Eskymos, Braves Wrestle In Final '11 Dual Meet              The Escanaba Eskymos host the Gladstone Braves Thursday in the final dual meet of the regular season, as the post-season looms right around the corner. Escanaba beat Gladstone, 34-33, in an earlier dual meet in a match that included a couple of strategic forfeits by the Eskymos. This match is Parents' Night for the Eskymos. Pictured above are the tems' 103-pounders. At left, Escanaba's Devin Slaga (white), and in the right photo, Dylan Unger (standing, in purple). (Linda Bockman photos)

Five U.P. Wrestlers Win NoMI Titles In Gaylord                         Twenty-nine high school wrestling teams converged on Gaylord Saturday for the Northern Michigan Championships. Rogers City won the team title, while Iron Mountain finished second and Escanaba took fifth place. Individually, five Upper Peninsula wrestlers won individual championships: Gladstone's Dylan Unger (103), Iron Mountain's Ryan Gauthier (112), Escanaba's Garrett Johnson (152), and two St. Ignace wrestlers: Galloway Thurston (171) and Joe Ostman (189). CLICK HERE  to see the final team standings. CLICK HERE  to see the individual results, by weight class. CLICK HERE  to see how all of Escanaba's wrestlers did at the tournament....and to see more Eskymo photos. Pictured above: Garrett Johnson wins the 152-pound title for the second straight year. Pictured left: Dylan Unger battles Matt Elliot of Forest Area Schools. Unger won the match when Elliot was DQ'd for an illegal hit. Pictured below: Gladstone's Jared Syverson and Escanaba's Sherri Berube faced off in Gaylord. (Linda Bockman photos) Northern MI Championship 1. Rogers City 2. Iron Mountain 3. Gaylord 4. Roscommon 5. Escanaba 10. St. Ignace 15. Gladstone 19. Munising Team standings click here . ---- 151 131 121 105 99.5 88.5 58 28 UP Individual Champs 103: Dylan Unger 112: Ryan Gauthier 152: Garrett Johnson 171: Galloway Thurston 189: Joe Ostman Click here  to see all of the individual results (Top 8) by weight class. ---- GLAD IMT ESC STIG STIG

48-24: Ray Mariucci Trophy Stays In Escanaba!  The Escanaba Eskymos secured the Ray Mariucci Trophy for the second straight year Tuesday night after beating the Iron Mountain Mountaineers, 48-24, at the Escanaba High School Gym. Chris Lynch, Devin Slaga, Zach Priebe, Jared Maycunich, and Jake Steinhausen all had pins for Escanaba. Escanaba also beat Menominee 50-25 Tuesday night. The Eskymos have to wait until the U.P. Wrestling Coaches cast their ballots for Team of the Year before getting their trophy. Pictured above: Eskymo senior Garrett Johnson during a match last Saturday at the U.P. Finals. Johnson beat Iron Mountain's Adam Gerhard, 5-1, Tuesday.

Escanaba Repeats As Upper Peninsula Champs                     The Escanaba Eskymos got five wrestlers into the final round and captured two individual championships on the way to winning the Upper Peninsula Wrestling Finals Saturday night in Marquette. The Eskymos led Marquette by six points entering the final match, and heavyweight Kyle Lajoie pinned his opponent to clinch the title for Escanaba. Freshman Travis Heller also won a U.P. title for the Eskymos, beating Iron Mountain's Cameron Jones on an 8-7 decision. "It was an exciting day," Eskymo Wrestling Coach Jamie Segorski said. "Kyle really put it to him. He was dominant in his match. And Travis is one of the best freshmen we have ever had in Escanaba. He has a great awareness on the mat." Escanaba's Devin Slaga, Garrett Johnson and Jared Maycunich also made the finals, but lost. The trophy is named after former Eskymo Coach Terry DuVall. "Terry and I were together since 1986 when I wrestled for him," Segorski said. "I coached with him. All the time we spent together, all the miles on the bus. Any trophy named after him is one that I want in my trophy case."                     Top photo: Eskymo freshman Travis Heller gets a huge win over Iron Mountain's Cameron Jones. Bottom photo: Eskymo heavyweight Kyle Lajoie beats Marquette's Alex Urbiha to clinch the U.P. title for Escanaba. (Linda Bockman photos)                   GLADSTONE HAS A U.P. CHAMPION---Gladstone Braves freshman Dylan Unger won the Upper Peninsula championship in the 103 pound weight class. Unger beat Escanaba's Devin Slaga, 12-5, in the final. Earlier, he pinned Iron Mountain's David Jones, and beat St. Ignace's Bill Bentgen, 7-1. Gladstone's Josh Kadish was second, and the Braves had three wrestlers finish third: Mike Damitz (140), Jake Wydra (145) and Brandon Gagnon (152). The Braves finished fourth in the team standings. CLICK HERE  to see all of the team and individual results from the U.P. Finals. (Eric Thompson photo. His web site ) 2011 UPPER PENINSULA FINALS TEAM RESULTS Upper Peninsula Finals 1. Escanaba 2. Marquette 3. Iron Mountain 4. Gladstone 5. St. Ignace 6. Menominee 7. Sault Ste. Marie 8. Kingsford ---- 203 191 168 165 152 115 82 77 9. Ishpeming 10. Norway 11. Newberry 12. Munising 13. Negaunee 14. West Iron County 15. Manistique 16. Rudyard 17. Gwinn 70 63 56 55 40 32 32 24 17 Upper Peninsula Finals Individual Champions: 103: Dylan Unger (Gladstone) def. Devin Slaga (Escanaba), 12-5. 112: Jarrett Sadler (Munising) def. Stephen Theuerkauf (Menominee), 2-0. 119: Ryan Gauthier (Iron Mtn) def. Nick Theuerkauf (Menominee), 7-1. 125: Travis Heller (Escanaba) def. Cameron Jones (Iron Mountain), 8-7. 130: Chris Briar (Menominee) def. Jim Ritzenhein (Iron Mountain), 11-7. 135: Chase Gendron (Iron Mountain) def. Josh Kadish (Gladstone), 11-1. 140: Dylan Carr (Iron Mountain) def. Jared Maycunich (Escanaba), 5-0. 145: Lou Radecki (St. Ignace) def. Matt Gonzalez (Manistique), 10-6. 152: Jonathon Coates (Norway) def. Garrett Johnson (Escanaba), pin 5:51 160: Derek Willey (Ishpeming) def. Chad Mesnard (Rudyard), on DQ. 171: Galloway Thurston (St. Ignace) def. Jacob Gerdt (Menominee), 11-2 189: Joe Ostman (St. Ignace) def. Derek Granger (Newbrry), pin 5:41 215: Dylan Mahler (Marquette) def. Billy Burkland (Norway), 4-0. Hvy: Kyle Lajoie (Escanaba) def. Alex Urbiha (Marquette), pin 4:43 Other Upper Peninsula Finals Top Individuals: 103: Bill Bentgen (St. Ignace) 3rd; Brittany Dunklee (Gwinn) 4th. 112: Jesse Halberg (St. Ignace) 3rd; Sherri Berube (Escanaba) 4th. 119: Richard Bentley (St. Ignace) 3rd; Zach Priebe (Escanaba) 4th. 125: Steven Kymes (Sault Ste. Marie) 3rd; Kolby Houlton (Gladstone) 4th. 130: Jared Erickson (Marquette) 3rd; Michael James (Sault Ste. Marie) 4th. 135: Haran Ellis (Sault Ste. Marie) 3rd; Austin Johnson (Marquette) 4th. 140: Mike Damitz (Gladstone) 3rd; Dylan Taylor (Marquette) 4th. 145: Jake Wydra (Gladstone) 3rd; Sergei Shearer (Marquette) 4th. 152: Brandon Gagnon (Gladstone) 3rd; Adam Gerhard (Iron Mountain) 4th. 160: Curt Calovecchi (Marquette) 3rd; Eddie Terres (Escanaba) 4th. 171: Jeremy DeMitchell (Marquette) 3rd; Brad Deno (Gladstone) 4th. 189: Jake Drage (Escanaba) 3rd; Joe Iwanicki (Marquette) 4th. 215: Chris Lynch (Escanaba) 3rd; Alex Lanthier (Iron Mountain) 4th. Hvy: Kiel Antanasoff (West Iron County) 3rd; Tylor Mills (Gladstone) 4th.

Esky Wrestlers Finish Third At Peshtigo Invite  The Escanaba High School wrestling team finished in third place, and almost squeeked into second spot, at the Peshtigo (Wis.) Invitational Saturday in Wisconsin. The Eskymos were way behind the tournament champions from Oconto Falls, but lost by two points to the host school for second place. Devin Slaga (103 pounds) and Eddie Terres (160) pounds were both individual champions. Travis Heller (125) and Jared Maycunich (140) both finished as runners-up. Also, 215-pounder Chris Lynch and heavyweight Kyle Lajoie were also runners-up. Sherri Berube (112) and Zach Priebe (119) both finished fourth. Pictured: Eskymo Jake Drage finished 5th at 189. RAY MARIUCCI INVITATIONAL: Ten Upper Peninsula wrestling teams showed up in Kingsford on Saturday to take part in the Ray Mariucci Invitational. The team from Milwaukee, Bradley Tech High, won the championship with 224 points. Iron Mountain finished second with 175, and Marquette took third with 157 after getting six wrestlers to the finals. IM's Ryan Gauthier was "Outstanding Wrestler". Gladstone finished fifth.

Eskymo Wrestlers Roll Past Marquette, 48-25                 The Escanaba High School wrestling team built a 33-0 lead and cruised to a 48-25 win over the Marquette Redmen in a dual meet Thursday night. The Redmen put themselves down 12 points right away when they forfeited the frirst two matches. Then pins by Sherri Berube and Zach Priebe, plus a 10-5 win for freshman Travis Heller over Marquette's Jared Erickson helped to build the big lead. Jared Maycuinch, Garrett Johnson, and Kyle LaJoie also picked up pins for the Eskymos. Marquette got pins from Austin Johnson, Dylan Taylor, and Jeremy DeMitchell in a losing effort. Pictured above: Escanaba's Jared Maycunich battles Marquette's Charlie Hubbard. Maycunich won by a pin in 3:14. Below photo: Eskymo freshman Zach Priebe is on top of Marquette's Parker Newhouse. Priebe won by pin in 1:30. (Linda Bockman photos)

#2 Escanaba, #3 Gladstone To Wrestle Tuesday                 The Battle of Delta County on the mats will be held Tuesday night in Gladstone as the second-ranked Escanaba Eskymos face the third-ranked Gladstone Braves in a duel meet. It's the first meeting of the year between the teams, although wrestlers from both teams faced each other in the Elks Invitational this past weekend. Escanaba finished third in that 15-team event while Gladstone took fourth. Tuesday's  match starts at 6:30. (Linda Bockman photos)

Iron Mountain Wrestlers Win Esky Elks Invite                       Fifteen wrestling teams from the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and Lower Michigan competed in the 38th Annual Elks Invitational Saturday in Escanaba. The Iron Mountain Mountaineers took the team championship trophy, while Rogers City finished second. The host Eskymos finished third, and Gladstone was fourth. Pictured above: Escanaba's Eddie Torres (left) battled Florence's Cole Dollar (right) in the championship at 160 pounds. Dollar won the match. Botttom left photo: Escanaba's Garrett Johnson and Iron Mountain's Adam Gerhard in the 152 championship. Johnson won, 5-2. Bottom right photo: Gladstone's heavyweight Tylor Mills (purple) vs West Iron County's Kiel Atanasoff. (Linda Bockman photos)               ESCANABA ELKS INVITATIONAL TEAM RESULTS 1. Iron Mountain 2. Rogers City 3. Escanaba 4. Gladstone 5. Menominee 6. St. Ignace 7. Florence, Wis. 8. Houghton Lake 226 219 210.5 137 131 115 113 81 9. Kingsford 10. West Iron County 11. Norway 12. Negaunee 13. Munising 14. Escanaba JV 15. Manistique 67.5 57.5 56.5 49 41 34 32 Escanaba Elks Invitational Individual Champions: 103: Dylan Unger (Gladstone) def. Devin Slaga (Escanaba), 10-0. 112: Joey Sobeck (Rogers City) def. Stephen Theuerkauf (Menominee), pin 3:26 119: Ryan Gauthier (Iron Mtn) def. Richard Bentley (St. Ignace), 7-0. 125: Cameron Jones (Iron Mtn) def. Travis Heller (Escanaba), pin 5:59 130: Evan Lamb (Rogers City) def. Chris Briar (Menominee), 5-2. 135: Chase Gendron (Iron Mtn) def. Keegan Urban (Rogers City), 5-0. 140: Greg Tulgestke (Rogers City) def. Dylan Carr (Iron Mtn.), 4-0. 145: Daniel Marz (Rogers City) def. Jared Maycunich (Escanaba),  pin 4:40. 152: Garrett Johnson (Escanaba) def. Adam Gerhard (Iron Mtn), 5-2. 160: Cole Dollar (Forence) def. Eddie Torres (Escanaba), pin 4:42. 171: Ethan Lindquist (Iron Mtn.) def. Galloway Thurston (St. Ignace), pin 5:20. 189: Joe Ostman (St. Ignace) def. Caleb Pommerenke (Rogers City), 3-1. 215: Alex Lanthier (Iron Mtn.) def. Billy Burkland (Norway), 2-1. Hvy: Devin Pommerenke (Rogers City) def. Ethan Gerdes (Houghton Lake), pin 1:44 Other Escanaba Elks Invitational Top Finishers 103: Bill Bentgen (St. Ignace) 3rd; Haley Cruz (Menominee) 4th. 112: J.J. Sadler (Munising) 3rd; Sherri Berube (Escanaba) 4th. 119: Nick Theuerkauf (Menominee) 3rd; Zach Priebe (Escanaba) 4th. 125: Travis Fleis (Rogers City) 3rd; James Diercks (Negaunee) 4th. 130: Jim Ritzenhein (Iron Mtn) 3rd; Dakota Foster (Houghton Lake) 4th. 135: Josh Kadish (Gladstone) 3rd; Joe Krause (St. Ignace) 4th. 140: Ethan Brown (Florence) 3rd; Dalton Bailey (Houghton Lake), 4th. 145: Matthew Gonzalez (Manistique) 3rd; Jake Wydra (Gladstone), 4th. 152: Jonathon Coates (Norway) 3rd; Brandon Gagnon (Gladstone), 4th. 160: Chris Walters (Gladstone) 3rd; John Blacyki (West Iron County), 4th. 171: Jacob Gerdt (Menominee) 3rd; Brad Deno (Gladstone), 4th. 189: Tim Steward (Munising) 3rd; David Duncan (Houghton Lake), 4th. 215: Mitch Waters (Florence) 3rd; Chris Lynch (Escanaba), 4th. Hvy: Kyle Lajoie (Escanaba) 3rd; Kiel Atanasoff (West Iron County) 4th.                       Escanaba JV heavyweight Dalton Spear (left) vs Norway's Garrett Thoreson.                       West Iron County's Brenda Brzoznowski (left) battles Escanaba's Sherri Berube.

Escanaba, Gladstone Wrestlers Win Tune-Ups The Escanaba Eskymos and Gladstone Braves both picked up victories Wednesday night as they prepare to compete in the big Elks Invitational this Saturday. The Eskymos beat Ishpeming-Westwood in a dual meet, 56-21, at the Escanaba High School Gym. Jeff Lyle earned his first-ever varsity pin, and Nick Roberts earned his first-ever victory, also a pin. Jake Steinhausen picked up a tough 8-7 win in his match, one that had the Ishpeming team protesting.  Meanwhile, the Braves won twice at a quad meet in Negaunee. Gladstone beat the host Miners, 63-12, then overwhelmed Kingsford, 57-21. The Braves did not face West Iron, the other team at the quad. Pictured at left: Eskymo Travis Heller rests. Pictured below: Eskymo Jared Maycunich is on top of his Ishpeming opponent during Wednesday's dual meet. The Elks Invitational is Saturday in Escanaba.

Eskymo Wrestlers Fall To Powerhouse Coleman                 The Escanaba Eskymos wrestling team competed Tuesday night in Coleman, Wis., against the defending Wisconsin state champions. The Eskymos lost the dual meet to the Cougars, 52-12. These pictures are courtesy of Holly Bockman. The top photo is Eskymo heavyweight Kyle LaJoie in action. Lajoie won his match by a pin. The bottom left photo shows Travis Heller, who also pinned his opponent. The bottom right photo shows Jared Maycunich. The team is off until after the holiday break.

Esky Wrestlers Finish 3-2 In Sheboygan Falls                   The weather was lousy in Wisconsin Saturday, but the Escanaba High School wrestling team made the trip anyway to a tournament in Sheboygan Falls. The Eskymos won their first three dual meets before dropping the last two. The boys beat Nicolet (63-21), South Milwaukee (51-28), and St. Catherines (63-18). They then lost to Sheboygan Falls 44-28 and lost to Ozeukee, 39-36. Three Eskymos went 5-0 and finished first in their weight classes: Garrett Johnson, Kyle Lajoie, and Zach Priebe. Pictured above: Esky's Eddie Terres has his opponent down for the count in a recent match against Negaunee. Below right: Jake Steinhausen gets set. Below left: Jared Maycunich is on top in his match. (Holly Bockman photos)

THURSDAY DEC 9: HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING Gladstone Marquette Gladstone Iron Mountain 40 36 27 38 Escanaba Negaunee Iron Mountain Marquette 65 15 45 27 Dec. 4: Eskymos Open Strong In Rogers City The Escanaba High School wrestling team won four dual meets in a season-opening tournament downstate in Rogers City Saturday, before losing to the host Hurons in the championship match, 39-37. Escanaba had four wrestlers who won all five of their i