John Glenn's Chris Pappas and Ogemaw's Kyle Scott engaged in one of the most even matches of the night, with Pappas pulling out a 2-0 decision at 135 pounds.
The Falcons' Michael Lentz earned himself a big win over Glenn's Ryan LaFlure, but the Bobcats dominated Ogemaw with a 52-22 victory that sets the stage for Glenn's first-ever NEMC title.
Brent Baker
Milton Thayer earned a pin at 285 for Standish-Sterling.

OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Jan. 28, 2008 - John Glenn has never won a North East Michigan Conference wrestling title. Barring a disaster for the Bobcats, that looks like it is going to change this seas after Glenn swept Standish-Sterling and four-time defending champ Ogemaw Heights.

The Bobcats opened with a 65-15 victory over Standish-Sterling, and the Falcons followed with a 54-24 win over the Panthers. Glenn then turned around and built a 21-0 lead and cruised past the Falcons 52-22.

"There were no real surprises," said Ogemaw coach Darryl Keeton. "We knew they were tough."

The showdown match opened at 160 pounds, with Alex Kimball, Allen Good (171) and Anthony Carollo (189) leading off for the Falcons. But that also played into the meat of the Bobcats' lineup as well, and Nick Moore, Brandon Wrzeszinski and Justin LeFlure all earned pins for the quick lead.

"We hoped to steal one of those," Keeton said. "But once we didn't catch anything -- not only didn't win but gave up pins -- you never want to say that you can't win, but we knew we were in trouble at that point."

The Falcons got wins from Zach Burton (285, pin), Chris Hebert (125, major decision), Andrew Funsch (130, pin), and in an upset, Michael Lentz (140, pin) over the Bobcats' Ryan LaFlure.

"That was a big win for Michael," Keeton said. "He didn't beat Ryan last year. He has good technique and does a good job of sensing what his opponent is doing.

"Originally he wasn't going to come out (for wrestling), but I'm glad he did. He's been tough all year."

The Bobcats' winners were Moore (160, pin), Wrzesinski (171, pin), Justin LaFlure (189, pin), Larry Williams (215, decision), Kooper Martinez (103, pin), Anthony Hughes (112, void), Aaron Harvey (119, pin), Chris Pappas (135, decision), John Gaiser (145, pin) and Kyle Knox (152, major decision).

"We have just three seniors, we're young and we're hurting for numbers," Keeton said. "We're coming along, but we just don't match up with those guys (Glenn)."

The Falcons had a better time of it with an outmanned Standish-Sterling squad that gave up 30 points in voids before the match even started. The two teams actually split the points for matches actually wrestled.

Ogemaw's winners were Matt Keeton (152, pin), Carollo (189, pin), Drew Dukaj (103, void), Masen Henretta (112, void), Gale Kimball (119, void), Chris Hebert (125, pin), Funsch (130, pin), Kyle Scott (135, void) and Lentz (140, void).

Winning for SSC were Machylle Porter (160, decision), Brad Bialobrzeski (171, decision), Mark Stawowy (215, pin), Tony Thayer (285, pin) and Ryan Veitengruber (145, pin).

The Panthers also gave up a plethora of voids to Glenn. Winning matches on the mat for the Bobcats against SSC were Gaiser (145, pin), Knox (152, pin), Wrzesinski (171, pin), Justin LaFlure (189, tech fall), Herb Bieszke (125, pin), and D.J. Logan (130, pin).

Winning for SSC were Porter (160, decision), Stawowy (215, void) and Thayer (285, void).

Glenn improved to 3-0 in NEMC duals, giving them the edge over the Falcons heading into the league finals meet in February. The Falcons fell to 3-1 while SSC is 1-3.