kind of think that you?re not going to be nervous but once you walk out onto that floor I?m sure that those nerves take their toll,? said coach Lamb.
Lamb was pleased with the freshman?s accomplishments, ?Joey ran into some tough wrestlers, the first wrestler from Decatur ended up placing seventh. In the second match the young man from Hudson we just gave up too many points in a short period of time. We ended up coming back strong and losing 7-4 but you know that experience that Joey gained down there on the Palace floor is just very important to his future in wrestling.? ?Now the next time he makes the state tournament and goes down there maybe he will do a little bit better knowing he?s been there before. He gave each one of his opponents a good measure of his ability and there is no doubt in my mind that Joey is going to go on and have a complete and successful wrestling career here at Rogers City High School,? said coach Lamb.