Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
GRAND HAVEN, MI – Shayne Wireman knows there are 14 other potential suitors for the Division 1 119-pound crown he covets.
But the Holt senior has a serious rivalry with just one.
Wireman and Bedford senior Mitch Rogaliner have been battling on the mat for three years now, and the two appear to be on a collision course to meet at this year’s individual finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills on February 28 through March 1.
“It’s always fun to wrestle him,” Wireman said. “It’s always a tough match because we push each other to be the best. It’s a death match.”
It’s a ‘Death Match’ that started at the 2011 finals, when Wireman beat Rogaliner 2-1 to win the 103-pound state title.
Last year Rogaliner got his revenge, pinning Wireman in the semifinals on his way to a 112-pound state championship. Wireman ended up finishing third.
They’ve already wrestled once this year. “I pinned him at the Holt Invitational, but that was a tough match,” Wireman said. “I always look forward to wrestling him.”
Both wrestlers won regional championships this past weekend and appear set to wrestle in the semifinals again.
Wireman heads to this weekend’s team state finals with a 42-0 record, while Rogaliner is 44-2.
Holt and Bedford both qualified for the team finals but were placed on opposite ends of the bracket, and most likely they will not wrestle against each other.
When, and if, the two meet, Holt coach Rocky Shaft knows that his talented senior will be ready.
“Shayne is a hard-working kid,” Shaft said. “[Losing to Rogaliner in the semifinals last year] should motivate him. He’s a senior, and this his last hurrah. But every wrestler down there wants to finish as high as they can on that podium, so it’s tough.”
The potential Wireman-Rogaliner match is just one of the must-see matches in Auburn Hills.
“I feel like I have more strength, but he has a little more funk,” Wireman said. “I know it’s going to be a tough match if we meet, it will be fun.”