BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
MT. PLEASANT — Every time that Lake Fenton stepped onto the wrestling mats for a dual meet in 2016-17, the Blue Devils were at a disadvantage.
Lake Fenton had plenty of talent. It’s just that the Blue Devils had to routinely yield points due to voids at two weight classes — sometimes three weight classes.
This occurred in the Blue Devils deep postseason run in the MHSAA Team Wrestling Tournament.
“We automatically gave up 12 points at a lot of meets, sometimes 18,” noted Lake Fenton head coach Vance Corcoran. “That’s rough. But we still had a lot of talent on this team and we were still able to make a run to the state semifinals. We overcame the adversity of having voids.”
Lake Fenton lost in the Division 3 state semifinals to eventual state champion on Feb. 25 at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, 37-23. The Blue Devils had to void out at 103, 119 and 285, spotting Richmond 18 points in the Final Four matchup.
Richmond, which ended up defeating Dundee on eighth criteria in the finals, captured wins in eight of the 14 weight classes against Lake Fenton, but actually only five on the mats.
“I’m still proud of my guys. We had a lot of hammers on this team, studs, that were tough to beat,” said Corcoran, whose team still won two district and two regional matches to get to the team tournament.
Lake Fenton defeated Whitehall, 34-31, in the state quarterfinals despite voiding out two weight classes.
The Blue Devils finished the season with a stellar 34-6 record and had eight individual state qualifiers.