Troy, Warren, Royal Oak

Troy High wrestling wins district crown

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Christian Davis Troy High wrestling celebrates after winning a Division 1 wrestling championship Feb. 6 at home. Photo by Christian Davis Troy High wrestling celebrates after winning a Division 1 wrestling championship Feb. 6 at home.

TROY — Troy High won its Division 1 team wrestling district, beating Warren Mott in the final 39-37 Feb. 6 at home.

The championship didn’t come easy, as the Colts trailed Marauders by as many as 14 points midway through the match.

The Colts responded by winning five of the final seven matches, three of them by pin.

“We had some momentum, and some guys stepped up at the right time,” Troy coach Jon Thomas said. “It’s a great feeling. I’m really proud of the team.”

Troy 103-pounder Kevin Thomas’ victory proved to be the match winner. His first-period pin gave the Colts a 39-37 lead.

“I was going for the pin to clinch the victory,” he said. “I felt I could get it. We haven’t had a victory like this in a long time. We realized we could win it at the end and had motivation.”

Mott coach Gary Skop said his team battled hard.

“We knew it was going to be close, and we had to stay off our backs, but it didn’t happen,” he said.

In the semifinals, Mott beat Royal Oak High 56-15 and Troy beat Troy Athens 42-24.

“The kids wrestled tough,” Athens coach John Keyes said. “It’s a bummer how it turned out the way it did. I wish we didn’t have as many voids.”

Athens voided five matches, giving up 30 points in the process.

Troy now takes on the winner of the Lake Orion High district Feb. 13 at Oxford High in a regional semifinal.

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