CC's Nick Mason (right) beat Oxford's Zac Miller in the 135-pound class

By MARVIN GOODWIN

Of The Oakland Press

OXFORD — The team state wrestling tournament may still be a few weeks away but spectators at Oxford High School on Wednesday got a glimpse of things to come.

Novi Detroit Catholic Central, ranked No. 2 in the state in Division 1, and Oxford, ranked No. 8, locked horns for a sizzling confrontation which wasn’t decided until the final two matches.

Todd Melick pinned Kyle Hill in the first period of their 119-pound match, and 125-pounder Alec Mooradian, a returning state champion, secured the victory with a 10-0 triumph over Mike Thomas in the final match of the evening as the Shamrocks took a 30-25 decision over the Wildcats.

Most matches were decided by a few points and only four were won by fall, as both squads displayed their best efforts.

“It’s a good test for us. That’s a state championship type team. They’ve got all the tools to get back there again,” Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock said of Oxford. “(But) we wrestled hard and came out on top in this hostile environment and that’s important.”

Aside from the nine-point spread after Catholic Central’s Mike Kinville pinned Nick Hadorn in the 215-pound match, no more than five points separated the two teams the entire match.

“I think we can take a lot away from this,” Oxford coach Paul McDevitt said. “Some of our kids wrestled outstanding matches. But we lost too many close matches. We’ve got to do a better job if we expect to beat a team like Catholic Central.”

Both teams primed for the showdown with convincing victories in the quadrangular, which also included Ortonville Brandon and Port Huron Northern.

The Wildcats needed less than a hour to blank Brandon, 80-0, and the Shamrocks walloped the Huskies, 72-3.

The Blackhawks helped the Wildcats along with four voids as coach Erik Donders continues to build his program.

“We don’t have all our guys for a strong lineup,” he said. “I just wanted them to go out and compete. Some of them did.”

But there were no easy matches when the Shamrocks and Wildcats collided.

In the opening match at 130, Oxford’s Jake Pratt jumped out to a lead but had to hang on for a 9-7 victory over Charlie Joseph.

Catholic Central’s Nick Mason overcame a 3-0 deficit to send 135-pound match against Zac Miller into overtime, where he forged an 8-6 triumph.

Oxford’s Matt Frisch upset Justin Melick with an 8-2 triumph in the 140-pound class, but Doug Eldridge (145) and Gerid Gee (152) each earned 3-1 victories to put the Shamrocks up 9-6.

Oxford’s A.J. Logan notched his 100th career victory with a second-period pin of Brandon Bennett as the Wildcats led 12-9.

However, consecutive victories by Andrew Erickson (171), Miles Trealout (189) and Kinville (215) gave Catholic Central a 21-12 lead with five matches remaining.

Oxford’s Prescott Line, who was bumped up to the 285-pound class from his normal 215 pounds, gave the Wildcats a lift by pinning Dave Knuth in the first period. Oxford trailed only 21-18. Victories by Keegan Cantara (103) and Jacob Peasley (112), who upset Ken Bade, the Oakland County champion, gave Oxford a 25-20 lead. But Todd Melick and Mooradian closed the show for the Shamrocks, who were also assessed a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct. Still, the excitement was felt throughout the gymnasium from both sides.

“That’s good for the fans,” Hancock said.