The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
DUTCHMEN DYNAMITE AT NAPOLEON INVITE
Manchester laps field for tournament win, crowns four champs
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 17, 2008
The Manchester varsity wrestling team didn't look out of place competing against bigger schools Jan 12.
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Actually, the Flying Dutchmen seemed to revel in their role of giant killer.
With four champions and seven others placing in the top five of their respective weight divisions, the Flying Dutchmen routed the field in winning the Napoleon Invitational championship.
Manchester scored 261 points as a team to win the event. Its closest competitor was Melvindale, which was second with 189 points. Livonia Churchill took third with 168 1/2, while Carleton Airport was fourth with 166.5 1/2 points. Onsted scored 143 points to place fifth as a team.
There were 17 schools represented in the tournament. Many were schools from the area (Jackson, Lenawee and Washtenaw counties) along with several Division 1 and 2 schools from suburban Detroit and Monroe County.
"We were the smallest school among the top five," Manchester coach Steve Vlcek said. "The rest were either Division 1 or 2 schools, but it's good for us to see that type of competition."
Jimmy Hamilton went 4-0 on the day to win the 112-pound weight class for Manchester. Cevin Walker (119), Jason Alber (160) and Kyler Ritter (215) each finished 3-0 to earn first-place medals for the Dutchmen.
On his way to winning his first tournament this season, Hamilton scored pins in his first three matches. He captured the 112-pound title with a 10-7 decision over Carleton Airport's Dom Sindone in the finals.
"The other guys who took first have won tournaments already this season, so it was nice to see Jimmy win his first tournament of the year," Vlcek said.
Walker shut out Airport's Andy Clark for a 4-0 decision in the finals of the 119-pound division for his championship. Alber scored an 11-3 decision over Melvindale's John Heitchue to win the 160-pound title, while Ritter finished his perfect day by outlasting Blissfield's Mike Rueda for a 5-4 decision in the 215-pound championship match.
"The kids again had a solid day of wrestling," Vlcek said. "With there being 17 teams, there was solid competition all the way through."
The Dutchmen also had three wrestlers advance to the finals of their weight classes and place second. Scott Conway won his first two matches in the 125-pound division before dropping a 4-1 decision to Chris Cavans, a returning state qualifier from Carleton Airport in the finals. Mike Garrison also placed second in the 130-pound class, while Bill Cloke took second in the 152-pound division.
Both Will Rickert and Coyle Render finished third in their weight classes for Manchester. Render placed third in the 119-pound division, while Rickert finished third in the 189-pound class.
Freshmen Ryan Abrigo (103) and John Woolams (130) each placed fourth to earn medals for the Dutchmen.
"That's a really nice achievement for the freshmen to place in the top four in a 17-team tournament," Vlcek said.
Tyler King also earned a medal for Manchester, placing sixth in the 215-pound division. Austin Deacons won two matches for the Dutchmen and Steve Sheler also competed in the tournament.
"I thought we benefited from being able to put multiple kids in the same weight class," Vlcek said. "That helped us double-up on medals."
Other area teams in the event included Brooklyn Columbia Central, which finished sixth. East Jackson took seventh, while Grass Lake placed eighth. Blissfield finished 11th and host Napoleon earned 13th place. Adrian Madison took 15th and Michigan Center finished 17th.
The Dutchmen face another tough tournament Saturday in the Hudson Invitational. According to Vlcek, the event features five teams that are currently ranked in the top 10 in the state wrestling polls.
"We compete in the tougher tournaments as the year goes on to prepare for the districts and state competitions," Vlcek said.
Manchester Quad
The Manchester varsity wrestling team gave its senior wrestlers a grand sendoff in their final regular season home meet.
Getting victories from every wrestler on their roster, the Flying Dutchmen swept through two duals in a home quad meet Jan. 9, blasting Michigan Center 81-0 and defeating a split-squad team from Tecumseh 67-3.
Manchester (18-5) won all 14 matches against Michigan Center, including 10 by pinfall. Starting the dual at 160-pounds, Bill Cloke got the Dutchmen started by pinning Tim McCafferty in 43 seconds. Will Rickert followed suit in the 171-pound match, pinning Jacob Olsen in 1:23, then Jason Alber scored a pinfall in 5:13 over Kalan Koffelt in the 189-pound match. Kyler Ritter (215) pinned Christian Samon in 1:25, staking the Dutchmen to a 24-0 lead.
"Center is a young squad, but they actually wrestled us tough," Manchester coach Steve Vlcek said. "It was our seniors last home meet and they all got a victory, so that was nice to see."
After collecting wins by void at heavyweight, 103 and 112 pounds, the Dutchmen continued to roll with pinfall victories in the next three matches. Jimmy Hamilton (119) pinned Joe Stope in 52 seconds, then Cevin Walker (125) pinned Ryan McEvers in 2:20. Scott Conway won the 130-pound match with a pinfall over Marcus Pratt in 1:48, extending Manchester's lead to 60-0 lead.
Mike Garrison scored a 13-3 major decision victory over Ryan Redman in the 135-pound match, then Matt Lahyer (140) pinned Cody Stewart in 2:13. Steve Sheler won the 145-pound match by pinning Fred Cortez in 3:12, then Issac Miller (152) pinned Austin Powell in 59 seconds to round out the dual.
"It was nice to be able to juggle our lineup and give everyone a match," Vlcek said. "I was really impressed with the middle of our lineup from 140 to 152. Those are younger guys who don't always get the accolades, but they wrestled very well."
Manchester won 13 of the 14 matches against Tecumseh's split-squad. The team was a late addition to the quad after scheduled opponent Hanover-Horton dropped its team earlier this month.
Despite the lopsided result, Vlcek though the Tecumseh team gave the Dutchmen a competitive dual.
"They're a bigger school and have quality kids," Vlcek said. "They gave us several of our guys a decent match."
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