The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Dutchmen take fourth at Hudson
Nine wrestlers place for Manchester, Alber wins crown at 160 lbs.
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 24, 2008
In a tournament loaded with All-State athletes, Jason Alber shined the brightest for the Manchester varsity wrestling team.
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Alber took first place in the 160-pound weight class as the Flying Dutchmen placed fourth overall as a team Jan. 19 at the Hudson Super 16 Invitational.
Manchester scored 142 points as a team to clinch fourth. Division 3-powerhouse Dundee won the event with 214 points, while the host Tigers were second with 180. Richmond scored 148 team points to edge out the Dutchmen for third place, and Division 2 power Tecumseh took fifth with 102 points.
In all, nine of the 11 Manchester wrestlers that competed in the event earned medals. Along with Alber's championship, the Dutchmen had a second-place finish from Scott Conway in the 125-pound division. Manchester also had two third-place finishes, a fourth place, three fifth place and a sixth place finish.
"Each kid that wrestled for us competed in at least two quality matches, and that's something I like to see," Manchester coach Steve Vlcek said. "The kids wrestled very well as a group."
Alber was especially strong, going 4-0 on the day to capture the 160-pound championship. On his way to the title, Alber scored two victories by pinfall and two others by technical fall. In the finals, Alber routed Flint Kearsley's Yacoub Abuhanna for a 17-2 technical fall victory.
"Jason was very dominant all day long," Vlcek said. "This was probably the best he's looked all year."
Conway won three grueling matches on his way to a second-place finish in the 125-pound weight class. After opening the tournament with a pinfall victory, Conway needed overtime to win his next two matches. He was finally stopped in the finals, dropping a close 7-4 decision to Dundee's Pete Redina, who entered the event as the top-ranked wrestler in Division 3.
Vlcek thought Conway matched up well with Redina.
"Scott wrestled a solid match in the finals," Vlcek said. "I thought he represented himself very well against the top kid in Division 3. He had an exciting day."
Cevin Walker finished 3-1 on the day and took home a third-place finish for the Dutchmen in the 119-pound division. Each of Walker's victories came by pinfall, including his final match when he pinned Hudson's Kevin Vanderpool in 3:20. Bill Cloke (152) also went 3-1 and clinched third place in his class by winning a 4-3 decision over Dundee's Tyler Straub.
Kyler Ritter placed fourth in the 215-pound class for Manchester. The three wrestlers who placed ahead of him are ranked at the top of their respective school's divisions, including Blissfield's Mike Rueda, who pulled out a 4-2 decision over Ritter for third place.
Ryan Abrigo (103), Jimmy Hamilton (112) and Tyler King (heavyweight) each placed fifth in their respective weight classes for the Dutchmen. Both King and Hamilton finished 3-1 on the day, while Abrigo was 2-1.
John Woolams posted a 3-2 record on the day and took sixth place in the 130-pound division.
"It was nice to see us place nine of our 11 kids against really good competition," Vlcek said.
Several other teams from the area competed in the 18-team event. Dexter finished sixth as a team, while Brooklyn Columbia Central placed 10th. Blissfield was 12th with Jackson Lumen Christi following in 13th. Fellow Cascades rival Napoleon placed 17th.
The Dutchmen competed in a quad match at East Jackson after the newspaper's deadline Wednesday. Manchester was scheduled to wrestle reigning Cascades and three-time Division 4 state champion Addison in the event. The Dutchmen will return to action Saturday when they compete in the Leslie Invitational.
JV Tournament at East Jackson
Five wrestlers won their respective weight classes and helped the Manchester junior varsity wrestling team to a second-place finish Jan. 19 in the East Jackson Junior Varsity Tournament.
The Flying Dutchmen scored 190 points to place second as a team. Addison won the event with 205 points.
Austin Deacons took first place in the 112-pound division, while Drew Fischer won the 119-pound class. Matt Lahyer scored two pins on his way to the 140-pound championship and Isaac Miller placed first in the 152-pound division. Dylan Neff gave the Dutchmen another champion in the heavyweight division.
"It was nice to see us take 11 kids and show the depth of our team," Manchester coach Steve Vlcek said. "They're up-and-coming kids, and we're building our future with this group."
Three Manchester wrestlers earned second-place finishes. Nate Jackson was second behind Deacons in the 112-pound class, while Austin Lobbestael placed second in the 125-pound division. Steve Sheler finished second in the 145-pound class for the Dutchmen.
Chris Margraves (140) and Nick Popkey (heavyweight) earned third-place medals for Manchester, while Kevin Robert (160) took home a fourth-place medal.
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