After falling to Oxford by just one point in the state championship match a season ago, Catholic Central got its first shot at redemption on Wednesday night.
And the Shamrocks didn’t let that opportunity go to waste.
Catholic Central made a statement, as the Shamrocks knocked off the defending state champions, 49-13.
Catholic Central head coach Mitch Hancock says that with his team winning seven matches with a pin, it was able to make a statement on the scoreboard.
“We come out to wrestle the best that we can at every weight class, and whether it’s making a statement, that’s up to our guys and how they wrestle,” he said. “They can make statements by pinning people and putting points on the board, and we did that tonight.”
The Shamrocks got out of the gates quick as Trevor Zdebski pinned Collin Campbell in just 33 seconds in the first match of the night.
From there the Shamrocks cruised, winning seven of the following 10 matches and quickly locking up the win in impressive fashion.
Hancock said that being able to get the quick pin right away was key for his team to pick up some momentum right from the start.
“I think it’s huge for momentum,” he said. “I’m a big believer in momentum and I thought that Zdebski did a nice job of getting that pin tonight. I think we could have scored some more points in other weight classes, but the momentum was huge.”
After Oxford picked up two wins, including one from Edwin Schlickenmeyer, a recent transfer from Sterling Heights Stevenson, Catholic Central widened the gap to 24-9 after two pins in three matches by Ken Bade and Logan Marcicki.
After Alec Mooradian’s win in the 152 pound weight class, the Shamrocks stretched their lead to 27-9, all but putting the match out of reach for Oxford.
