Hurons go 3-2 against quality competition

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

With what head coach Pat Lamb described as an unselfish effort the Rogers City Hurons varsity wrestling team went 3-2 Saturday at the Alma Duals. Coach Lamb juggled his lineup around throughout the day to get the best possible matchups for his wrestlers and his team as he has many wrestlers weighing in at the same weight classes and has to choose who to wrestle at their natural weight and who to bump up.

?This team is so unselfish, they let me bump them around and no one complains about where they wrestle, all they want to know is where I am putting them, what weight they are wrestling. No one has complained about that all season, I love that about this team. They?re unselfish and very team oriented,? said coach Lamb.

Up against Farmington Hills-Harrison in round one the Hurons were behind 30-27 going into the final match of the dual at 112 pounds. Sophomore Joey Sobeck stepped on the mat knowing if he could win by pin, by technical fall (by more than 15 points) or by major decision (8-14 points) he could win the dual for his team. Sobeck would build a 12-0 lead and win the match 12-2 to earn the Hurons the 31-30 victory.

Against Pine River, the eighth ranked team in Division IV, in round two the Hurons fell 37-31 for their first loss of the day. In round three the Hurons fell behind Caledonia 35-7 with five weight classes remaining. Devin Pommerenke (285), Alex Bidlake (103) and Sobeck (112) would all win by pin to bring the score to 35-25 with only two weights remaining. Junior Travis Fleis stepped on the mat at 119 pounds and threw his opponent to his back in the spladle but could not get the referee to call the pin. Fleis would go on to win 13-5 for the major decision bringing the team score to 35-29.

Freshman Evan Lamb then stepped to the mat and did everything he could to pin his opponent before the six minutes had ended with him winning by major decision 16-3. Although the Hurons would lose the match 35-33 they gave everything they had to go for the win.

The Hurons then defeated Ann Arbor-Skyline 72-6 and Alma 51-23 to end the day 3-2. Although the Hurons goal going into every tournament they wrestle is to win the tournament coach Lamb was very proud of his teams effort against quality competition. ?We didn?t give up at any point and we wrestled tough teams with a lot of heart and aggression. That is the way we need to wrestle for the rest of the season to make some noise in the postseason. My wrestlers never gave up and they were going after it, that is all I can ask for as a coach; that they go out there and give it their best effort every time, and they did that. I am very proud of them,? said coach Lamb.

Going undefeated on the day for the Hurons were Sobeck (112), Lamb (125) and Devin Pommerenke (285). Sobeck won by major decision, had a 2-1 decision, two pins and one void. Lamb won by major decision and had three decisions and a void. Devin Pommerenke had four pins, all in under a minute and a void.

Going 4-1 on the day for the Hurons were Bidlake (103), Ben Tulgestke (160) and Caleb Pommerenke (171/89). Daniel Marx (140/45), Zach Pierce (145/52) and Keegan Urban (130/35) were all 3-2 on the day. Going 2-3 were Fleis (119), Blaise Ryan (13

5/140) and Jacob Reisener (171/89) while Chris Pflug (215) was 1-4 on the day. LAST WEDNESDAY the Hurons traveled to Sault Ste. Marie for a Straits Area Conference Quad. The Hurons defeated Onaway 55-12 and Sault Ste. Marie 66-15. Double winners for the Hurons were Sobeck, Fleis, Lamb, Urban, Ryan, Marx, Pierce, Caleb Pommerenke, Pflug and Devin Pommerenke. Winning one match were Tulgestke and Reisener. The Hurons hosted a conference quad on parents night Wednesday (after press time) and will travel to Benzie Central for a dual tournament with Mt. Pleasant, Grandville, Reed City, Hart and Benzie this Saturday.

?Our fan support all year long has just been awesome. Whether we are at home or on the road there is always people there to cheer on the orange and black. The thing about our fans is they are so knowledgeable about the sport that it makes it real easy to be a coach. The kids really enjoy the support and it has just been awesome,? said coach Lamb. The Hurons are now 17-6 on the season with the end of the regular season just a few weeks away.

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