Dual Synopsis
Year after year after Coach Chiola has churned out very solid teams at Franklin, but typically a giant roadblock that goes by the name “DCC” has stood between them and a regional title. However, this year they found their path to BC far friendlier, and the Patriots took advantage by narrowly edging Dearborn Heights Crestwood and Southgate Anderson to earn the first team finals birth in program history. While they are severely overmatched against Davison, this dual is not without intrigue. At either 171 or 189, I expect that Franklin will try to matchup state runner-up Jordan Ateinza against 2X state champ Jordan Cooks for one of the weekend’s top individual matchups.
Dual Synopsis
Grandville is quickly emerging as a west side power, and the program took another big step forward this season. In this quarterfinal the up-and-coming Bulldogs will be pitted against Oxford; a perennial powerhouse that has made a habit of doing their best wrestling of the season in Kellogg Arena. On paper this is a winnable dual for both squads, but Grandville’s margin of error is considerably smaller than Oxford’s. However, there is a caveat. Oxford’s 2X all-state 135lbs senior Eddie Schlickenmeyer was a scratch at individual regionals, and if he is still out this weekend it will be a huge blow to the middle Oxford’s lineup.
Dual Synopsis
It’s been a meteoric rise for Plymouth, a program that was seemingly still in its infancy just a few seasons ago. They knocked off a very strong Bedford team to earn their spot in BC, and while they don’t have the same firepower as DCC I think the Wildcats are capable of winning up to 5 or 6 bouts depending how the matchups play out. Individually the most interesting matchup is probably 160lbs, which will pit #5 Joey Shaver against Tyler Morland, a top-10 talent who is among the country’s top freshman, but fell a match shy of the state tournament.
Synopsis
Dakota has been a bit inconsistent in their dual meet performances this season, but of all this weekend’s #7 seeds I like their chances of an upset the most. It’s a great matchup for Dakota because Hartland’s strongest weights are 140 and 145, and Dakota has typically given up bonus points at both those weights all season. The two teams battled in January with Hartland winning by 16, but the return of Sal Caruso for Dakota could very well turn what was a Hartland major at 103 in the last meeting into a Dakota decision this time around. I also think Dakota can reverse the outcome at 135lbs where HM Kyle Cendrowski dropped a 1-point decision to Justin Rollins. However, it goes both ways. Dakota absolutely MUST win at 189 where HM Greg Brohl pinned Jake Economu in the January dual, but it’s a loss that Econumu is very capable of avenging. All things considered it is definitely doable, but any Hartland win at 103, 135 or 189 will likely be enough to put an end to Dakota’s upset hopes.
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