Eskymos Get 'Clutch Efforts' To Turn Back Braves

GLADSTONE---The Gladstone High School wrestling team lost a match to the Escanaba Eskymos earlier this season, 42-40, in a match that was decided by two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against the Braves that gave Escanaba the victory.

Braves wrestler Jake Cronick Thursday.

After that match ended, Gladstone Coach Jesse DeBacker called it an embarrassment, and said that it would be different the next time the two rivals met.

And Thursday night in Gladstone, the Eskymos and Braves met again, and Escanaba won again, 36-29. This time, though, it was not because of unsportsmanline penalties. This time, the Eskymos did just a bit more than the Braves did to secure the dual meet victory.

The key match came at 130 pounds, with Escanaba's Corey McInerney facing Gladstone's Brayden Williams.

On the team score, Escanaba led, 27-23, and Gladstone Coach Jesse DeBacker chose to have Williams face McInerney instead of facing senior Zach Priebe. So, by conceding those six points to Priebe and the Eskymos, Gladstone was in a 33-23 deficit.

But the Braves could still win this dual meet if Williams could get a pin at 130, and then if Bobby Beauchamp could get a pin at 135 pounds.

Eskymos congratultate Corey McInerney.

Early on, it looked like Williams might pull it off, getting McInerney on his back. But McInerney battled back and not only didn't lose the match, but he ultimately clinched the match with the decision victory to give Escanaba a 36-23 lead.

Beauchamp did close the match with a pin for Gladstone, but all that did was make the final team score a bit closer: a 36-29 Escanaba victory.

This match started at 140 pounds, and Escanaba's Kaleb Rahoi started with a pin over Jared Syverson. Then Hunter Sadler won, 4-0, over Gladstone's Kevin Priebe to make it a 9-0 score.

Gladstone's Jeremy Kadish put his team on the board with a win over Brent Picord, but it was an outcome that ended only after a lot of controversy.

Jeremy Kadish beats Brent Picord on pin?

Kadish easily won the match, and at the end of the second period, he was awarded a pin with one second left in the period.

But it appeared that the Gladstone scorekeeper had not started the clock on time, and after the period ended, Escanaba protested that had the clock started on time, the pin never would have happened. The officials agreed.

The pin was wiped off the board, but it didn't hurt Gladstone very much as Kadish won, 12-0, and got the five points (instead of six) for the tech-fall.

Another tight match came at 215 pounds, with Gladstone's Jack Cronick facing Escanaba's Devin Olsen. The key moment came late in the second period, with Olsen apparently getting two points to take a 4-2 lead.

But the ruling went the other way: Olsen had pulled at Cronick's jersey illegally.

That wiped away Olsen's two points and awarded Cronick one point, giving Cronick a 3-2 lead.

And Cronick won this crucial match, 5-2, keeping Gladstone close in the team score.

In the end, though, the Eskymos did just enough to post their second straight dual meet win over the Braves this season. Earlier in the evening, both Delta County teams also wrestled against the Marquette Redmen, as this became a last-minute tri-meet.

Gladstone beat Marquette, 66-7, and Escanaba topped Marquette, 59-21.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the match, and to hear comments from the Eskymos and Braves coaches.