2009 MHSAA Team State Championships
Kellogg Center - Battle Creek, MI
Division 1 Quarterfinals Recap
By Sean Garner
for Michigan Grappler.com
The DCC-Lake Orion quarterfinal dual in a word - strange. It sure looked like Lake Orion was dead to rights, down 27-5 after the 130 pound match. Lake Orion had given up a huge upset to begin the meet at heavyweight as well as a pin in what looked like a swing match at 119.
Then, in one of the most bizarre turnarounds I have ever seen in Battle Creek, the Dragons completely flipped the switch, not losing one match the rest of the way, eventually winning the meet by 15. I knew they weren’t completely out of it, but who could have expected THAT?
The Dragons hold the distinction of being the first unseeded team to beat a seeded team in Battle Creek, and they looked like they might have a legitimate shot at upsetting Rockford who looked very solid in their 46-21 ho-hum win over Roseville in the quarterfinals.
The Dragons weren’t the only team to catch me a little offguard today. The Westland John Glenn Rockets, who came into their quarterfinal match today with Hartland a huge underdog, were actually ahead going into the 171 pound match. The match was MUCH closer than the final score would lead you to believe, and I still think Hartland’s pin at 140 (in a match where John Glenn was actually winning) might have saved them from potentially gigantic upset.
In the end, we have our traditional powers, Rockford, Holt, Hartland and to a lesser degree, Lake Orion facing off in what should make for exciting wrestling tomorrow morning. Despite the Dragons heroics today, I still consider them a huge underdog against Rockford, while Holt should have a slight edge over Hartland after squashing an overmatched Midland team today.
I must say though, the John Glenn/Hartland and Lake Orion/DCC matches were even more exciting than the Dundee/Richmond battle earlier this morning.
D1 Quarterfinals Scores
#1 Rockford 46, Roseville 21
Lake Orion 42, #4 Detroit Catholic Central 27
#2 Holt 51, Midland 12
#3 Hartland 38, Westland John Glenn 26
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