Four Anchor Bay Wrestlers Qualify For State Finals

HARRISON TOWNSHIP – Anchor Bay High School junior John Bourcier finished a takedown short of a regional championship on Saturday.

Bourcier lost a 3-1 decision to Chippewa Valley senior Greg Dolland in the finals of the 160-pound weight class.

The pair wrestled on two previous occasions and Bourcier won both matches by a single point.

In a rematch on Saturday, the stakes were raised when they faced each other with a regional title on the line.

“It feels great to come out victorious when it counts,” Dolland said, smiling.

Bourcier scored a point in the first round getting back to neutral. In the second round, Dolland was relentless. He went for a takedown again and again until he finally broke through with 21 seconds left in the round.

“I just had to get that takedown,” Dolland said.

His aggressiveness nearly backfired when Bourcier flipped him over after the takedown. If there had been 10 more seconds on the clock, Bourcier might have scored two points himself. Time ran out and Dolland’s takedown was the only one of the match.

Since the top four wrestlers in each weight class qualified for the finals, Bourcier's season isn’t over yet. He’ll wrestle in the state finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills along with teammates Eric Rybarz (135), John Yank (152) and Zack VanOverbeke (215). All three won the consolation brackets in their weight classes.

Tough Competition

The L’Anse Creuse regional wasn’t lacking in top competition.

“There’s not a bad wrestler here; this is a really tough site,” Rochester High School coach Frank Lafferty said. “It might be one of the toughest (sites) in the state.”

It makes what his team and Oxford accomplished all the more impressive. The schools won more than half of the regional titles up for grabs on Saturday.

All six Falcons wrestlers made it to the regional finals in their respective weight classes. Rochester was only a takedown away from bringing home six regional championships. 

Kaelan Richards (135), Dean Vettesse (140), Aaron Morgan (145), Justin Kim (103) and Shwan Shadaia (189) all won regional titles.

In overtime, Falcons senior Cody DeVoe lost in the championship match to Utica Eisenhower’s Charlie Myers in a 3-2 decision. The 171-pound finals bout was probably the closest match of the night.

“Great day, great day, better than we expected,” Lafferty said.  “Best we’ve ever done.”

Oxford brought 11 wrestlers to the Division 1 regional and all of them are headed to the state finals. It won four regional championships.

The two undefeated wrestlers in the regional stayed that way. Oxford senior Prescott Line (42-0) won the 215-pound bracket and Stoney Creek senior Nick Gajdzik won the heavyweight division (285).

Last year in the state finals, Line and Gajdzik wrestled for the championship in 215-pound bracket.

Gajdzik moved up a weight class this year and they avoided each other in the regionals. Gajdzik’s teammate Serge Andreou wasn’t so lucky. Line pinned Andreou (1:47) in the regional finals.

Wrestling Regionals Coverage

• Four Anchor Bay Wrestlers Qualify For State Finals
• Berkley Eliminated From State Individual Wrestling Regionals
• Grosse Pointe North’s Patrick Salazar Wins Wrestling Regional Title
• No Luck For Groves Wrestlers At Individual Wrestling Regionals
• Lakeview’s Aaron Roach Eliminated At Individual Wrestling Regionals
• Lake Orion Wrestler Charlie Highlen Headed To State Finals
• Macomb Dakota and Chippewa Valley Wrestlers Qualify For State Finals
• Banner Day For Rochester At Individual Wrestling Regionals
• Royal Oak Wrestlers' Season Ends at Individual Regionals
• Utica Eisenhower, Ford Wrestlers Qualify for State Finals
• Ferndale's Chevez Farris Wins Regional Title
• Wyandotte Roosevelt's Barwig Qualifies for State Finals
• Saline's O'Sullivan Headed For the Palace