By Dan Robelen / WLD
Saturday marked the last tournament of the wrestling regular season for Dexter. They hit the Grass Lake Invitational for a solid challenge before going into conference and district tournaments.
“We’re transitioning from duel-meet wrestling to individual-tournament wrestling,” said head coach Matt Chisolm. “Every point counts. It’s good practice for Districts.”
The tournament featured a solid lineup of tough wrestlers and schools from around the area.
Dexter got off to a strong start, roaring out to take the lead in team scoring in the first round, losing only a single match among their 12 wrestlers. As the tournament went on, Division IV powerhouse New Lothrup edged ahead, and others also crept up on Dexter.
Dexter managed to place Kyle Scafasci, Eli Yount, Dylan Lorincz, Noah Drummond, Daniel Delduca, Jasper Howell, and Mark Young in the semifinals. The semifinals of the tough tournament were not kind to the Dreadnaughts. All but Lorincz and Young lost, putting them into matches for third place. Howell was pulled out of the tournament due to a possible concussion, as Lorincz and Young continued to the finals.
Three other Dexter wrestlers had losses early in the tournament, but fought their way back to wrestle for fifth place – Jacob Joyce, Kevin Blanchard and Brendan Valerio.
Both Lorincz and Young fell in the finals to tough opponents. At the end of the day, Dexter had fourth most team points, just half a point behind the third-place team.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Chisolm said. “We’ve had a couple tough losses the last couple weeks, but I feel like we’ve put ourselves in positions to win – just haven’t been able to finish. I think everybody is moving in the right direction coming towards the end of the season.”
This tournament concluded the regular season for Dexter. It was a season of tremendous progress and accomplishment for Dexter, with the best duel record they have had in many years.
“I believe it’s something to be really proud about,” Chisolm said. “It’s something that’s been in the making for the last six years. Dexter has a pretty rich history of wrestling, so obviously I’m extremely proud of the work that these boys have put in to get to that point.”
Next up for the Dreadnaughts are the SEC individuals, with JV on Friday and varsity on Saturday.
Cover photo: Dylan Lorincz works to finish a single leg.
ALL PHOTOS BY DAN ROBELEN
