Macomb County, Sterling Heights

Sterling Heights High wrestling squad suffers tough loss to Roseville in regional final

By Jason Carmel Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by David Schreiber Sterling Heights High junior 215-pound grappler Anton Mansour, top, wraps up Roseville’s Carter Langschied in a regional final match. The Stallions fell 43-28 to the Panthers, ending the team portion of their season. Photo by David Schreiber Sterling Heights High junior 215-pound grappler Anton Mansour, top, wraps up Roseville’s Carter Langschied in a regional final match. The Stallions fell 43-28 to the Panthers, ending the team portion of their season.

WARREN — Wrestlers on Sterling Heights High’s 2011-12 squad who return next year will have to wait for another shot at a state final berth after the Stallions fell to Roseville High 43-28 in a regional final Feb. 15 at Warren Cousino.

“Roseville’s a very tough team,” coach Shawn Murray said. “We had some of our guys beat some of theirs last weekend in individual districts, but we just couldn’t get it done today.”

Sterling Heights looked to be in good shape halfway through the match, building a 22-12 lead highlighted by pins in at 119 pounds (Drew Martin) and 152 pounds (Alec Johnson).

The tide turned from there, as the Panthers won six of the last seven matches, recording four pins on their way to a win and a trip to Battle Creek.

“We fought hard,” Murray said after the match. “There were just a couple matches I thought we’d get that we didn’t.”

In the regional semis, Sterling Heights slipped past the University of Detroit Jesuit High School 37-36, while Roseville downed Royal Oak 50-19.

The loss had a strong affect on the Stallions’ grapplers.

Sterling Heights junior 215-pound grappler Anton Masour, who scored a pin in his match, said the setback should serve as motivation for grapplers who plan to return to the Sterling Heights squad next year.

“We just have to work hard and keep the goal of getting to the state finals in our minds, Masour said. “Battle Creek should be the only thing we think about.”

Murray, whose team went 6-1 in winning the Macomb Area Conference Blue Division, said the majority of wrestlers who made up the lineup in the regional final should be back next year. He added he believes his team can make another deep postseason run.

“I think we’ll have some pretty good guys next year,” said Murray, whose team finished 16-6 overall.

“We had a good season winning the MAC Blue. It didn’t end the way we hoped it would, but I’m proud of the way those guys represented Sterling Heights.”

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