MYWAY Wrestlers Place 4th at McDonogh Duals
BY JEFF CHANEY
It was good start for the MYWAY Team Michigan all star wrestling team that wrestled in Maryland last weekend.
The team, which was made up of 17 wrestlers from grades fifth to eighth, took fourth at the McDonogh Duals in Owens Mills, Md.
“The key was that we won our pool,” Team Michigan coach Louis Johnson said. “We first started out with the top seed in our pool and third seed over all, New Jersey Strength.”
It came with a big fight.
“We were down 18-10, and then scored 34 unanswered points to win 44-18,” Johnson said. “That gave momentum for pool play.”
From there the team beat teams Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland in poll action.
That sent Team Michigan to the championship round robin, where it lost to the two top Pennsylvania teams, which were the top two seeds, and then the fourth seeded team from Georgia.
“That was a tough round,” Johnson said. “We weren't expected to be there. We were ranked last in our pool, so to finish fourth, the team exceeded expectations.
In the end, Team Michigan went 5-3.
Individually, only one Michigan wrestler came away from the brutal tournament with an undefeated wrestler – Lowell's Lucas Hall was 8-0 at 87 pounds.
A pair of wrestlers went 7-1, Grand Rapids' Devin Schroder at 114 and North Branch's Devon Pingel at 154.
The next action for a team that Johnson will be putting together will come in late March in Iowa.
This will give kids time to deal with MYWAY State Tournament.
“Now there is a lot of in-state stuff,” Johnson said. “There is not a lot of travel the next six or seven weeks. But there is plenty of competition in the state.”
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