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Fluorescent lights beam down on the dim school gym, as South’s Wrestling team prepares for their matchup against Grosse Pointe North in “The Battle of the Pointes,” and the continuation of a long rivalry.
Varsity Wrestler Joshua Lemanski ’24 anxiously steps up to the mat, and in a nail-bitingly rousing match, comes out on top, securing a victory, and a few extra points for his team.
“I always get a little nervous before my matches,” Lemanski said. You’re wearing a singlet, which isn’t the most comfortable thing to wear, [but] the adrenaline kicks in when the [referee] blows the whistle, and you shake your opponent’s hand.”
Grosse Pointe South’s wrestling team values conditioning as a top priority for its wrestlers. In matches, there are three periods, each consisting of three minutes. It is not all too uncommon for athletes to get tired and falter as the clock reaches its end.
“If you have as much energy as you possibly can, and you’re well conditioned, your heart can take the six minutes,” Lemanski said. “A lot of people don’t take their conditioning seriously. They’ll…go out there and give it their all for two minutes, but then they can’t wrestle you for the [rest].”
South’s varsity team closed a victory on North, with a combined score of 45-36. South’s junior varsity team also experienced great success.
“Unlike football, there is no [other] guy who messed up that corner; Doesn’t get the ball, doesn’t stop that play,” JV Wrestler Othniel Honablue ’25 said. It’s just you who messed up. You have nobody else to blame.”
Honablue ’25 also won his match, contributing points to a JV victory for South.
The Grosse Pointe South wrestling team will go on to participate in regionals on Feb. 16 for boys, and Feb. 17 for girls.
“There’s a lot of history between South versus North,” Honablue said. “I am so proud to be a Grosse Pointe South Blue Devil.”
