Eskymo Wrestlers Celebrate Successful Year                     The Escanaba High School wrestling team poses with all of the trophies they won during the 2009-10 season. The trophies are from the U.P. title, Great Northern Conference title, district championship, as well as the Terry Duval Trophy and the Mariucci Trophy. The team says "thank you" to all of the people who supported them this season. Click here  to read more about the Eskymo wrestling season.

3 Esky Wrestlers Get Wins; But Are Eliminated                   Three Escanaba Eskymo wrestlers competed at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Unfortunately, all three were eliminated Friday. On Thursday, Escanaba's Garrett Johnson won at 152 pounds, beating Randy Gaffney of Linden, 5-3. But on Friday, he lost a heartbreaker in the consolation round, 7-6, to Derek Leal of Holland. Johnson was eliminated later in a second consolation match. Esky's Alex Bockman lost at 189 pounds to Max Henry of Owosso on Thursday, 11-4. Bockman won a consolation match on Friday, 5-0, over Dan Giese of Midland. But Bockman was later pinned in his second consolation match (after suffering a knee injury with 47 seconds left in the match), and was eliminated. Escanaba 140-pounder Tristan Kang lost to Jake Connell of Muskegon Reeths Puffer, 13-2, on Thursday. Kang bounced back to win a consolation match over Alex Davis of Linden on Friday, but Kang was eliminated in his second consolation match.  Click here for Division Two's Thursday results. Click here  for D-2 Friday's quarterfinal results. Click here  for Friday first round consolation results. Click here  for D-2 Friday second round consolation results. Great season for the Eskymos!                       Escanaba's Garrett Johnson battles Dezmond Jones of Highland Park at the Palace.                       Escanaba's Alex Bockman (in white) gets a victory at the Palace. And below, Escanaba's three state qualifiers (in orange) watch the opening ceremonies. (We thank Linda Bockman for the photos all season long)

Three Eskymos Advance To States At Palace Three Escanaba High School wrestlers advanced Saturday to the MHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals, which will be held at the Palace of Auburn Hills in March. At the Division 2 regional in Mt. Pleasant, Eskymo 189-pounder Alex Bockman won the regional championship by pinning Austin Brown of St. John's in 51 seconds.  Escanaba's Garrett Johnson (152) finished third in the region, and Tristan Kang (140) was fourth in his weight class. Kelly Rogers and Jeff Kuepper did not advance to state competition. Click here  to see all of the regional results.

Escanaba Wrestlers Beaten In Regional Finals                     The Escanaba Eskymos advanced to the Division Two wrestling team regional championship match by beating Manistee, 55-24, in the semifinals Wednesday night in Bay City. But in the finals, the Eskymos were eliminated by Greenville, 63-15. Against Manistee, Tyler Beveridge, Kevin Bugay, Tristan Kang, Garrett Johnson, Tristan Kang, Kelly Rogers, Alex Bockman, and Kyle LaJoie all registered pins for the Eskymos. Against Greenville, Johnson pinned his opponent for his 100th career victory. Bockman also beat his opponent, 15-0, and Jeff Kuepper won his match, 12-2. Pictured are the Eskymo seniors and their district championship trophy. From left, Beveridge, Kang, Kuepper, Kevin Bugay, Bockman (in red), and Rogers. The Division Two Individual Regional tournament is this Saturday in Mt. Pleasant.

Five Esky Wrestlers On to Individual Regionals The Michigan High School Athletic Association's Individual Wrestling District Tournament was held on Saturday. In Division Two in Gaylord, Escanaba had five boys advance to regionals: Garrett Johnson, Alex Bockman, Tristan Kang, Kelly Rogers, and Jeff Keupper. Click here to see the full results, round-by-round.

Eskymos Rally Twice To Win Wrestling District                     The Escanaba Eskymos trailed the Petoskey Northmen late in their district semifinal match Thursday night in Escanaba. But they rallied down the stretch to post a 36-30 win, then went on to pound Marquette, 48-27, in the championship match. Against Petoskey, the Northmen led 30-21 when Alex Bockman got a key pin at 189 pounds. Then Jeff Keupper won a 5-2 decision over Jake Kisro (PICTURED ABOVE) to tie the match, leaving it up to heavyweight Kyle LaJoie. LaJoie came through with a pin, giving Escanaba the win. The Eskymos also trailed Marquette, 18-12, before rallying again behind pins from Kevin Bugay, Tristan Kang, and Kelly Rogers. Escanaba advances to the regional tournament next Wednesday at Bay City John Glenn High School. The Eskymos beat Marquette, 48-27, in the championship. Pictured below: Rogers pins his Marquette opponent. Bottom photos: Sheri Berube in a battle against Petoskey, and the Escanaba team poses with its district championship trophy. (Linda Bockman photos)

Eskymo Wrestlers Roll To GNC Championship                     The Escanaba Eskymos won the Great Northern Conference Wrestling Championship Saturday afternoon at the Gladstone High School. The Eskymos had nine individual champions, outpacing second place Marquette and third place Gladstone.                     Escanaba's 119-pounder Tyler Beveridge pins Kingsford's Keaton Parent during the GNC meet in Gladstone. Beveridge was one of nine Esktmo champions Saturday. Below left: Esky heavyweight wrestler Kyle LaJoie and Gladstone's Jake Hadel congratulate each other after LaJoie's win Saturday. Below right: Rachel and Maddie...Esky's team managers...have run during a timeout Saturday. Bottom: Kevin Bugay tangles with Kingsford's Harley Winters at 135 pounds. (Linda Bockman photos)                   Great Northern Conference Meet 1. Escanaba 2. Marquette 3. Gladstone 4. Kingsford 5. Menominee   GNC Individual Champions 103: Robbie Peterman 112: Nick Theuerkauf 119: Tyler Beveridge 125: Jake Wydra 130: Cody Darling 135: Kevin Bugay 140: Tristan Kang 145: Josh Syverson 152: Eddie Terres 160: Garrett Johnson 171: Kelly Rogers 189: Alex Bockman 215: Jeff Keupper Hvy: Kyle LaJoie --- MQT MEN ESC GLAD GLAD ESC ESC GLAD ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC

Escanaba Rolls Past Gladstone In Final Dual                     The Escanaba Eskymos closed out the 2009-10 dual meet season with a 51-15 win over the Gladstone Braves Thursday night in Gladstone. The Great Northern Conference Finals are Saturday, also in Gladstoine. Pictured above: Escanaba's Kevin Bugay battles Gladstone's Cody Darling. Pictured below: Escanaba's Kyle LaJoie wrestles Gladstone's Jake Hadel in a battle of "big men". (Linda Bockman photos)                                     Left: Escanaba coaches Jim Hansen and Jaime Segorski watch the LaJoie-Hadel match. Right: Eskymo Chris Jones in a "light weight" battle Thursday in Gladstone. Below picture: Gladstone's Josh Syverson is on top of Eskymo Kyle Mathias.

Paint The Mariucci Trophy Orange And Black!                     Escanaba Eskymo senior wrestler Tristan Kang outmatches Iron Mountain's Chuck Edwards druring Tuesday's triangular meet in Iron Mountain. The Eskymos clinched the Upper Peninsula's top regular season honor by beating the second-ranked Iron Mountain Mountaineers, 44-29, at the Iron Mountain High School Gym. The Eskymos also beat Menominee, 55-15, in the triangular. But the win over the Mountaineers means the Ray Mariucci Trophy for the U.P.'s top wrestling team goes to the Eskymos. Photos below, (all by Linda Bockman): First, Escanaba's Devon Slaga has his man down. Below that: Esky's Kevin Bugay takes care of Iron Mountain's John Wormwood. And the bottom photo features Eskymo Kyle Mathias in a take-down.

Escanaba Wrestlers Second At Championships                       Escanaba senior Kelly Rogers battles Joe Ostman of Saint Ignace in the 171-pound finals at the Northern Michigan Wrestling Championships Saturday in Gaylord. Rogers won, 11-3. The host Blue Devils won the team title with 146 points, Escanaba was second with 141. Iron Mountain took 5th, Gladstone was 14th. (Linda Bockman photos)                       Escanaba Eskymo senior, 152-pounder, Garrett Johnson has the upper hand over Pinconning's Brian Hardy at the Northern Michigan Championships Saturday in Gaylord, and Johnson won the championship on points, 11-3.                             Eskymo senior Alex Bockman (in white) is involved in warfare with Paul Britten of Traverse City St. Francis in the 189-pound final. Bockman won the title, 16-9.                       Three Eskymo Champions! From left, Alex Bockman (who looks exhausted; see above picture for the reason why), Kelly Rogers and Garrett Johnson.                         This is what a gym looks like when you have 29 wrestling teams from the Upper and northern Lower Peninsula's in one spot. Multiple mats going at once in Gaylord. Northern Mich. Championships 1. Gaylord 2. Escanaba 3. Rogers City 4. WB Ogemaw Heights 5. Iron Mountain 9. St. Ignace 14. Gladstone 146.5 141 126 120 117.5 87 60.5 Eskymo Indvidual Champions: Garrett Johnson (152) Kelly Rogers (171) Alex Bockman (189) Click here  for all results.

Escanaba Wrestlers Win U.P. Championship                     The Escanaba Eskymos won the U.P. Wrestling Championship Saturday in Marquette. Eight Eskymos reached the finals, and three won U.P. titles. Alex Bockman (pictured above in his finals match against Manistique's Conrad Jewitt) won, along with Tristan Kang (pictured at lower left), and Kelly Rogers (pictured at lower right). Esky won the team title with 240 points. Iron Mountain was second with 215 points. Gladstone was third with 163 points, and Cody Darling and Josh Syverson won titles for the Braves.                 Pictured below: Eskymo 215-pounder Jeff Kuepper poses with a few "friends" from Negaunee. Keupper made it to the U.P. finals before losing in the gold medal match. All photos by Linda Bockman.

#1 vs #2: Escanaba Tops Iron Mountain, 40-33                   Escanaba's Garrett Johnson pins Iron Mountain's Joe Christiansen in a 152-pound match Thursday night, as referee Dave Gagnon takes a close look. Kevin Bugay, Kyle LaJoie, Jeff Keupper and Devin Slaga also got pins as the Eskymos beat the Mountaineers, 40-33. Escanaba also beat Kingsford, 69-12. Below left: Esky's Kelly Rogers battles Iron Mountain's Tim Tippett at 171. Tippett won on points. Below right: Esky's Eddie Terres is on top of Mountaineer Ethan Lindquist. Bottom: the Eskymo bench cheers on their teammates. The Eskymos are at the UP Finals Saturday.

Eskymo Wrestlers Second at Peshtigo Invite                     The Escanaba Eskymos finished in second place at the Peshtigo Invitational Saturday in Wisconsin. Oconto Falls won the 16-team event. Pictured above: Escanaba's Kevin Bugay has his opponent down. Pictured below: Escanaba's Garrett Johnson (left) and Tristan Kang (right) in action. (Linda Bockman photos)

Escanaba Wrestlers Win Delta County Battle                     Escanaba Eskymos topped the Gladstone Braves, 53-18, in a dual meet Tuesday night at the Escanaba High School Gym. Pictured above: Escanaba's Eddie Terres is on top of Gladstone's Zach LaMarche in a 160-pound match. Below left: Eskymo Sheri Berube lines up the Braves' Jalen McDonnell. Below right: Esky's Kyle LaJoie battles Gladstone's Jake Hadel in a heavyweight match. (Linda Bockman photos).

Escanaba Wrestlers Win Elks Tournament 37th Annual Escanaba Elks Invitational 1. Escanaba 2. Iron Mountain 3. Gladstone 4. St. Ignace 5. Alpena 6. Menominee 7. Ishpeming 8. Munising 9. Manistique 10. Florence, Wis. 11. Kingsford 12. West Iron County 13. Negaunee 14. Gwinn 15. Norway 16. Escanaba JV Team Points 251 222 185 167 122 106 105 68 56 51 47 45 28 18 15 0                     The Escanaba Eskymos pose Saturday night with the championship trophy from the 37th Elks Wrestling Inivitational. Below, from left: Escanaba's gold medalists Alex Bockman (189), Kelly Rogers (171), Garrett Johnson (152), Tristan Kang (140).