The Red Hawk varsity wrestling team hosted a quad meet on January 6 that included Sparta, Belding and West Catholic.
Scott Vodry (160 lb) against Bath in Semi-finals at Shepard
The night started with the Hawks defeating Sparta. First on the mat was Jake Blackmer (senior 125 lb) winning by decision 10-5 and scoring the first team points of the match. Sparta prevailed in the next bout but Cedar came back with Ricky Rios (senior 140 lb), earning a major decision (18-8), and Austin Wamser (sophomore 145 lb) containing his opponent with a score of 7-0. Half way thru the match the score was 14–13 in favor of the Red Hawks.
First Place champions at Shepherd Blue Jay Tournament
The wins went back and forth in favor of each team until the 103 lb class with Nic Baird pinning his opponent, Kirk Moore (112 lb) winning by decision and Cody Oehme (119 lb) prevailing with a major decision. The Red Hawks beat long time rival Sparta with a final score of 33-25.
The Hawks moved to the next round against West Catholic. Cedar started out strong winning the first 8 matches and bringing the score to 46–0. West Catholic came back to challenge the Hawks in the next 2 rounds to earn 9 points, but Cedar took back the reigns and finished the match 66 -9. The Red Hawk varsity wrestling team continues to be undefeated in conference.
Red Hawks Wrestlers reign at Shepherd, take first place
The Varsity wrestlers headed to Shepherd on Saturday and took the #1 spot in the Shepherd Blue Jay tournament defeating five teams to go undefeated for the day.
The Hawks started out the day slamming Big Rapids as every Hawk wrestler defeated their opponent and won with a final score of 81–0.
They challenged Cheboygan in the next round only to continue their run of wins. Sophomore Austin Wamser (145 lb) competed in a tough match with neither opponent scoring by the end of the second round. Wamser’s patience and technical skills brought him to victory by decision at the end of his match. Junior Levi Whipple took to the mat at the 160 lb weight class and defeated his challenger with a quick pin in the first 39 seconds of the bout. Seniors Scott Vodry (171 lb) and Jeremy Stellema (189 lb) both had high scoring rounds with a pin for Vodry adding another 6 points to the team score and Stellema winning by major decision. The final score found the Hawks defeating Cheboygan 72-6.
The next team to be defeated by the Hawks was Clare. They were a tough team but Cedar pulled off another win with pins by Freshman Dominic Chong (130 lb), Senior Jake Blackmer (135 lb) and Junior Joe Simon (285 lb). Cedar had to fight for their points but their determination and skill prevailed and they won 40 -31 and moved into the semi-final rounds.
The semi- final round pitted Cedar against Bath. The points tallied up on each side in the lower weight classes and then Cedar came on strong in the middle and heavy weights with Wamser, Blackmer, Vodry , Whipple and Stellema earn points by fall and Senior Warren Armock (215 lb) going 3 rounds to win by decision and assisting in the overall 63-15 win for the Hawks.
Cedar met up with the team from Shepherd in the championship round. Cedar went into the first round giving up 6 points, only to earn them back in the next round. The same give and take went on for the next 10 rounds keeping the score tied up 30-30. Cedar found a little breathing room with a win in the next round, and held their breath when they gave up 3 points to Shepherd in the next. Cedar needed 4 point to win the championship. The final match of the event found freshman Cody Oehme (119 lb) fiercely taking to the mat and sealing the deal with a fall in the 2nd round, bringing the score 42-39 in favor of the Red Hawks.
“The team had great senior leadership today,” said Coach Lewis. “The guys are having a great season and they have to continue to work hard.” Their conference record is 2-0, and their overall record is 20-3.
The Hawks head to Comstock Park for a quad tournament on Wednesday and the JV team hosts an individual tournament at home on Saturday.
