Saints Win District Wrestling Title; Eight Athletes Advance to Regionals
By David Latva

Stefan Saffian

The St. Ignace Saints wrestling team won its third consecutive district championship and fifth title during the six-year leadership of Coach Harvey Bentley, earning victories over the Charlevoix Rayders and Rudyard Bulldogs during the District 4 Tournament Thursday, February 14, at Charlevoix.

The Saints defeated the Rayders 58-16 in the opening round and downed the Bulldogs 55-24 for the district title.

"I am pleased with our effort and that we didn't look ahead to the regionals," said Coach Bentley.

The Saints, along with district champions from Boyne City, Gwinn, and Manistique, will compete for the regional crown Wednesday, February 20, at Rogers City, with the winner moving on to the state finals in Battle Creek Friday, February 29, and Saturday, March 1.

Coach Bentley had to make some changes in the lineup as Rob Robinson in the 140-weight class stayed home after suffering from the flu, and he played mix and match with the final weight classes at 171, 189, 215, and heavyweight.

"We needed to make the changes for the upcoming regionals and the move paid off," added Bentley.

Mike McNeely

Senior Derek Marshall, wrestling at 189- and 215-pound weight division, and sophomore John Evashevski (135) went 2-0 with two pins to lead the Saints.

Steffan Saffian (160) and Nate Tamlyn (171-189) went 2-0 with one pin, and Shaun Horn (103), Mike McNeely (112), Brandon Garries (125), and Tyler Oja (152) were 2-0. Dan St. Onge (140) and Billy Grogan (171) went 1-0, and Allan Honeycutt (130 one pin), Shawn Cowell (145) and Andy Tamlyn (215-heavyweight) were 1-1.

Eight Saints Advance to

Regionals;Saffian,

McNeely Finish First

Juniors Steffan Saffian (160) and Mike McNeely (112) finished first in their divisions and were two of eight Saints wrestlers to place at the Division 4 districts in Munising Saturday, February 16.

Saffian completed the day with a 3-0 record, defeating the top wrestler from Iron Mountain. Mc- Neely recorded a 2-0 mark, while Derek Marshall (189) placed second with a 2-1 record that included a 7-6 double overtime setback in the finals to a Rogers City athlete, Rob Robinson (140) at 2-1, John Evashevski (135) 1-1 after a 2-0 defeat in the finals, Brandon Garries (125) 1-1 after a 10-8 setback in the finals.

The St. Ignace Saints 2007-08 wrestling team won the Division 4 Districts at Charlevoix Thursday, February 14, with victories over the host Rayders and Rudyard Bulldogs. Team members include (front, from left) Head Coach Harvey Bentley, statisticians Jessica Bentley, Melissa Brown, Erika Swirsky, Manager Drew Marshall, Assistant Coach Chris Marshall; (second row) Corey Nelson, Kaiden Shiemke, Shaun Horn, Caleb Litzner, Eric Lenoire, Aaron Salvador, William Pechta, Erica Rickley; (third row) Devon Chargo, Allan Honeycutt, Kyle Fulgenzi, Billy Grogan, Brandon Garries, Cody Swagger, Justen Frazier, Rob Sayles; (fourth row) Dan St. Onge, Luke Thurston, Rob Robinson, Tyler Oja, Michael Foster, Stefan Saffian; (top row) Eric Brown, Mike McNeely, John Evashevski, Nate Tamlyn, Shawn Cowell, Derek Marshall, and Andy Tamlyn.

Finishing third were Tyler Oja (152) and Shaun Horn (103) with 3-1 records.

Allan Honeycutt (130) was 2-2 and Andy Tamlyn (215) and Shawn Cowell (145) were 1-2, but did not place and didn't compete in the 171-pound and heavyweight division.

The eight individuals advanced to the Rogers City regionals Saturday, February 23, with the top four wrestlers in each weight class from the regionals advancing to the state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills.

Youth Wrestlers Place at

Grayling

Six area youth wrestlers finished in the top five during the North East Michigan Wrestling Association Tournament Saturday, February 9.

Placing first were Jimmy Spencer, Steven Kymes, and Tyler Spencer, while Dylan Marshall took third, Austin Marshall third, and Elsie Keith fifth.