By Mark Blentlinger
Schoolcraft’s Riley Cochran and Nolan Strake didn’t come out on top at early-March state wrestling championship matches in Detroit. But they put up good fights.
Cochran in the 160-lb weight class was matched with Shenard Foster of Detroit Loyola, last season’s state runner-up. At the end of period one, the score was 2-1 with Foster leading. Foster held the lead 4-2 in the second period. When it was over, Foster topped Cochran 9-3 and later became the 2022 state champion.
In the 171-lb class, Nolan Strake faced Noah Entyre of Lutheran Westland, who finished the weekend as the Division 4 state runner-up in the class. At the end of period one, Strake was in the hole, 0-6. He fell in the 2nd period and with Cochran headed into the consolation rounds.
There, Cochran faced Brice Stanley of Carson City-Crystal. On an adjacent mat, Nolan Strake wrestled Noah Reisner of Ithaca.
Cochran pinned his opponent with 1:21 left in period 2 advancing onto the “blood round”.
After the first period of Strake’s match, the score was 0-0. By the third period, Strake was down by 1, 2-1 needed to continue on. He went into a tie breaker where he advanced by winning, 13- 5.
That “blood round” was next. Winners would return Saturday to wrestle for a spot on the finalists’ podium. Losers would come back on Saturday as a spectator.
For the second time in the day both Strake and Cochran wrestled at the same time on adjacent mats. Strake faced Garett Pope of Manchester; Riley wrestled Matt Riehle of Springport. Strake was tied at 2 in the beginning of period 3 and lost a hard-fought match 4-3. Cochran lost 12-5.
The championships at Detroit’s Ford Field included a first: The girls competed in their own division. It included 215 girls in 14 weight classes from 100 to 255 pounds.