Ferndale Wrestling Club Sends 11 to State Championships
(Crystal A. Proxmire, 3/31/2011)
Eleven Ferndale Wrestling Club athletes traveled to Battle Creek March 25-27, 2011 to compete in the Michigan Youth Wrestling Association State Championships. The club is for boys aged 4-16 from Ferndale and surrounding cities, with 45 kids on the team this year.
The wrestlers competed in matches against other clubs in the area. In order to go to the State Championships they had to take at least fourth place in the Regional competition, which in this case pit Ferndale against clubs from Oakland, Macomb and Lapeer Counties.
Sixteen year old Chavez Paris wrestled his way to the top spot of State Champ. Ten year old Joshua Edmunds placed second in his class. “Everyone had a great time,” said Assistant Coach Timothy Collins. “There are some amazing athletes in this group.”
Collins became involved with coaching six years ago, when his youngest son wanted to try wrestling. He praised Coach John Olsen’s leadership of the club, and said “he’s the one who should be getting all the accolades. …This is a great individual sport for the kids.”
The Ferndale Wrestling Club will start up again next November. The Club practices and meets at Ferndale High School, though it is not otherwise part of the Schools.