Clinton Township

Chippewa Valley wrestling comes from behind to win district title

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

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Chippewa Valley wrestling captured a Division 1 district championship, thanks to a 36-35 tie-breaker victory against Sterling Heights on the Stallions’ home floor Feb. 6.

After having to void a few matches early on, Chippewa trailed in points to Sterling Heights with three matches remaining. In order for the Big Reds to come away with a district championship, they would have to win each of them, and that is exactly what they did.

Tristen Szajna, Tony Amado and Evan Lockemy each won their matches down the stretch to help give Chippewa its first district title since 2009.

Gary Brundirks, Chippewa’s coach of more than 30 years, was happy to see his team mount a comeback.

“It was real exciting because we were down,” he said. “We had to win the last three matches to even tie it. The last three kids did a great job. Everybody was standing up (and) cheering. Crowd was going wild.”

Brundirks also cited the second match of the contest as a key to Chippewa’s victory. Freshman Jalen Goudelock was trailing his match 7-3 before pinning his opponent, helping to give his team a 12-0 lead going into the third match.

And though Sterling Heights came back to take the lead, Brundirks credits his team for not giving up.

“(A) lot of the kids just kept on wrestling strong and aggressively,” he said. “Everybody had a job to do, and they were doing their job. Fortunately, we came out on top.”

Prior to facing Sterling Heights, Chippewa defeated Utica Ford 40-24 in its district semifinal match.

With its victory, Chippewa advanced to face Warren De La Salle in a regional semifinal match Feb. 13 at Anchor Bay, after press time. Log on to www.candgnews.com and click on the Sports link for the results of the match

In other local action:

Roseville defeated Fraser 42-24 in a district semifinal match Feb. 6.

Macomb Dakota won its district, beating Anchor Bay 30-25 in semifinal action and topping L’Anse Creuse 55-12 in the final. The Lancers beat L’Anse Creuse North 54-17 in their semifinal. The Cougars move on to the Anchor Bay regional to face Grosse Pointe North Feb. 13.

Lutheran North lost to Algonac in its district opener 51-22.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mark Vest at mvest@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112. Follow Mark on Twitter.