DCC assembly makes for unique wrestling atmosphere
Lowell edges Detroit Catholic Central 38-36 in battle of ranked teams
By Sean Garner
Michigan Grappler.com
Wrestling fans might barely have been able to recognize the sight Friday afternoon at Detroit Catholic Central High School.
Over 1,000 polo shirt and khaki-clad DCC students decided to skip their final hour of class to watch their Shamrocks compete in their annual Assembly Dual against the Lowell Red Arrows, which resulted in an exciting 38-36 victory for Lowell. It was an opportunity for the DCC student section to show why it is viewed as one of the most spirited in the state by coaches and athletes of many sports.
The match would have been big enough in its own right. This was, after all, a dual which pitted the 7th ranked team in Division I (DCC) against the 2nd ranked team in Division II. Both were wrestling their first dual since each competed at the Team State Championships in Battle Creek last March, where Lowell made it to the finals. However, it was the electric atmosphere that made the dual something a bit out of the ordinary.
At Detroit Catholic Central, wrestling is a big deal. A school known for excellence in many sports reserves a section of its rafters for state championship banners in two sports it call its calling card, football and wrestling. Senior Joe Khalil is one of the many Shamrock spectators frequently in attendance for home meets says the student body has a relationship with its wrestling team that few can match.
“To us, it is surprising that other schools don’t have student sections like we do for wrestling,” Khalil said. “Wrestling is one of the sports that we pride ourselves on, and every year this is one of the best assemblies of the year. It’s crazy with the whole school going nuts and so much emotion.”
DCC Head Coach Mitch Hancock credits the entire school with the success of the wrestling program.
“It has been a great tradition to wrestle in front of the student body, going all the way back to Mr. (Former head coach Mike) Rodriguez,” Hancock said. “It’s an awesome atmosphere. I think you could have felt it tonight, the vibration will shoot right through you. It is tough for kids to wrestle in that atmosphere and I tip my hat off to Lowell for coming and doing it.”
Lowell Head Coach Dave Dean said entering a hostile environment was part of his plan for preparing the team for similar situations at more critical junctures of the season.
“It (the student atmosphere) is exactly why we came here,” Dean said. “Of course, you enjoy it more if you win, but either way it was going to be a good experience and meet the objectives of what we hope to accomplish with the team.”
The students who stayed after school was dismissed—who were distinctly in the majority—were treated to one of the most exciting duals one could expect to see this early in the season with Lowell winning a thrilling 38-36 nailbiter.
Lowell captured the first two weights of the night, with sophomore state qualifier Ryan Olep earning a pin at 171 and senior Nate Vaught winning a narrow decision over returning state placer Matt Aubrey. DCC then responded with pins of their own, with state placer Joe Kinville at 215 and returning state champion Mike Martin picking up pins for the Shamrocks.
Kinville and Martin started a streak in which DCC won six of nine matches, all coming by pin. Going into the most anticipated match of the night at 145, the Shamrocks held a 36-20 advantage with only three matches to go. Dean admitted that victory at that point seemed to be a longshot.
“To us, throwing in the towel is something you do when you’re dead or have no other options,” Dean said. “I do have to admit going into the last few matches I knew the odds were stacked against us. We were fortunate today, we had some experienced guys come through in some situations where they may have folded in the past.”
At 145, the raucous student body, becoming lustful at the thought of impending victory, was treated to the only match pitting two returning state qualifiers against each other. DCC’s Shea Hasenauer and Lowell’s Tim Gingrich each placed fifth last year at 135 pounds, Hasenauer doing it in Division I and Gingrich accomplishing the feat in Division II.
While Hasenauer only needed to lose by seven points or fewer to clinch the win for DCC, he appeared to be in control leading Gingrich 5-2 in the third period until being penalized a point for an illegal hands to the face call. Following the penalty, the Shamrock crowd erupted in a chorus of “That’s alright. That’s okay. We’re going to beat you anyway.”
Not five seconds had passed since the end of the chant when Gingrich threw Hasenauer to his back, pinning him and keeping his Red Arrows in the match. Gingrich felt the remarks student section was rather obnoxious and distasteful.
“It was nice to rub it in their face,” Gingrich said. “They were terrible. I heard them make fun of my family at one point, and I just winked at them to let them know it wasn’t going to bother me.”
The Red Arrows were still down ten after Gingrich’s improbable pin, still likely needing two pins to win the match. Lowell did exactly that, with Rocky Pabon and Justin Boss pinning their opponents at 152 and 160 respectively. Pabon said he was not affected by the rowdy crowd.
“It’s one of those things that is just kind of there and you have to deal with it,” Pabon said. “I think that’s one of those things Dean tries to do is put us in that position where we have to just focus in and wrestle.”
Both coaches admitted that while winning is always the goal, it is somewhat trivial at this point of the season.
“I just look for fight here,” Hancock said. “I always tell my kids you have to work to get better for March. We don’t win a state championship in November. Who in the heck is going to remember the score of a dual meet against Lowell on November 30 if the kids are at the top of the podium or if we’re winning state titles?”
Copyright 2007 Michigan Grappler LLC
May not be reproduced without expressed written consent
