BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS – If there’s one trait regarding Rochester Adams wrestling, it’s the Highlanders don’t go down without a fight.
“That’s something that my old coach, Pat Milkovich, instilled in us,” said Current Adams coach Mike Holtz, who is in his 10th season with the Highlanders. “We’ll get out there on the mats and battle you until the end.”
Adams finished a respectable 19-8 in the 2015-16 season and that included a top-10 finish at the Oakland County meet, a fourth-place showing in the depth-laden OAA Red Division and a Division 1 district championship for the second straight year and third in six campaigns.
So far this season the Highlanders are 2-2 overall and claimed ninth out of over 40 teams at the Oakland County Championships in mid-December.
“From (seventh) to 12th place at the county meet, there was less than (30 points). I guess that just shows the depth of wrestling inside Oakland County,” noted Holtz. “I thought we’d be in the top 10. I was hoping for a few slots higher, but I’ll take ninth against that competition. There’s so many good teams in this area.”
The Highlanders graduated two state qualifiers (Sam Addy and Jake Anderson) and two more regional qualifiers (Dylan Howcrowft and Tony Tuscan) but will have plenty of talent to remain as one of the area’s top programs this winter.
“We have a large senior class but not a lot of experience in that class. Some of those guys are first year starters,” offered Holtz. “But we have a strong sophomore class and we have 23 freshmen on the roster. That is very good for our future. And we have 41 guys on our team right now — the most we’ve had here in a long, long time.”
Senior Varun Mangal (112), junior Anuj Mangal (119), senior Charles Zhou (130), senior Louis Eble (152) and junior Brendon Gibbons (140) are back to lead this unit. Sophomore Brady Vibert Jr. (103), junior Cade Rusinak (145) and seniors Matthew Boileau (160) and Jack Buchanan (171) also have some experience as starters.
Freshman Shawn Saplen (112, 119), sophomores Joseph Eble (125), Jack Dunn (135) and Reed Vogt (189, 215), seniors Jake Golding (189) and Hunter Lee (215, 285) will also see time in the lineup.
“We don’t have a heavyweight right now because of a (football injury) to the guy we’ve had there last season. But we do have some depth in certain weight classes and we have the (mobility) to move people around, bump people up,” said Holtz. “I like that we do have some depth and a lot of young guys who could emerge.”