The wrestling team finished third in its league – a drop from last year’s first place finish. Pontiac finished first in the league out of seven teams, followed by Andover, and then the Southfield Blue Jays.
Senior Torez Collins and junior Antonio Echols placed first in their weight classes for the Blue Jays at Leagues.
Placing second were seniors Dan Wagner and Craig Lewis, junior Kevin Hines and freshman Keith Lee.
Juniors Antar Otis and James Dillard placed third.
Although the season has not been as “slamtastic” as they had wished, the bunch still has had a very good year, said Coach Vernon Burden.
The wrestling team has grown in leaps, bounds and takedowns. This year, 62 boys expressed interest in the program, and that number slowly toppled off to 44 who stayed with the team on either varsity or junior varsity. That’s 12 more wrestlers than the team had last year.
Burden said, “More kids came out this year because they wanted to be a part of a winning team. We advertised ourselves well, they saw the success we had last year and they became interested.”
Breakout rookie Lee said, “I think the team is better than last year. We are doing much better. Compared to last year, we have more depth.”
Conversely, senior wrestler Torez Collins said the team could improve. “Last year we were doing a little better, but we just have to work harder,” Collins said.
The Blue Jays’ record ended at 18-6, and Burden says that with so much talent returning next year, they will be looking to put a chokehold on the OAA Blue Division.