Utica, Troy, Rochester, Rochester Hills

Rochester High wrestling wins long awaited regional title

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Christian Davis The Rochester High wrestling team celebrates with its D-1 regional trophy. Photo by Christian Davis The Rochester High wrestling team celebrates with its D-1 regional trophy.

OXFORD — After coming so close so many times, Rochester High wrestling broke through and won the school's first regional title.

The Falcons handled their opponents, beating Utica Eisenhower 66-11 in the Division 1 final Feb. 13 at Oxford High after taking down Troy High 68-10.

"It isn't over, but our goal was to get to Battle Creek (site of the state quarterfinal, semifinals and final) and take it one match at a time," Rochester coach Frank Lafferty said. "The kids worked hard for this."

In the final, Rochester lost only two matches, and one of them was a void. The Falcons recorded 10 pins out of the 14 bouts.

"We definitely couldn't look past these teams, but we're coming together at the right time," Rochester senior captain Kaelan Richards said.

"We were just out-gunned; they are good from top to bottom," Eisenhower coach Ricky Hinchliffe said.

Eisenhower earned a spot in the final after beating Birmingham Seaholm 40-36, getting a pin from Alec Franks at 145 pounds in the final match for the victory.

Up next, Rochester heads to the Kellogg Arena for its quarterfinal at 3:15 p.m. Feb. 22. The Falcons will learn of their opponent Feb. 17 when the remaining teams are seeded.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062. Follow Christian on Twitter.