NO SHORTCUTS
Eisenhower senior reaps rewards after finding ways to train despite pandemic
Justin Labon knows how important work in the weight room is for success in wrestling.
That’s why even in an abbreviated high school season, the Eisenhower senior didn’t take any shortcuts in his weight training. He did whatever he could when the gyms were closed during the summer and fall, although his workout routine wasn’t the same.
“It definitely changed,” said Labon, who won three times Wednesday at 189 pounds to help the Eagles sweep their three matches in the Macomb Area Conference Blue Division quad meet at Roseville. “Things you normally do, like go to the gym, you couldn’t do.
“You had to find work whenever you could. When the opportunity came, you had to take it. You might have to come in on a Sunday, or come in at night, or come in at 6 a.m. It’s all about getting the offseason work in that pays off during the season.”
Eisenhower opened with a 49-41 win against a solid Lakeview team. The Eagles defeated a shorthanded Cousino squad 4227 and finished the day with a 51-18 victory against Roseville.
“The team did good. That’s the most important thing,” Labon said. “We went 3-0, which is what we wanted to do coming in.”
Labon finished his day by pinning Roseville’s Eddie Little in 2:13.
“I was just looking for my openings, taking it slow,” Labon said. “He’s a big kid, strong and hard to move. I took it slow, changed up my high and low. He was shorter than me. That’s not what I’m used to, but when I got my opening, I took it.”
Eagles coach David Drath was pleased with the overall effort of his team.
“I thought we wrestled really well in a lot of places, especially in that last match,” he said.
Drath had special praise for Labon and freshman Devin Steele, who got a pin with 14 seconds remaining in his 215-pound match against Roseville.
“(Labon) lives in the weight room,” Drath said. “I think he saw in a couple of his matches tonight that all that lifting paid off. Devin Steele weighs 190 and he gave up some weight but still wrestled hard and when the time came he took advantage of it.”
This hasn’t been a typical season for any team. Eisenhower seems to be coping as well as anyone.
“I’m really happy with our numbers,” Drath said. “We have 25 kids. We have a talented freshman class and good senior leadership. With all the other stuff out of the way — masks, COVID tests — I’m pretty happy. Normally, we’re at the state meet this weekend but we’re still two weeks away from districts.
“I’ve always talked about the wrestling season being too long and that it should be shortened. It’s a little too short now. We just started conditioning on Jan. 15.”
Lakeview won two of its three matches, defeating Roseville 4130 and beating Cousino 50-30.
“These guys are coming along,” said Huskies coach Steve Nicholl. “We always talk about the season as a long run,
like a marathon. This year, we’re talking about a sprint. We’re running out of time. We have 21/2 weeks until the state tournament. We’ll see if we get all the pieces to our puzzle back. Maybe we can make another run at districts.”
Nicholl praised several of his wrestlers for their performances Wednesday.
“Ken Soderberg (215) wrestled well,” Nicholl said. “The kid he beat (Little) is good. Ken’s only a two-year wrestler. Cian Abion (140) is very good on his feet. Shamar (Askin) always wrestles well and he’s got a little cockiness, which is good. Frank Cecevic and Matt Horak did a good job. Matt got a whipping the first match (against Eisenhower) and bounced back. As a group we did pretty well.”
Drath’s biggest concern coming into the meet was Lakeview.
“Lakeview is solid,” he said. “A couple of their guys at 152 and 160 were hurt. That could have made a difference. They worried us coming into the meet.”
Roseville defeated Cousino 36-27. The Patriots held a 27-18 lead after Josh Noble’s 7-3 win at 171, but Cousino forfeited the last three matches. Josh Specker had a solid day for Roseville, winning two of his three matches.
Eisenhower 49, Lakeview 41
103 pounds: Ian Guisinger, E, pinned Jameson Stegman, L, :36. 112: Anna Pontzious, E, won on void. 119: Sam Agnello, E, won on void. 125: Sebastian Prisbe, E, pinned Max Mowrey, L, :50. 130: Reese Willing, E, tech. fall Matthew Horak, L, 15-0 135: Frank Cacevic, L, pinned Aaron Jeremias, E, 1:00. 140: Cian Abion, L, pinned Owen Weingartz, E, 1:50. 145: Dylan Castle, L, won on void. 152: Shamar Askin, L, pinned Luke Reiter, E, 1:50. 160: David VanDaele, E, won on void. 171: Logan Arche, E, won on void. 189: Justin Labon, E, pinned Hayden Granger, L, 1:00. 215: Ken Soderberg, L, pinned Lorenzo Moceri, E, 3:00. 285: R.J. Hancock, L, won on void. (Match started at 103).
Eisenhower 42, Cousino 27
112 pounds: Donovan Kelley, C, pinned Anna Pontzious, E, 1:56. 119: Sam Agnello, E, pinned Billy Taylor, C, :50. 125: Sebastian Prisbe, E, won on void. 130: Aaron Jeremias, E, won on void. 135: Ayden Brady, C, dec. Reese Willing, E, 1-0. 140: Brendan Buccilli, C, dec. Owen Weingartz, E, 5-0. 145: Ronny Yako, C, won on void. 152: Klay O’Connell, C, pinned Luke Reiter, E, :34. 160: Logan Forsythe, C, dec. David VanDaele, E, 8-6. 171: Logan Arche, E, won on void. 189: Justin Labon, E, won on void. 215: Lorenzo Moceri, E, won on void. 285: Both teams void. 103: Ian Guisinger, E, won on void. (Match started at 112.)
Eisenhower 51, Roseville 18
119 pounds: Sam Agnello, E, pinned Austin Smith, R, 1:25. 125: Sebastian Prisbe, E, pinned Eddie Purnell, R, 1:05. 130: Reese Willing, E, pinned Nathan Payne, R, :49. 135: Aaron Jeremias, E, dec. Theo Warrick, R, 4-1. 140: Josh Specker, R, dec. Owen Weingartz, E, 5-0. 145: Jeremiah Bell, R, won on void. 152: Luke Reiter, E, won on void. 160: Jaylen Ayres, R, dec. David VanDaele, E, 10-5. 171: Logan Arche, E, pinned Bryan Gysel, R, 3:56. 189: Justin Labon, E, pinned Eddie Little, R, 2:13. 215: Devin Steele, E, pinned Malvin Taylor, R, 5:46. 285: Dezzmon Meriweather, R, won on void. 103: Ian Guisinger, E, won on void. 112: Anna Pontzious, E, won on void. (Match started at 119.)
Lakeview 41, Roseville 30
112 pounds: Noah Clements, R, won on void. 119: Austin Smith, R, won on void. 125: Max Mowrey, L, pinned Eddie Purnell, R, 1:59. 130: Matthew Horak, L, tech. fall Nathan Payne, R, 15-0. 135: Frank Cacevic, L, pinned Theo Warrick, R, 3:00. 140: Cian Abion, L, dec. Josh Specker, R, 8-3. 145: Jeremiah Bell, R, pinned Dylan Castle, L, 1:48. 152: Shamar Askin, L, won on void. 160: Both teams void. 171: Jaylen Ayres, R, won on void. 189: Hayden Granger, L, pinned Bryan Gysel, R, 1:00. 215: Ken Soderberg, L, dec. Eddie Little, R, 5-4. 285: Dezzmon Meriweather, R, pinned R.J. Hancock, L, :30. 103: Jameson Stegman, L, won on void. (Match started at 112.)
Lakeview 50, Cousino 30
119 pounds: Billy Taylor, C, won on void. 125: Max Mowrey, L, won on void. 130: Matthew Horak, L, won on void. 135: Ayden Brady, C, won on void. 140: Frank Cacevic, L, maj. dec. Brendan Buccilli, C, 102. 145: Cian Abion, L, maj. dec. Ronny Yako, C, 189. 152: Shamar Askin, L, pinned Klay O’Connell, C, 3:00. 160: Logan Forsythe, C, won on void. 171: Josh Noble, C, won on void. 189: Hayden Granger, L, won on void. 215: Ken Soderberg, L, won on void. 285: R.J. Hancock, L, won on void. 103: Jameson Stegman, L, won on void. 112: Donovan Kelley, C, won on void. (Match started at 119).
Roseville 36, Cousino 27
103 pounds: Both teams void. 112: Donovan Kelley, C, won on void. 119: Austin Smith, R, dec. Billy Taylor, C, 8-5. 125: Both teams void. 130: Eddie Purnell, R, won on void. 135: Ayden Brady, C, pinned Theo Warrick, R, 3:22. 140: Josh Specker, R, dec. Brendan Buccilli, C, 1-0. 145: Ronny Yoko, C, pinned Jeremiah Bell, R, 5:50. 152: Klay O’Connell, C, won on void. 160: Jaylen Ayres, R, pinned Logan Forsythe, C, 5:50. 171: Josh Noble, C, dec. Bryan Gysel, R, 7-3. 189: Eddie Little, R. won on void. 215: Malvin Taylor, R, won on void. 285: Dezzmon Meriweather, R, won
on void. (Match started at 103.)
GIRLS BASKETBALL
L’Anse Creuse 39, Romeo 27
Jaycie LaValley scored 13 points and had seven rebounds as L’Anse Creuse gave coach Lisa Downey her 200th career. Senior Rylee Thomas scored 11 points and had three assists; Hannah Roberts scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds and junior Talia Krause did all the “blue collar” work, Downey said, with 10 rebounds and six steals in the MAC Blue Division game. L’Anse Creuse is 5-2 in the Blue.
Utica 43, Stevenson 14
Lina Rea scored 16 points and had nine rebounds and six assists to lead Utica. Ava Hallam added 10 points as Utica improved to 3-4 in the MAC White and 3-5 overall. Sydney Hewer scored six points for Stevenson (07, 0-8).
L’Anse Creuse North 57, Romeo 27
Brooke Daniels scored 18 points and Olivia Chadwick 10 for MAC White leader L’Anse Creuse North.
Anchor Bay 45, Ford 32
Genevieve Decker scored 13 points and Lily Black 12 for Anchor Bay. Payton Lee had nine points and seven rebounds and Taylor Wolfe had six points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Grosse Pointe North 44, Eisenhower 25
Maddie Kohler scored 11 points and Sophia Borowski 10 as Grosse Pointe North improved to 6-1 in the MAC Red and 7-2 overall. Annabel Ayrault had nine points and Kohler had six assists and three steals. Eisenhower’s Lauren Lutz scored six points. The Eagles are 3-4 and 4-5.
Lakeview 51, Lake Shore 21
Lakeview’s Ari Wlodeck scored 19 points and had 13 rebounds, Kayla Austin scored 10 points and had 10 assists, and Tricia Sankiewicz had 10 points and 10 rebounds as the three seniors had double-doubles on Senior Night. Krista Ridgeway scored seven points and had a school-record 13 steals. Sydney VanderHaegen led Lake Shore with 12 points.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Armada 50, North Branch 29
Josh Bowman had eight points to lead 10 Armada players into the scoring column and the Tigers improved to 6-1 in the BWAC. Armada outscored the Broncos 19-10 in the third quarter. “Kaleb Sutton, Easton Vyt, Jadon Hill, and Andrew Sniesak all had great contributions,” Armada coach Mike Becker said. The Tigers play at Richmond on Friday.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. » Diamondbacks left-hander Caleb Smith was reflecting on Tuesday’s first spring training start when he talked about a valuable lesson he learned when facing the San Diego Padres.
“Don’t throw Tatis a fastball,” he said with a chuckle.
After Smith grooved a fastball, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grand slam deep over the left-center wall for his first homer of the spring. The 22-year-old hit the ball so hard that Arizona’s outfielders barely moved and the ball landed among the fans sitting on blankets at Salt River Fields.
Here are a few other players who were impressive during the first week of exhibition action.
RHP Merrill Kelly, Diamondbacks
Kelly gave up two runs in two innings during his first outing but his stuff looked good, and five of the six outs he recorded were strikeouts. It was an encouraging sign for the 32-yearold, who looked like one of the better pitchers in the National League early in 2020 before a blood clot was found in his shoulder and his season ended. Kelly had thoracic outlet surgery to dissolve the clot. The procedure involved the removal of a rib.
1B/3B Bobby Dalbec, Red Sox
The 25-year-old corner infielder has three homers in his first nine spring atbats, which has raised expectations even more for his 2021 season. The 6-foot4, 227-pounder had an impressive debut for the disappointing Red Sox in 2020, batting .263 with eight homers in just 80 at-bats.
C Gary Sanchez, Yankees
The 28-year-old is trying to bounce back from a miserable 2020 season when he batted just .147 with a .253 on-base percentage. He hit two homers in his first five spring at-bats, raising hopes that the two-time AllStar will return to his 2019 form when he hit a careerhigh 34 homers.
3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates
The Pittsburgh prospect was excellent in his first big league action last season, batting .376 with five homers in 85 at-bats. Now the Pirates are hopeful he can be one of the cornerstones of this season’s lineup. He’s off to a good start in spring training this week with three hits, including two doubles, in his first seven at-bats.
RHP Trevor Bauer, Dodgers
The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner for the Cincinnati Reds joined the Dodgers during the offseason, making the defending World Series champions even more formidable heading into 2021. In his first outing for L.A., he struck out two batters over two scoreless innings and gave up just one hit.