State wrestling weekend commences
Expectations great at Delta, Bedford
2/28/2013The Delta wrestling team has one state championship already this season and begins its bid for a second crown today at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center.
Earlier this month, the Panthers won Ohio’s inaugural state team tournament championship in Division III at OSU’s St. John Arena.
Third-year coach Anthony Carrizales, who was a state champion as a senior for Delta in 1999, is hoping that the five Panthers competing in Columbus can bring home the school’s first team title since then from what is now called the state individual tournament.
Bedford, meanwhile, has one of the most successful high school wrestling programs in Michigan history and, by Saturday night, senior Mitch Rogaliner could become the Kicking Mules’ most celebrated wrestler.
Rogaliner, one of Bedford’s six two-time state champions, begins his bid to become the only Mule with three titles today when Michigan’s individual state tournament opens at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
“That’s my No. 1 goal,” Rogaliner said. “It’s something that no one else has done at a school that has such a great history in wrestling. It’s really a big deal for me to be a part of that history.”