Letter to the Editor: Lakeland Varsity Wrestlers Continue to Improve

Lakeland High School hit a home run in June 2009 with the hiring of varsity wrestling coach Matt Bishop, and under his teaching, the Lakeland varsity wrestlers continue their climb to success.

As tournament hosts of their annual Lakeland Invitational on Jan. 8, the team placed seventh out of 14 teams. Two wrestlers, sophomore Eric Gerber at 103 pounds and senior Alex Sokoll at 215 pounds, earned individual gold. Other placers include senior Jamie Chirio (140) in fourth place, junior Brandon Calma (112) in second place and sophomore Mitch Craig  (145) in third place.

Several days later, the team traveled to Walled Lake Western to face KLAA North rivals Walled Lake Northern and Walled Lake Western. Once again, under the calm and controlled direction of Bishop, the Lakeland wrestlers came out on top, beating Walled Lake Northern 59-21 and beating Walled Lake Western 40-28.

On Jan. 15, the team faced some tough competition at the Michigan Duals Tournament in Bay City. Looking at it as a day for learning, the boys worked hard and were in every match. Although the team placed in the bottom, most matches were lost by a small number of points. A bright spot on the day was senior Alex Sokoll (215), who went 5-0, undefeated for the day against some tough competitors.

In the next couple of weeks they will face Walled Lake Central and Waterford schools Kettering and Mott.

When asked about the upcoming important dates, Sokoll said, “We need to keep working hard, continue to push ourselves. We will then take that momentum with us into the KLAA and district tournaments. Coach Bishop stresses quiet confidence, winning and losing with dignity and always being prepared, and I believe we are.”

- Janice Chirio

The viewpoints in this letter are those of the writer, and Patch is not responsible for any ideas portrayed as facts. For questions and clarifications, please leave a comment below or contact editor Brooke Meier at brooke.meier@patch.com or 248-534-7203. We accept letters to the editor on any and all topics relevent to White Lake.