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Photo by David Jose
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The Manchester varsity wrestling team celebrates with the Division 4 team regional championship trophy following its 66-12 victory over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central at home Feb. 20. The Dutchmen won the regional title for the second straight year and advanced to the team state tournament in Battle Creek. They will face the Leroy Pine River Bucks in the state quarterfinals Friday. The semifinal and championship duals are scheduled for Saturday.
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Here they come again.
With its senior class leading the charge, the Manchester varsity wrestling team secured its second straight regional championship and a return to Battle Creek with a 66-12 victory over the Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central Falcons in the Division 4 regional finals Feb. 20 at Manchester High School.
After going 16 years between appearances (1991-2007) in the state tournament, the Flying Dutchmen will compete at Battle Creek's Kellogg Arena for the second straight year. Manchester (30-5) will face Leroy Pine River (26-2) in the quarterfinals Friday. The winner will advance to Saturday's semifinals against the Springport/Rogers City winner. The Division 4 state championship dual will take place 4 p.m. Saturday.
The other side of the Division 4 bracket features Hudson (30-4) vs. Hesperia (28-1) and New Lathrop (19-7) vs. Bronson (27-4).
The Flying Dutchmen advanced to the regional final with a 67-12 victory over Harper Woods, while Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central advanced with a 78-0 victory over Madison Heights Bishop Foley.
Trailing after three matches in the finals, the Dutchmen shifted the tide with a win by decision followed by eight straight pins to secure the regional title.
"We got a feel for (the state tournament) last year, and it's a nice feeling to get back there," Manchester coach Steve Vlcek said. "It's important that everyone on our team worked hard and deserved to get into matches here."
After picking up a win by void in the opening match (130 pounds), the Dutchmen found themselves in a 12-6 deficit. Pat Burkhardt answered for MSMCC in the 135-pound match by pinning Austin Lobbestael, then Ed Kokosky gave the Falcons the lead by pinning Matt Lahyer in the 140-pound match.
The turning point came in the next match between Manchester's Steve Sheler and MSMCC's Nate Johnston. With the match tied 6-6, Sheler scored with a one-point escape early in the third period. With 40 seconds remaining, Sheler executed a two-point takedown, then scored three points with riding time to secure a 12-6 decision and pull the Dutchmen to within 12-9.
"(MSMCC) got out on us a bit, but Sheler brought the crowd back into it with his win," Vlcek said.
Bill Cloke (152) gave Manchester the lead by pinning Kyle Burkhardt in 1:52, then Jason Alber (160) pinned Zack Moore in 43 seconds, increasing the Dutchmen's lead to 21-12.
Will Rickert pinned MSMCC's Chad LaPlante in 1:13 to win the 171-pound match, then Cody Sroufe pinned Nate Collins in 1:29 in the 189-pound bout. Tyler King (215) followed by pinning Garrison Diehl in 3:42 and Kyler Ritter (heavyweight) pinned Sam Queen in 1:16, giving the Dutchmen a 45-12 lead.
"It helped knowing that we had the seniors coming up," Vlcek said. "That was big for us."
Freshman Ryan Abrigo (103) continued his first-year success by pinning Steve Osentoski in 3:30, then Nate Jackson (112) needed just 19 seconds to pin Erik Vandenberghe. Drew Fischer gave Manchester a 60-12 lead by scoring a 5-3 decision over Andrew Millosch in the 119-pound match, then Jimmy Hamilton (125) closed out the dual by pinning Daniel Couturier in 55 seconds.
The Dutchmen and Harper Woods exchanged victories to open the semifinals. Manchester collected a win by void in the 125-pound match, then Mike Marlin (130) answered for Harper Woods by pinning Lobbestael in 4:49. Johnny Woolams (135) gave the Dutchmen the lead back with a 9-4 decision over Jermaine Corwell.
Woolams held a 3-1 lead after two periods, but Corwell fought back with three straight points early in the third. Woolams tied the match with a one-point escape, then scored five points in the final minute for the win.
Manchester began to pull away over the next seven matches. Lahyer pinned Myles Fortune in 4:44 in the 140-pound match, then Sheler (145) pinned Calvin Ellis in 39 seconds. Isaac Miller (152) scored a 15-7 major decision over Harper Woods' Kyle Morgan before Cloke (160) and Alber (171) received wins by void. Sroufe followed by pinning Josh Hadley in 3:09 to win the 189-pound match and extend the Dutchmen's lead to 43-6.
"Cody moved back to town from Connecticut this year and he's been working hard," Vlcek said. "He makes us stronger in our lineup, and it's nice to see him get some time in on the mat."
Ritter (215) pinned Eric Curry in 35 seconds before Harper Woods answered with Tom Pellegrinni pinning Dylan Neff with one second remaining in the heavyweight match. Harper Woods would get no closer, as Abrigo (103) pinned Devunte Dumas in 3:21 and Austin Deacons (112) and Cevin Walker (119) collected wins by void.
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central scored wins in every match of its semifinal dual against Bishop Foley. The dual was completed within 25 minutes.
Last year, the Dutchmen made their first appearance in Battle Creek since 1991. They routed Bangor in the quarterfinals before falling to New Lathrop in the semifinals.
"This year I think we're more hungrier and not so satisfied," Vlcek said. "The kids were disappointed last year when we lost to New Lathrop, so hopefully there's a different attitude this year."
Leroy Pine River advanced to the state quarterfinals by winning the Blanchard-Montabella regional, defeating the host school 53-16. Springport captured its regional championship at Ithaca, while Rogers City defeated Iron Mountain at home for its regional title.
"The teams we'll see in Battle Creek are similar to ours," Vlcek said. "There are some pretty good teams on our side of the bracket, so we'll need to be on top of our game."
Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.
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