PREP WRESTLING: Manistee falls in team tourney at Pine River

FROM MANISTEE NEWS ADVOCATE STAFF REPORTS
Published: Sunday, December 6, 2009
LEROY — The Manistee High School wrestling team dropped all five of its matches in a six-school team tournament on Saturday at Pine River High School.

The co-op Chippewas suffered losses to Bay City John Glenn (71-9), Pine River (56-15), Kingsley (49-21), Mio (67-12) and Traverse City St. Francis (42-37).

“It was a tough day for us, but it was a measuring stick for a lot of the younger kids,” said Manistee coach Chris Codden. “I wasn’t glad it happened, but overall looking at the season, it’s nice to happen now rather than down the road. They know what they’re going to see at district.”

Because of various reasons, the Chippewas were shorthanded on Saturday. They didn’t have anyone at the 130-pound class and had to shuffle others around at different weights.

Codden said he was essentially giving up a lot of points right off the bat, which made him feel a little better about close losses to Kingsley and St. Francis. “You take those 24 to 36 points and it’s a pretty even match,” he said.

Alex Meyers (103) and Nick Carter (140) led the way for the Chippewas as they both finished 4-1 individually.

Jon Bailey (112) went 2-3 on the day, Lane Gancarz (145) finished 1-3, Brian Fisk (119), Tucker Bruce (135), Trevor Schwandt (189), Alex Waterman (215) and Zak Payne (heavyweight) all finished 1-4.

Also for Manistee, Haydon Codden (125), Nate Leino-Jones (152), Zach Nezki (161) and Brenna Ramirez (171) all went 0-5.

Codden praised Payne for his performance, considering the Manistee wrestler thought he was headed to a junior varsity match on Saturday before the Chippewas realized they were without their heavyweight.

“I give a lot of credit to Zak,” Codden said. “It was a big challenge and he hung in there in every match.”

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