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	The Manchester Enterprise A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

State meet produced fantastic memories

Ed Patino

PUBLISHED: March 22, 2007

I never had the privilege of covering a prep state wrestling meet until two weeks ago.

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In fact, the largest wrestling event I attended was the individual district tournament at Addison in 2005 (I'm not counting a trip to Chicago when I was in seventh grade to see a World Wrestling Entertainment event).

Since Michigan has the highest participation of high school wrestlers in the nation, I guess I'm lucky that my first individual state tournament was the largest around.

Close to 500 wrestlers, representing schools from Ann Arbor to Onaway, competed for three days at the Palace of Auburn Hills to earn a state championship. They also provided their share of memorable images.

The eight Manchester wrestlers certainly did their part by crowning a state champion, a runner-up, a third-place finisher and three other medalists.

There was Bill Cloke, an unheralded 152-pound junior entering the weekend, going a perfect 4-for-4 to win the Dutchmen's lone state title.

In his first-ever appearance at states, Cloke showed incredible poise in the finals against Addison's Corey Kratzer. After rallying from an early deficit, Cloke snapped a 4-4 tie with a two-point reversal at the end of regulation.

Poise was soon replaced by exhilaration.

"I didn't think about tears, but I never thought I'd get this far and take it," Cloke said.

Dan Lobbestael entered as one of the favorites to win the 215 title and plowed through the first three rounds. He was denied in the finals by New Lathrop's Roger Emmendorfer, yet the senior remained classy in defeat.

"He just caught me," Lobbestael said. "I didn't want to lose my last match, but this is still a pretty good way to go out."

A 60-2 season on top of a Manchester record 191 career victories. Not bad at all.

The Dutchmen weren't the only ones providing memorable moments. There was Hesperia's Justin Zeerip receiving a standing ovation from the entire Palace crowd after capping a perfect career with his fourth state championship, this time at 160 pounds. With a four-year record of 260-0, Zeerip has a win for each mile traveled from Hesperia to the Palace and halfway back. The University of Michigan commit set the national wins and consecutive victories records in the process.

There also was Detroit Catholic Central coach Mike Rodriguez, in his final event after 50 years of coaching, getting ejected during Friday's competition for arguing with officials. You could hear the gasps from the crowd near the Division 1 mats, and then the Palace erupted into catcalls after Rodriguez's ejection was announced.

Morenci's Zac Johnson provided a telling moment of his own, winning the title in the 189 weight category, Division 4. Johnson earned the crown with a 5-1 upset of previously undefeated and defending state champ Tom Schneider. As Johnson leaped into Morenci coach Scott Clark's arms, Schneider was being consoled by Addison coach Rick Sherry –– vastly different emotions on the same mat.

Emmendorfer had three losses on the year, two of which to Lobbestael. Yet the New Lathrop wrestler made a quick reversal in the second period and recorded the pin. After the match, Roger Emmendorfer received a big hug from his cousin Dennis Emmendorfer, who won the 171-pound championship moments earlier.

"Dennis has been my little grasshopper all my life, and when he got his championship, I knew I had to get one," Roger Emmendorfer said. "We've wrestled all our lives and helped each other get better."

Perhaps the best moment of all came just before the start of Saturday's finals during the grand march. As the wrestlers entered the arena to "Eye of the Tiger" and "We are the Champions," the Palace erupted. The ovation lasted close to 10 minutes, and seemed to get louder as time passed. Some wrestlers were videotaping the entrance, taking in the moment. Parents and other family members in the stands were fighting back tears.

All around, it was pride coming to the surface. As one of the MHSAA officials told me on press row, "This is what it's all about."

Indeed it is.

Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 429-7380 or epatino@heritage.com.