‘Survive and advance’
Clarkston plays it safe, locks up 15th straight district title
The motto for most athletic teams in March is “survive and advance.”
In the 2021 postseason, with a number of prep sports teams already losing their postseason to COVID-19 protocols, that motto is taking on even greater meaning.
On Wednesday, in a Division 1 district championship match with Waterford Kettering, Clarkston coach Brian Gibbs decided not to take any unnecessary risks once he knew his team had locked up a 15th consecutive district title.
After Grady Castle earned a second-round pinfall victory at 160 pounds in the final with the Captains, the Wolves took a 3415 lead with five weights remaining.
Knowing Kettering didn’t have a 103-pounder, the Wolves had mathematically locked up the match.
Clarkston would elect to void the next four weights to trail 3934, but then a void victory at 103 pounds for Brady Vogt gave the Wolves a 40-39 victory.
“With the season we are having and the recent outbreaks in the schools, we are trying to play it as safe as possible,” Gibbs said of the strategy. “Any other year we’d wrestle everybody and let them get their matches at the district meet, but with everything that’s going on and the individual tournaments on Saturday, we have to be as smart as possible.”
Many districts around the state were impacted this week by teams not being able to compete. A district at Stoney Creek
saw all but the host Cougars have to pull out, giving Stoney Creek a district title without having to compete in a match.
“The anxiety of our kids not getting a chance (to compete) far outweighs the anxiety of a regular dual win or loss,” Gibbs said. “With a kid getting knocked out when they aren’t sick, just by being somebody (in close contact) and not being able to wrestle, that far outweighs the anxiety we have for a win or a loss.”
The Wolves defeated Troy 48-25 in the semifinals on Wednesday, while Kettering ran through Waterford Mott 66-4.
In the finals, Kettering took the first two bouts, as Aidan Clancy scored a firstround pin at 112 pounds, while Justin Corcoran earned a 7-0 victory at 119 pounds to put the Captains up 9-0.
Despite the loss at 112, Gibbs was happy with the fight out of Darian Shelton.
“Darian Shelton fighting against a pretty tough kid and only giving up a regular decision at 119, that kind of started it off for us,” he said.
Clarkston won by void at 125 and then followed it up with a second-round pin by Ashton Anderson at 130 pounds. It was his 151st-career victory, as he earned the milestone 150th win against Troy in the semifinal.
“Ashton Anderson and Grady Castle came up huge for us with the falls, as they have been doing all year,” Gibbs said.
Kettering’s Jacob Postle got a first-round pin at 135 pounds to give the Captains at 15-12 advantage, but Clarkston answered with four straight wins.
Gabe Gipe won by pinfall in the first round at 140 pounds, while Ethan Lefevre scored a 19-10 decision at 145.
Logan Miracle got a pinfall in the third round at 152 pounds, while Castle closed things out with his secondround pin.
Clarkston advances to next week’s Division 1 regional on Wednesday, where it will face Stoney Creek in the regional semifinal. The Wolves will be looking to advance to the state quarterfinals for the third consecutive season.
On Saturday, the Wolves will compete in the individual district tournament at Kettering.
“At the end of the year, I’ll be thankful that we got through it,” Gibbs said of the challenging season. “It’s just a day-by-day basis right now, for every individual and the team. We just have to take it day by day.”