SPORTSBEAT–by Peter Jakey DPom sets another school record with 3-second pin

Three seconds to set another school record Senior Devin Pommerenke has set a new school benchmark for pins Jan. 12 at Sault. Ste. Marie, and it appears he?ll end up on the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) record board as well with the fastest recorded pin in state history. Mike Seeyle of Lawton held the heavyweight pin record since 1986. His fall came in four seconds, while Devin needed only three. According to the MHSAA Web site, only Terry Gillespie of Pontiac Northern pinned a kid that quickly. He had a three-second pin, and it coincidentally happened on Jan. 12, 2002. Maybe Devin was a little hungrier in the match, since he was looking to become only the third wrestler in school history to reach the 200-win milestone. He joined Dylan Centala and Duane Woloszyk at the top. Some pretty good company, if you ask me. Of all the records the two-time state champ has claimed, with some taking all of his four years of varsity wrestling career to earn, this one came faster than the time it takes to put on head gear. SOMEONE IN the gym, fiddling in the pockets of their jacket, texting or talking to a friend in those record setting moments would have missed it all. There isn?t much to explain about it. The whistle blew, Devin takes a quick step toward the St. Ignace kid and hooked him under both armpits and gave him a bullish lean. Down in a second, the official, to his credit, fell to his belly pretty fast, counted, and that?s all she wrote. Watching a video of the match, I timed it from the starting whistle to the hand slap on the mat to end it, and I came up with 3.45 seconds. I thought it was quicker than three seconds. ?During his sophomore year, he had a seven-second pin,? said dad Rhiny Pommerenke, who had a seven-second pin back in his wrestling days with the Hurons. Mark Grulke held the record at five seconds since the 2005-06 season. ?That?s the fastest one I?ve ever seen,? said Rhiny. ?Some kids want to see how long they can make it (with Dpom). Some of them are happy just to make it to the second period.? Along with the state titles, Devin?s won at national meets, hasn?t lost since he was a ninth-grader and has the career win mark in site. Centala has that at 220, a record I thought would never go down. Devin will continue his wrestling career at Central Michigan University ?Never in my wildest dreams, when he started wrestling in kindergarten, did I ever imagine he?d finish up this way,? said Rhiny. ?It?s pretty impressive.? DEVIN?S BROTHER, Caleb, made his return to the mat just before Christmas, wrestling at 189 pounds. He finally received clearance from doctors after a scary spinal injury suffered during the junior varsity football season. ?It?s taking him a little time,? said Rhiny. ?He?s doing really well, but he?s in a really tough weight group.? Starting later than the rest of the team, ?his endurance isn?t there yet.? The family believes it?s a blessing to have him walking, let alone getting out on a wrestling mat. ?When we received, the diagnosis from the doctor in Alpena, I didn?t think he would ever walk again,? he said. ?When they showed us that CAT-scan with a broken vertebrae. Good thing it was a mistake, or something showed up on the CAT-scan that wasn?t there, because when he got there, there were no fractures, breaks, no nothing.? Caleb qualified for the individual state meet a year ago.