Airport Jets soar to title;
Plymouth 3rd, Salem 6th

BY CHARLES ROTHWELL
Dec. 30, 2009, 11:30 p.m.

  Thirteen teams got together Tuesday for some solid wrestling. Six of those teams  were from the Observerland area, and although the area teams wrestled well, it was Airport and Dexter that garnered the most finalists and team points.

  Airport was pronounced the tournament champion because it had five individual champions to Dexter's four. Both teams compiled 178 points. There are no short cuts nor bonuses in these matches, that's for sure. Each point is earned, and each wrestler put tons of effort and discipline into their training in order to get this far. They deserve all the awards, medals, trophies and free stuff they receive. Congratulations to all teams, and especially to Airport for winning the tournament. It was an exciting championship to watch, and no doubt, to be a part of.

  Although Plymouth defeated Dexter last week in a team-dual format, the Wildcats fell 11 points short in this individual tournament. Leading the way were champions Shadi Jammoul, who pinned his way through the 103-pound weight class, and Alec Breckenridge (112), who best regional qualifier Tristan Jarosicwicz in the semi-final match and all-state wrestler Nick Kim in the finals.

  Breckenridge was named lower-weights most valuable wrestler. Ziad Tamimi took second at 130 pounds and seven other Wildcats placed either fourth or fifth.

  Livonia Stevenson came on strong in the consolation finals and finished in fourth place. Big guys Jake Burns (171), Andrew Schramm (189) and Nathan Keedle (285) made it to the finals, but had to settle for second. The Spartans had two, three and two wrestlers finish third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

   Fifth-place Wayne Memorial sent one wrestler to the finals, but Anwar Oliver's bid for the gold was stopped  at the last second by Airport's Bryan White. Thirteen Wolfpack wrestlers placed in the top seven.

   Host Salem sent Kim (112), Devin Stratton and Jimmy Gross (160) to the finals, but none could come away with individual championships. Four other Rocks placed in the top five to help Salem claim sixth place.

  Of special note is that Salem head coach Greg Woochuk was honored with the presentation of the All-American Athletic Association's Sportsmanship Award.

  Garden City was paced by Rob Doane, who placed second at 103, and Kevin Allard, who placed fourth at 152. Redford Union had one champion: 160-pound freshman Collin Rankin.

TEAM SCORES: 1. Airport, 178 points; 2. Dexter, 178; 3. Plymouth, 167; 4. Livonia  Stevenson, 157.5; 5. Wayne Memorial, 142; 6. Salem, 138.5; 7. Lakeland, 104; 8. Crestwood, 99.5; 9. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 87.5; 10. Lincoln Park, 71.5; 11. Garden City, 71; 12. Southgate Anderson, 68; 13. Redford Union, 52.

103 pounds: 1. Shadi Jammoul (Ply.); 2. Rob Doane (GC); 3. Dylan McLeod (LP); 4. Pablo Flores (WM); 5. Sesad Al-Hussein (Crest.).

112: 1. Alec Breckenridge (Ply.); 2. Nick Kim (Salem); 3. Tristan Jarosicwicz (WM); 4. Brandon Calma (Lake.); 5. Trey Berry (Ply.).

119: 1. Anthony Barbour (LP); 2. Gabe Altomare (Dex.); 3. Cody Korpus (Salem); 4. Kyle Babin (Lake.); 5. Said Youssef (Ply.).

125: Dan Flowers (Dex.); 2. Devin Stratton (Salem); 3. Ali Ayache (Crest.); 4. Chase Kallil (Ply.); 5. Tyler Carson (STA).

130: 1. Curtis French (Air.); 2. Ziad Tamimi (Ply.); 3. Cominic Lomuscio (Crest.); 4. Corey Davis (LS); 5. Trent Norman (Lake.).

135: 1. Bryan Reyes (Air.); 2. Jake Caraci (Lake.); 3. Joey Polocoser (Crest.); 4. Jimmy Ahearn (Ply.); 5. K. Roy (LS).

140: 1. Bryan White (Air.); 2. Anwar Oliver (WM); 3. Dylan Hatcher (Salem); 4. Jake Mailloux (LS); 5. James Chapman (LP).

145: Anthony Chisolm (Dex.); 2. Alex Lancina (Air.); 3. Jalen Jones (WM); 4. Joshua Marhofer (Salem); 5. Charlie Kokenakes (LS).

152: Drew Barnes (Dex.); 2. Justin Copper (Air.); 3. Chris Arnold (LS); 4. Kevin Allard (GC); 5. Chris Sweet (Salem).

160: Collin Rankin (RU); 2. Colin Gross (Salem); 3. Justin Bose (Pioneer); 4. Josh Seibert (LS); 5. Robbie Barackman (Ply.).

171: 1. Marcus Copley (Air.); 2. Jake Burns (LS); 3. Dan McCarthy (LS); 4. Curtis Crosier (Ply.); 5. Frank Diaz-Pezva (Pioneer).

189: 1. Sequoyah Burke-Combs (Dex.); 2. Andrew Schramm (LS); 3. Devon Bronson (STA.); 4. Dimitrus Renfroe (WM); 5. Brandon Varner (Ply.).

215: 1. Jake DeWeese (Air.); 2. Alex Sokoll (Lake.); 3. Shawn Chamberlain (Dex.); 4. Dylan Korzetki (WM); 5. Yousseff El-Sayed (Crest.).

285: 1. Chris Biggs (Pioneer); 2. Nathan Keedle (LS); 3. Josh Cash (Dex.); 4. Dustin Burley (STA.); 5. Chris Bowie (WM).

OUTSTANDING WRESTLER AWARDS: Lower weights: Alec Breckenridge (Ply.); Upper weights: Sequoyah Burke-Combes (Dex.).