The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Cooley 1-2 at state final
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: March 15, 2007
Chelsea's Dakota Cooley faced the state's best wrestlers at last week's Division II final at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
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The Bulldog freshman held his own despite recently returning from a hand injury.
In his opening 112-pound match, Cooley (37-4) lost by pin to St. Johns sophomore Jake Walters (44-7) in 1:41. Walters would advance to the state final losing to Dexter junior Bret Marsh 8-2.
"The kid (Walters) had one good move and it was a cradle," said Chelsea coach Kerry Kargel. "Dakota shot in, he was aggressive, and the kid got him in a cradle and pinned him. It's hard to break a cradle."
In the consolation round, Cooley defeated Wyoming Rogers junior Du Bui (38-6) 7-4 in his second match of the tournament.
"That was a great match between both of the guys," Kargel said.
In his third match, Cooley lost to Linden sophomore Josh Freitas (49-12) 7-5.
"That was a heartbreaker," Kargel said. "The score was 5-5 with 10 seconds left. Dakota was on top and slipped on a leg ride. Freitas was able to get a reversal to win the match."
Besides Marsh (53-2) and Walters, Stevensville-Lakeshore freshman Nick Humes (37-11) placed third overall, while Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern senior Jerrad Hoxie (47-4) finished fourth.
Rounding out the top eight were Petoskey senior Dustin Boyer (51-6) in fifth place, followed by Freitas in sixth place, Mattawan junior Sean Tomac (38-4) in seventh place and Hastings sophomore Matt Watson (42-8) in eighth place.
Besides Cooley and Humes, the only other freshman in the 112-pound weight class at the state meet was Warren Woods-Tower's John Popham.
Despite not placing at the state meet, Kargel said Cooley had a terrific season.
"You can't complain," he said. "He had a great freshman year. He battled (Bret) Marsh) to two good matches. One of the matches went into overtime."
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