The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Dutchmen set records in individual meet
Manchester crowns five champions, sends 11 to regionals
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2007
It appears that few school records are safe when it comes to the Manchester varsity wrestling team this season.
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The Flying Dutchmen crowned five champions and had 11 regional qualifiers in the Division 4 individual district tournament Saturday at Manchester High School.
Dan Lobbestael, Jimmy Hamilton, Cevin Walker, Bill Cloke and Jason Alber each won a district championship for Manchester. They, along with Kyler Ritter, Mike Steenson, Coyle Render, Scott Conway, Mike Garrison and Will Rickert, qualified for the individual regional tournament, which takes place this Saturday at Riverview Gabriel Richard.
The five district champions and 11 regional qualifiers are new Manchester school records. Last week, the Dutchmen crowned seven Cascades Conference champions, another school record and then Lobbestael scored his 182nd career victory, also a Manchester record.
"We've come together as a team and started to believe in what we were capable of doing," Manchester coach Steve Vlcek said. "The kids go hard in the room every day, and the development of their mental preparation has been big."
Lobbestael (215) ran through his weight class to capture his district title and improve his season record to 50-1. In an ironic twist, Lobbestael's opponent in the 215 finals was Manchester teammate Kyler Ritter. Lobbestael scored a 15-0 technical fall over Ritter for the championship.
"In that case, you don't want them to bang each other up, but still wrestle hard," Vlcek said. "They might see each other again at regionals."
Hamilton went 2-0 on the day to capture the 103 pound district title. He capped his performance by pinning Clinton's Henry Kokenakes in 3:25 in the finals. Cevin Walker (119) also defeated a Clinton wrestler in the finals of his weight class, scoring a 13-6 decision over Scott Noble.
Bill Cloke (152) needed overtime to capture his district title, but scored a 2-1 decision over Stephen Kemp of Lutheran Westland. In the 160 finals, Jason Alber stunned Sand Creek's Pat Mehan to win the district. Alber pinned last year's regional qualifier at the 5:06 mark.
Alber improved to 44-4 on the season, while Cloke moved to 41-7.
"Jason got out quickly, but after he got scored on, he picked it up to the next level," Vlcek said. "Cloke has stepped up against better competition lately."
Along with Ritter, the Dutchmen had two other wrestlers place second in their respective classes. Conway qualified for regionals by advancing to the 130 finals, where he was edged by Clinton standout Evan Bruneau in a 5-4 decision.
In the 171 division, Steenson made it to the finals before getting pinned by Raymond Nelson of Romulus Summit Academy. Steenson's performance made him another regional qualifier. Render (112) advanced to the finals of his division, going 2-1 on the day to place second for Manchester in his first district tournament.
Garrison and Rickert, also placed into regionals with third-place finishes for Manchester. Garrison (125) rolled to a 12-3 major decision over Connor Koester of Clinton, while Rickert (171) pinned Gabriel Richard's David Firlik in 2:40 to place third for the Dutchmen.
"Will came on late this year, and he's made Steenson better," Vlcek said. "Mike knows that he has to keep working work in order to keep his spot."
Tyler King and Drew Fischer both turned in strong performances for the Dutchmen, but fell one win short of qualifying for regionals.
"We put nine kids into the finals, but every one of our kids was in every match," Vlcek said.
Fellow Cascades Conference school Grass Lake had four regional qualifiers. Scott McDonald (125) advanced to the finals of his weight class before falling to Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central's Patrick Burkhart, while James Vuocolo (189) placed second in his division, falling to Morenci standout Zac Johnson in the finals.
Brandon Haggar (140) and John Vuocolo (145) both placed fourth to become regional qualifiers for the Warriors.
Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.
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