Coon, Amine among big winners at DCC Invite
DCC edges Oxford and Davison to remain top dog in Division 1

By Steve Widzinski
Michigan Grappler HS Anaylst
steve@michigangrapler.com

Detroit Catholic Central Videos

1/9 – Many of the state’s premier teams traveled to
Detroit Catholic Central this weekend for their annual
individual tournament.  It was a great day of wrestling
that featured Division 1’s top three ranked teams Detroit
Catholic Central, Oxford and Davison as well as
Division 2’s second ranked Tecumseh.  Other ranked
squads from Brighton, Rockford, Holly and Bullock
Creek were in attendance as well making Saturday’s
tournament one of the toughest of the season.

Host Detroit Catholic Central lead the way in the team
race, claiming first place thanks to three individual
champions.  The Shamrock’s excellent depth was key
to their team title as they had nine wrestlers place in
the top three at their weight class.  Trailing DCC in the
team standings was Davison.  The impressive young
Cardinals squad was led by three individual champions
who helped them to edge Oxford for second place. 

While Oxford fell short in the team race, it was still a pretty solid showing for the Wildcats who had four wrestlers reach the finals.  Finishing the day in fourth was Tecumseh who narrowly edged Brighton thanks to an impressive team performance from top to bottom.  It was a good showing for Brighton as well who finished ahead of some pretty tough competition to take fifth.  The Bulldogs were lead by four individual finalists.

The first match of the finals came at 103 pounds which featured one of the day’s most thrilling matches.  Kyle Gillies of Westland John Glenn met Brighton’s Jordan Amine in a strong finals matchup between two highly ranked lower weights.  Trailing 5-0 in the third period, Amine caught Gillies on his back and scored a fall to claim first place.  It was an impressive victory for Amine who was named as the tournament’s Lower Weight MVP.

The 112 pound weight class featured two freshman in the finals who were both able to advance through one of the tournament’s toughest charts.  In the finals Justin Oliver of Davison met Malik Amine of Detroit Catholic Central in a battle of Division 1’s two top ranked 112 pounders.  Oliver’s offense proved to be too much for Amine as he pulled away in the third period to earn a 17-8 victory.

Holly Senior Esteban Gonzales dominated his way through a pretty tough weight class to earn an individual title at 119 pounds.  In the semis Gonzales defeated Tecumseh’s Colin Lesko to reach the finals where he squared off with Detroit Catholic Central’s TJ Fagan.  Gonzales scored an impressive 12-3 major decision over Fagan in the finals to earn a first place finish.

At 125 pounds Division 1’s top ranked Terry Turner of Davison emerged victorious to claim first place in one of the tournament’s most loaded weight classes.  In the semi-finals Turner used his impressive array of takedowns to defeat Ken Bade of Detroit Catholic Centrals.  In the finals Turner matched up with Jenison’s Trent Samuels.  Samuels reached the finals with a huge 4-3 upset over returning state champion Anthony Gonzales of Holly.  Turner continued to impress in the finals, scoring a first period fall over Samuels to win an individual title.

Jeff Jenkins of Tecumseh showed why he is a serious threat to win a title in Division 2 by dominating his way through the 130 pound weight class.  In the semi-finals Jenkins avenged an offseason loss to Detroit Catholic Central’s Logan Marcicki thanks to a lightning quick fifty second fall.  Jenkins continued his dominance in the finals with a 16-0 technical over Brighton’s CJ Brish.

Two-time State Champion Alec Mooradian continued his winning ways with a first place finish at 135 pounds.  Mooradian faced Anchor Bay’s Larry Rybarz in the semis where he won by a score of 3-0 to advance to the finals.  In the finals Mooradian scored a 15-5 major decision over Bullock Creek’s Derek Camillerri to claim first place.

At 140 pounds Scott Flowers of Bullock Creek came out on top in one of the day’s most wide open weight classes.  Flowers battled his way to the finals where he wrestled against Fowlerville’s Travis Kern.  In the finals Flowers scored a late takedown to defeat Kern 4-3 and earn an individual title.

While there were many tough weights at Saturday’s tournament, it’s hard to argue that any weight was more loaded than 145 pounds.  After battling their way through a very difficult bracket Division 1’s top two ranked 145 pounders Matt Frisch of Oxford and Jordan Cooks of Davison met in the finals.  It was a particularly hard road to the finals for Cooks.  The freshman scored big wins over returning state placers Greg Day of Macomb Dakota and Nick Mason of Detroit Catholic Central en-route to the finals.  However, it was Frisch who emerged victorious in the finals match, winning by a final score of 10-5.

Standout Freshman Drew Garcia of Detroit Catholic Central showed why he is capable of making some noise in the state title race this year when he took first place at Saturday’s tournament.  Garcia caught Rockford’s Austin Scogg on his back in the semi-finals and picked up a first period fall to advance to the finals.  In the finals Garcia wrestled against fourth ranked Dakota Peasley of Oxford.  Garcia controlled the match and won by a final score of 5-1 to finish the day in first place.

The 160 pound final pitted Brandon Hill of Brighton and Ben Ralston of Oxford against each other in a battle of two of Division 1’s top ranked 160 pounders.  It was a hard fought match that featured lots of offense by both wrestlers.  However Ralston pulled away with two late takedowns to win by a score of 9-4.

Division 2’s second ranked Shawn Scott of Holly continued his strong junior season by dominating his way through the 171 pound weight class on Saturday.  Scott met with Vince Tkak of Brighton in the semi-finals and scored a fall to reach the finals.  In the finals Scott continued to impress with a strong 8-2 win over Westland John Glenn’s Kam Jones.

Three of Division 1’s top five ranked wrestlers competed in the 189 pound weight class making it one of the toughest upper weight brackets on Saturday.  Brighton’s Kurt Alder met with Davison’s Jared LaBelle in the semi-finals in a big match between to highly ranked grapplers.  Alder was able to come up with a late takedown to defeat LaBelle and advance to finals.  In the finals Alder met with Detroit Catholic Central Senior Miles Trealout.  Trealout proved to be too much for Alder, using his strong mat skills to earn a 9-0 major decision. 

Two of Michigan’s elite big men at 215 pounds in one of the Saturday’s most highly anticipated finals matches.  Nationally ranked Adam Coon of Fowlerville squared off against Oxford’s Prescott Line in a rematch from last years DCC Invite.  Coon avenged last year’s loss thanks to three late takedowns that earned him a 9-4 victory.  It was an excellent showing for Coon who was named Upper Weight MVP for the day.

Davison’s Ryan Hankins took advantage of a wide open weight class at 285 to take home fist place and earn some valuable team points.  In the semi-finals Hankins defeated Jenison’s Matt VanOpstall to reach the finals where he matched up against Tecumseh’s Cody Ross.  Ross injury defaulted in the finals making Hankins the individual champion at 285.



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2x State Champ Alec Mooradian remained unbeaten in his quest for three as he cruised through a tough 135lb weight class