Macomb Township

Dakota wrestling team having solid season

By Jason Carmel Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Macomb Dakota High wrestlers Jared Wilkes, left, Alex Bozonovski, Josh Burnham and Jake Johnson listen to instructions during an early season practice. The Cougars went 7-0 in the Macomb Area Conference White Division this season to win the division crown. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Macomb Dakota High wrestlers Jared Wilkes, left, Alex Bozonovski, Josh Burnham and Jake Johnson listen to instructions during an early season practice. The Cougars went 7-0 in the Macomb Area Conference White Division this season to win the division crown.

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — The Macomb Dakota High wrestling team has exhibited as much mental strength as it has physical muscle, according to assistant coach Scott Kreitzbender.

With head coach Bill Witgen in and out of practice since the start of the new year with a health issue, some teams may have been lost without their leader, but not the Cougars, Kreitzbender said. Dakota stayed strong, going undefeated (7-0) in winning the Macomb Area Conference White Division title.

“We’ve all just tried to step up and do our best because we want to win for (Witgen),” senior 152-pounder Jared Wilkes said of the four-year coach.

“Not having him here full time has been a little different, but I think we’ve responded well, and our other coaches have been great.”

Talent and depth have played a role in the Cougars’ success, too, according to Kreitzbender. The team didn’t allow more than 20 points in any MAC White match, he said.

Dakota, 17-5 at press time, has so much depth that it has employed two separate varsity squads, which prior to the start of the season Witgen said he might implement.

The “A” group takes on high-level competition, while the “B” team, according to the Dakota coach, faces mid-level competition. In a 12-team meet held at Dakota earlier this season, the A team took first place, while the B squad finished fifth, according to Kreitzbender.

“It makes for some really interesting practices, because the B guys want to take spots on the A team, and the guys on the first team don’t want to lose their slot,” Kreitzbender said, adding that only one team will participate in postseason matches.

Sophomore 160-pound grappler Josh Burnham said practices are intense, and at this point in the season, they mostly consist of tightening up approaches and fixing mistakes.

“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I expect us to win every match we’re in,” Wilkes said. “We always do what we have to do when we need to. I don’t think any other team should ever beat us.”

That confidence is shared by Witgen, who at the start of the season said this year’s team should be a state qualifier.

As the four-year coach hasn’t been around as much as he or his team would like, accomplishing that goal would be even better for the Cougars, Burnham said.

“We want to do it for coach to show him we stayed strong,” he said. “It’d be really big for the school too, for us to make a run at a state title. We want that really badly.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jason Carmel Davis at jdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1107.