The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Grapplers win district crown
Dutchmen celebrate coach's birthday by dominating tourney
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2007
Valentine's Day was extra sweet for Manchester's Steve Vlcek.
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The Dutchmen varsity wrestling coach celebrated his 40th birthday and then watched his Flying Dutchmen capture the Division 4 team district championship in grand fashion.
Manchester rolled to the district crown with a 71-12 victory over Michigan Center in the semifinals. The team then stormed to a 57-16 victory in the finals over Grass Lake.
In the other semifinal dual, Grass Lake defeated Leslie 54-25.
The Flying Dutchmen advanced to last night's team regional at Springport High School. If successful, Manchester will compete in the Division 4 team state quarterfinals, which take place March 2 in Battle Creek.
After competing in their final home meet and the Cascades Conference meet during the week before districts, the Dutchmen still looked like the stronger team. Manchester won 12 of the 14 matches against Michigan Center, including six by pin. In the finals, the Dutchmen won the final eight matches to sink the Warriors.
"I thought there could've been a letdown, but the kids stepped up for the event," Vlcek said. "We wrestled these teams before, so we knew what we were up against. The kids came ready to wrestle and I'm very pleased."
Cevin Walker (119) and Mike Garrison (125) got the Dutchmen off to a fast 9-0 lead in the finals. Walker pinned Grass Lake's Michael Schuelke in 1:18 and then Garrison held on for an 8-4 decision over Scott McDonald.
The Warriors fought back and grabbed the lead by winning three of the next four matches. Charlie Ruiz (130) put Grass Lake on the board by pinning Randy LaDouceur in 2:49. After Scott Conway answered for Manchester in the 135 match, Brandon Haggar (140) scored a 10-2 major decision over Ryan Lannom. John Vuoccolo (145) followed with a quick pin of Zach Alexander, giving Grass Lake a 16-15 lead.
Bill Cloke shifted the tide back to Manchester in the 152 match. After controlling most of his match against Tim Decker, Cloke scored a pin at the 5:25 mark, giving the Dutchmen the lead for good.
Cloke's performance in the district tournament came on the heels of winning his first Cascades Conference title.
"(Cloke) has waited for his turn in the starting lineup for a couple years," Vlcek said. "He spends a lot of time on the mat in practice and is really doing a good job for the team."
Pins by Jason Alber (160) and Will Rickert (171), along with a decision by Mike Steenson (189), stretched the lead to 36-16 and set up a history-making performance by Dan Lobbestael.
It took only 47 seconds for Lobbestael to pin Grass Lake's Kurt Rowe in the heavyweight match. The victory is Lobbestael's 182nd of his career, a new Manchester school record.
"Dan is a quiet leader who lets his work ethic speak for itself," Vlcek said. "The other kids have seen him mature as a leader, not only in matches but also in the classroom."
Manchester closed out the finals with a 15-0 technical fall by Jimmy Hamilton (103) and a 12-2 major decision by Coyle Render (112).
The Dutchmen collected five wins by void in the semifinals against Michigan Center, but recorded victories in seven of the nine matches wrestled.
The middleweights helped the Dutchmen turn the semifinal into a rout. Conway (135) posted a 17-0 technical fall over John Ross and then Lannom (140), Alexander (145) and Cloke (152) each added a pinfall victory, giving Manchester a 41-6 lead. After Alber recorded a void, Steenson (171) pinned Nick Furman in 31 seconds, making it 53-6.
"We're young in the middle weights, but the kids have improved a lot," Vlcek said. "We had to fill that hole, and they've learned to step up for each other and wrestle all the way through."
Kyler Ritter added a pinfall victory in the 189 match for the Dutchmen, defeating Kalen Coffelt in 1:04.
Frederick Cortez and Dan Hall had the only victories for Michigan Center. Cortez (130) pinned LaDouceur in 4:59 and Hall (heavyweight) pinned Joe Sawyer in 47 seconds for the Cardinals.
"We're starting to peak and want that to continue," Vlcek said. "We've wrestled with a lot of intensity over the past two weeks. They have a taste of it now and know what they have to do."
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