Lake Orion Wrestler Eliminated at State Finals on Second Day

AUBURN HILLS – Lake Orion High School sophomore Charlie Highlen didn’t reach all-state status in the 125-pound weight class at MHSAA individual wrestling finals over the weekend, but he did win a match.

Last year as a freshman Highlen qualified for the tournament, lost his first two matches and was sent packing.

He came into The Palace of Auburn Hills determined to do better. A win in his

"I was just happy to be here last year I think," Highlen said.

On Friday, he lost to Davison’s Dominic Russ and in the consolation bracket Oxford’s Kyle Hill pinned Highlen in the second round.

Gajdzik Wins Heavyweight Championship

Gajdzik’s run to a state title in the 285-pound weight class was an impressive one.

The Cougars heavyweight, who will be wrestling at Harvard next season, won the championship goal

“He’s (Nick) wrestled some good kids going through districts and regionals, but I think from the beginning of the season if anybody looked at any names they saw Logan Rimmer and Nick Gajdzik,” Stoney Creek coach Jeffery Smart said.

Rimmer proved to be as formidable as Smart predicted.

“That was my toughest match (of the season),” Gajdzik said. “He’s a big guy, but have no doubt he’s a good wrestler, too. He knows how to work the sides, he’s a good heavyweight.”

In the semifinals, over Grand Ledge senior Cory Arnouts.

Gajdzik only hit two takedowns in the match, but one would've been enough.

Arnouts didn't come close to getting Gajdzik down on the mat. Arnouts shouldn't feel that bad; none of Gajdzik's other opponents at the state tournament have either. Detroit Catholic Central junior Bob Coe (285 pound) couldn’t get Gajdzik off his feet in the quarterfinals.

In the first round, Gajdzik picked up his 150th win, a Stoney Creek school record, pinning Traverse City’s Liam Curtis in 40 seconds.

Gutsy Effort Helps Andreou Place Fourth

Smart called Serge Andreou's effort over the weekend "gutsy."

Despite an injured left shoulder, the Cougars senior finished in fourth place in the 215 pound weight class.

"We knew it was hurt," Smart said. "There was talk of going to the doctor, but he didn't want to because he was afraid they would tell him not to wrestle; so he just said I'll wait until after."

In the consolation finals, Temperance Bedford senior Bryan Smith slammed Andreou on his back in the first round and it was obvious he was in a lot of pain.

"I have a minor separation from regionals and then when I got dropped it aggravated it, but I didn't want to be one of those kids that just laid there," he said.

Andreou kept battling until the final whistle. He tied up the match 7-7 with only 13 seconds to go. In the final 10 seconds, Smith scored a point getting back to neutral to win. Andreou thought he had a chance for a takedown, but missed to give Smith the point.

"I thought I could get it with three seconds left," he said.

Adams Wrestlers Come Up Short

Three Rochester Adams wrestlers failed to make it through to Saturday.

Juniors Alex Potoniec and Jack Addy lost their first two matches and were eliminated on Friday morning. Sophomore Justin Schofield picked up a win in the opening round of the consolation bracket, but lost a close 7-6 decision to seventh place finisher Connor McDill to end his season.

Adams coach Mike Holtz was honored before Friday's semifinals for his service to his country. Holtz recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. The Palace crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Complete Patch Coverage

• Thursday's opening round
• Friday's consolation, championship quarterfinals and semifinals
• Saturday's consolation rounds and finals, and championship finals
• Day 3 early action
• Do you have photos to add? We have 150 already; we'd love to have more

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