Stoney Creek's Nick Gajdzik Wins State Wrestling Title

AUBURN HILLS - wrestler Nick Gajdzik didn’t want to head to Harvard without a high school state title.

Winning the championship has been on the senior grappler's mind since he lost (215 pounds).

“Last year’s was one of the worst days of my life losing the state title,” Gajdzik said. “I came back here with one goal this season – that was to win a state championship.”

The Cougars heavyweight, who will be wrestling at Harvard next season, accomplished the goal on Saturday night with a 2-1 win over Temperance Bedford senior Logan Rimmer (285 pounds).

“He’s (Nick) wrestled some good kids going through districts and regionals, but I think from the beginning of the season if anybody looked at any names they saw Logan Rimmer and Nick Gajdzik,” Stoney Creek coach Jeffery Smart said.

Rimmer proved to be as formidable as Smart predicted.

“That was my toughest match (of the season),” Gajdzik said. “He’s a big guy, but have no doubt he’s a good wrestler, too. He knows how to work the sides, he’s a good heavyweight.”

The match came down to one move; and it wasn’t even a takedown. Gajdzik hit a reversal in the second round for two points.

Rimmer thought he had an advantage when he wrapped up Gajdzik’s right leg. He tried to push him down to the mat for a takedown or back points, but it didn’t work. Gajdzik swung around and reversed the hold.

“I was quite confident from that position,” Gajdzik said. “I knew how to work from there.”

Coming in, Gajdzik felt a slight advantage would be enough for him to win. He spent most of the third round keeping Rimmer grounded to make sure that was the case.

“I felt my riding skills were good enough that I could keep him down, which I was able to do for a good while,” he said. “I was confident in my ability and I felt like we wrestled to plan.”

Rimmer's only point of the match came with 40 seconds left in the third. Gajdzik let him escape to neutral for a point. As time ticked down, Gajdzik made sure Rimmer didn't have an opening to attempt any offense.

“We talked all night, if we can get one, we’ll be OK,” Smart said.

Gajdzik, who won his , finishes the season a perfect 46-0. The victory gives Stoney Creek its first state title in school history.

“Perfect record was never the goal, my goal was a state championship but it’s a very nice thing to add this year,” Gajdzik said, smiling.

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