Brothers Storr Finish Perfect Seasons

March 2, 2013

By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half

AUBURN HILLS — Their toughest competition lives under the same roof.

Kanen and Zehlin Storr of Leslie get more of a battle sparring against each other than they typically get in a match against other high school wrestlers.

They combined to achieve a rarity on Saturday as brothers who completed perfect seasons with state championships in the MHSAA Division 3 individual Finals at The Palace.

Kanen finished off an undefeated freshman year at 58-0 by beating Reiley Brown of Whitehall 9-6 in the 103-pound final. Five weight classes later, Zehlin capped his junior year with a 59-0 record by beating Chris Briar of Menominee 7-3 in the 135-pound title match.

"Me and my brother work our butts off," Zehlin said. "We train together and we go all over the state looking for partners. I feel we deserve this."

Zehlin has been on the cusp of winning a championship each of his first two seasons, taking third in Division 4 at 130 pounds as a freshman before losing 5-4 in the Division 3 135-pound final last year. He has a 158-12 record.

He was able to impart some of his experience on the big stage to his younger brother.

"I told him not to let The Palace get to you," Zehlin said. "It's a nerve-racking place. I told him to stay calm, like he always does."

Kanen gives up weight to his older brother, but the brothers say they still get quite a bit of benefit from their sessions against one another.

"He really helped me a lot," Kanen said. "When we don't have other practices to go to, we drill with each other and help make each other better. Yeah, he's a little bigger. I make him work, but he beats me up pretty good."

The Storrs weren't the only brothers to win Division 3 titles, as senior twins Steven and Joe Sika of Whitehall took home championships.

Click for full results, and read below for recaps of each championship match and comments from all the winners.

285

Champion: John Marogen, Dundee, Sr. (44-7)
Decision, 4-1, over Josh Capen, Ithaca, Sr. (43-1)

Marogen came a long way from his first wrestling match in middle school to the final one of his high school career.

"I just remember my first match ever," he said. "I came out and got pinned. Now I'm here today, winning this. My freshman year, I had a losing record, but these coaches just kept on me."

The match was tied 1-1 in the third period before Marogen scored the final three points to win the first of Dundee's three championships on Saturday.

112

Champion: Devin Schroder, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Fr. (53-0)
Decision, 10-1, over Alex Martinez, Ida, Fr. (53-2)

One match after Kanen Storr completed a perfect freshman season, Schroder did the same by scoring a major decision over Martinez.

Schroder has been preparing himself for this day for years. He can recall being at the MHSAA Finals 10 years earlier when Davison's Brent Metcalf won the second of his four straight titles.

"I kind of expected it," Schroder said. "I've worked in the room. I've wrestled a lot of these kids when I was younger. I didn't want to accept anything but the state championship. Every single time I stepped into practice and put my shoes on, that's what I was thinking of."

119

Champion: Jerry Fenner, Birch Run, Soph. (57-3)
Decision, 3-2 OT, over Matt Santos, Saginaw Swan Valley, Fr. (26-6)

Santos had a grip on Fenner's right leg before the Birch Run sophomore was able to pry himself loose for an escape that ended the match.

"Right when I reached back, I grabbed his fingers, felt them get loose," Fenner said. "I kept pulling up. Finally his hands slipped off and disconnected. I pushed back and slipped away."

It was a much more satisfying end to the season for Fenner, who held a five-point lead late in the third period of a quarterfinal match last year before losing 7-6 to Jackson Lambdin of Allendale.

125

Champion: Zach Cooper, Whitehall, Sr. (55-1)
Decision, 7-0, over Blake Russo, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Jr. (50-4)

Cooper added a third MHSAA title to the 103- and 112-pound crowns he won the last two years at Remus Chippewa Hills.

He transferred his senior year to Whitehall, where his father, Tim, was the undefeated 1980 Class C 132-pound champion.

"My dream was to match my dad and be a one-timer," Cooper said. "I've always wanted to follow in his footsteps. Winning two was, oh my gosh, amazing. Now three — I couldn't be any happier."

130

Champion: Nate Limmex, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Soph. (22-0)
Decision, 10-2, over Nick Burg, Richmond, Jr. (41-12)

Limmex completed a perfect season by scoring a major decision over Burg, last year's third-place finisher at 119 pounds.

"Wrestling is the biggest part of my life," Limmex said. "This was my main goal and I accomplished it. It's great."

Limmex outscored his four opponents at The Palace, 43-6.

140

Champion: Doug Rojem, Dundee, Jr. (54-1)
Decision, 2-0, over Lake Bennett, Birch Run, Sr. (55-7)

Doug Rojem has been on the podium twice before, but this time he made it as the champion.

He took third last year at 130 pounds after losing 6-4 in overtime in the semifinals to eventual-champion Alberto Lopez of Otsego. He was fifth at 119 in 2011.

"That was a heartbreaker," Rojem said of the overtime loss. "This year,  it was completely different. I didn't feel much pressure. I just let myself wrestle and good things happened."

145

Champion: Devin Skatzka, Richmond, Soph. (52-2)
Decision, 8-0, over Jordon Bennett, Lake Odessa Lakewood, Soph. (41-2)

Skatzka is halfway to four MHSAA championships after scoring a major decision over Bennett.

Skatzka was the 135-pound champion as a freshman last year.

"I do look forward to it, but I like to take everything one at a time," Skatzka said. "I don't like to look ahead. All I wanted to do was come out strong. I wanted an early takedown to get in his head."

152

Champion: Luke Pahl, Comstock Park, Sr. (44-3)
Decision, 9-6, over Jared Elliott, Birch Run, Jr. (48-9)

It wasn't an easy path to the championship for Pahl, who won 3-2 in the quarterfinals and 4-3 in the semifinals.

"It was just a lot of mental toughness and being able to be on top of your game all the time," Pahl said.

Pahl was seventh at 140 pounds last year. He attributed his improvement to a grueling week-long wrestling camp at Penn State last summer.

160

Champion: Steven Sika, Whitehall, Sr. (55-3)
Technical Fall, 21-4, over Skyler Ley, Caro, Jr. (51-6)

After squeaking out a 7-6 victory in the semifinals, Sika rolled to his first MHSAA championship via technical fall.

He placed seventh at 152 pounds last year when he expected a much better fate.

"Taking seventh last year wasn't a good feeling," Sika said. "I had it with me all summer, all year. It really motivated me. This was my last chance. Things change when you get here. You see a lot of good wrestlers lose. It happened to me last year. I didn't want to end my high school career on a bad tournament."

171

Champion: Joe Sika, Whitehall, Sr., (53-2)
Decision, 4-1, over Trevor Jaster, Caro, Sr. (39-3)

While Steven Sika was winning the 160-pound title, Joe Sika didn't allow himself to watch. Instead, he stayed under the stands in the warm-up area.

"I'm not allowed to watch his matches, because if he loses, I do," Joe said. "If I don't know, then I'll do my own thing. That's how my losses have come this year."

Joe said that he found out from a child that Steven was on the verge of winning by technical fall.

"We're practice partners," Joe said. "It helps us a lot. We're pretty much the same talent. It's like wrestling yourself, basically."

189

Champion: Teddy Warren, Dundee, Jr. (49-3)
Decision, 6-3, over Colin Beebe, Allendale, Jr. (38-1)

Warren wanted to make progress after losing in the first round at 171 last year to Joe Sika.

"I was just hoping to place at this tournament, but to come out on top is really extraordinary," Warren said.

Warren scored a near-fall with 12 seconds left to take the lead for good.

215

Champion: Gage Hutchison, Buchanan, Sr. (56-0)
Pin, 2:24, over Taylor Gohn, Allendale, Sr. (38-3)

Hutchison repeated as the 215-pound champion in his third trip to the final round. He was the runner-up at 171 pounds in 2011.

"Man, it gets better and better every time," Hutchison said. "I get less nervous and more excited. I'm always confident — confident, but not cocky. There's always a target on your back."

PHOTO: Leslie's Zehlin Stoff (orange stripe) wrestles Menominee's Chris Briar during Saturday's Division 3 finals. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Clinton Finishes Chase for 1st Title

February 29, 2020

By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half

KALAMAZOO – Last year when Clinton wrestling co-coach Jeff Rolland walked off the mat after the Division 4 Team Final, he said, “Until someone beats them, they are the one everyone in chasing.”

“They” are the Hudson Tigers, who had just beaten Rolland's up-and-coming Clinton team to win their third-straight Division 4 title. 

So Rolland and his Redskins went back to work during the offseason, recalling how they felt wrestling for a championship only to come up short against a program that is comfortable on that stage. 

Spin it forward one year, and Clinton found itself back on the big stage against the Tigers, and that hard work and self-confidence paid off. This time, Clinton beat Hudson 36-27 on Saturday at Wings Event Center, clinching the first team wrestling championship in Redskins history.

"This took us believing in each other as a family," Rolland said. "We believe this program is a family, (kindergarten through 12th grade), to the parents and the community, and this took us digging down and focusing on who we are – focusing on us."

That focus was tested even before this weekend began, as top-ranked Clinton entered Friday’s Quarterfinals as the third seed in Division 4.

The Redskins then had to go through a very tough New Lothrop team in the Semifinals to get to Hudson.

"We felt we had enough. We just had to come and compete and prove it," Rolland said. "We took on the mantra that it was us against everybody. Until we prove, we are going to get the three seed, we are going to get the hardest matches. And we said good."

But it wasn't all good for the Redskins, especially early.

Starting at the 119-pound weight class, Hudson jumped out to an 18-0 lead through the first four matches, thanks to a pair of pins from Caden Natale at 130 and CJ Berro at 135 and a pair of decisions from Tyler Bolenbaugh and Jackson Miller at 119 and 125, respectively. 

But then came the strength of Clinton's lineup, and the Redskins went on to win eight of the next nine weight classes to earn their first team title.

During that stretch, the Redskins got technical fall victories from AJ Baxter, Kent McCombs and Brayden Randolph and a pair of pins from Logan Badge and Jack Voll. 

Badge said his team was not too worked up by being down so much early.

"We were still confident in ourselves," said Badge, a returning Individual Finals champion.  "We knew our capabilities, knowing we were able to score and get bonus points when we needed." 

Hudson coach Scott Marry was proud of his team, even though it fell short of the goal it sets for itself every season.

"They are very tough," Marry said of Clinton. "I thought everything went well. We wrestled a very good dual. We had our opportunities, and that is all you can ask for. You have to give them credit. I'm not going to say anything bad that we did. I'm just going to say they did better."

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) A Clinton wrestler works for control on top while his Hudson opponent goes for a foot during Saturday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Clinton and Hudson wrestlers work to gain control. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)