Wolfpack wrestlers earn gold
at pre-Christmas competition

Dec. 26, 2009, 2:30 p.m.

  The Wayne Memorial wrestling team was "Merry" good at the Gibraltar Carlson Christmas Team Tournament held Dec. 23.

  The Wolfpack went 5-0 to take first place at the talent-stocked event.

  Wayne got the momentum rolling with a first-match victory over Grosse Ile before a convincing triumph over Dearborn in round two.

  "That second win was big for the squad as Dearborn ended our season when they beat us at home last year," said Wayne coach Steve Vasiloff.

  The Wolfpack notched a third-round victory against  Gabriel Richard before upending Romulus, 48-32.

  "Former Wolfpack wrestler Mike Wallace wrestled tough on the day, and we were happy to see him doing well even though he was in a different singlet," noted Vasiloff.

  With first place wrapped up, the Wolfpack fell behind host Gibraltar Carlson, 22-0, before they stormed back behind the efforts of the "Big 3" -- Dimitrus Renfroe, Dylan Korzetki and Chris Bowie, to close the gap to 22-18.

  "Pablo Flores fought off his back to save the team a point," Vasiloff said. "Darryl Ison and Cody Allen also kept their matches close."

  The pivotal performances for the 'Pack came from three second-year athletes: Devon Adams, who pinned his opponent after reversing off his back; Kyle Szalai, who won 3-2, closing the Wolfpack's deficit to 34-33 heading into the final match; and second-year senior Anwar Oliver, who pinned his opponent in the third period to secure the team's 39-34 victory.

  Wayne improved to 13-3 overall.

  "Because of the great attitude all season, hard work ethic and natural leadership ability, Anwar was named the captain of the tournament," said Vasiloff. "Congrats go to Anwar and all of the wrestlers for pulling out a victory and an even bigger congrats to Carlson and their coaches and wrestlers. Thank you for a great dual, a great tournament and for teaching us a lesson."