Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
Oscoda senior Donavan Fouchey
Oscoda senior Donavan Fouchey battled through a torn MCL during last year’s individual state wrestling finals. It didn’t stop the Owl from reaching the championship match in the 189-pound weight class. Once there, Fouchey suffered just his second setback of the season to Steven Malloy of Morley Stanwood in a 7-6 decision.
“It was pretty tough, but it has been something that I could learn from,” Fouchey said of the match. “Going into the match, I knew I wasn’t fully healthy; I knew it was going to be tough. I gave it all I had. It was pretty tough, but I knew there was another year left.”
Now, with a healthy knee, Fouchey’s focus returns to the mat, and he has gone 10-1 so far this year.
“I feel like I’m a little rusty and behind pace,” said Fouchey, who has a 147-31 career record. “I’ve got some work to do. I know that I should be the best out of everybody I have to wrestle this year. I feel like I’m ready for that progression, I’m ready to get that done, and I’ll be able to step it up.”
Even though Malloy and Morley Stanwood have fallen to Division Four, Fouchey knows there are still plenty of challengers awaiting him in Division Three.
“I just lost [Dec. 11] to Dalton Bailey from Houghton Lake; he’s a really tough contender,” Fouchey said. “Colin Beebe from Allendale, he’s going to be a tough competitor.”
Oscoda head coach Tony Lopez believes that his senior is ready to take the top of the medal stand.
“He has been preparing for this season since April, training and wrestling all over the country,” he said. “What he is focusing on now is getting better every day to reach his potential… I believe he is going to be one of the best-prepared and -conditioned wrestlers in the state all season long. With that in place, a state title is in his grasp.”
Needless to say, from February 28 to March 2, Fouchey plans on racking up the last wins of his high school career at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
“That’s what I want to do,” Fouchey said of winning an individual state title. “It’s been my goal since I was five years old.”
Whittemore-Prescott sophomore Ryan Prescott
Whittemore-Prescott freshman Ryan Prescott was just seconds away from winning a Division Four 285-pound state championship last year. He led Hesperia’s Brett Martin 3-2 late in the third period of the championship match, only to be called for two stalling calls, one as time expired, to give Martin a 4-3 win.
“It left me hungry,” said Prescott, who finished 38-3 last year. “It was tough to lose, but it left me feeling like I had unfinished business.”
With Martin, who accounted for all of Prescott’s losses, graduating, and Prescott off to a 12-0 start, many see the sophomore as a favorite to win the weight class this time.
“That’s definitely the goal for this year,” Prescott said. “I’m training more often and trying to train when other people aren’t. I feel good about how I’m wrestling right now, but I’ve got to keep training and working hard.”
His coaches are noticing how hard he is working as well.
“He is going to give it his all, and I believe he can come on top this year,” head coach Dan Seefeld said. “He is a talent like no other… He is looked up to by all of the other wrestlers and helps the lightweights with their very different wrestling techniques.
“Ryan wrestles almost year-round, there is no off-season to him,” Seefeld added. “I have known him to leave a Friday night football game and head out to a weekend wrestling tournament out of state.”
Prescott commented on some of the state’s top wrestlers who are vying for the heavyweight crown. “Zach Rieger of Hudson, he placed third last year and should be tough again this year. Joe Ostman [last year’s 215-pound state champion] of St. Ignace, I’m not sure if he’s going 215 or 285 but he should be tough, too.”
Prescott got an early-season test, topping Jake Roza of Gladwin on December 15 in a match that went to double overtime.
“He’s a real tough wrestler,” Prescott said. “It was definitely a great match; it was fun to have a nice tight match like that.”
Even though Prescott is only a sophomore, he isn’t planning on going another year without a state title.
“I want as many as I can get before I’m out of high school,” he said. “That’s the main goal from here on out; being an individual state champion.”