Stoney Creek's Gajdzik Heads to State Wrestling Title Bout

AUBURN HILLS  – Stoney Creek's Nick Gajdzik won his semifinal match to earn a spot in the state wrestling championship round Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills, while teammate Serge Andreou lost a tough 9-5 decision to Wayne Memorial senior Dimitrus Renfroe.

Senior Gajdzik remained unbeaten with 5-0 decision over Grand Ledge senior Cory Arnouts in the 215-pound semifinals.

Gajdzik only hit two takedowns in the match, but one would've been enough.

Arnouts didn't come close to getting Gajdzik down on the mat. Arnouts shouldn't feel that bad; none of Gajdzik's other opponents at the state tournament have either.

“I just keep my positioning real well, it’s something we work on in practice a lot because I am lighter than a lot of guys I wrestle,” Gajdzik said. “It’s what has given me the opportunity to be here.”

Gajdzik is headed to the finals for a second straight season. He lost last year in the 215-pound championship match to Oxford's Prescott Line. It's a match that Gajdzik has thought a lot about over the last year.

“Losing a state title is tough, it hurts a lot,” Gajdzik said. “But you use that hurt as a fuel. Use that hurt to push you and drive you to keep going where you’ve never gone before, that’s what I’m feeling right now. I’m looking forward to my match tomorrow and I think I’ll win it.”

Now, he is one win away again from his ultimate goal.

“It is exciting, this was my goal the entire year,” Gajdzik said. “Just one more match that’s all I have, one more match in my high school career and I want to finish it out with a win.”

Gajdzik made the semifinals by beating Detroit Catholic Central junior Bob Coe (285 pound) earlier in the day in the quarterfinals.

He was in control the whole time and never left his feet. After the match, he was frustrated that he didn't hit any of his throws in the third round.

"He just kept going backwards," Gajdzik said. "I didn't want to get too aggressive because that's when you to start to get sloppy and make mistakes."

Teammate Andreou made the semifinals earlier Friday by pinnking Grand Haven senior Garrett Kelly in the second round with 1:15 left (215 pounds).

Andreou scored an early takedown in the first that helped him gain the advantage.

"I think that helped a great deal," Andreou said. "It kind of put him in a tough position."

In the second round, Andreou executed a textbook leg sweep and went right to a cradle to pin Kelly.

"Something I practice a lot," Andreou said. "I honestly wasn't expecting to be able to hit it there."

Andreou competed at the state finals last year and finished eighth in the heavyweight bracket. He lost his first match and bounced back in the consolation brackets.