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.)

White Pigeon Emerging as D4 Hopeful

January 10, 2017

Ten years removed from a Regional Finals appearance, the White Pigeon wrestling program has awakened from its hibernation.

The Chiefs’ 18-7 overall record isn’t particularly astonishing. But given that several losses were to bigger schools outside of the state of Michigan, including three to Indiana squads this past weekend, it’s a solid mark so far.

A victory over third-ranked (in Division 4) Decatur earlier this year opened White Pigeon’s eyes as to how good it could be this winter.

“The kids’ resiliency and perseverance,” 14th-year head coach Jay Sosinski said when asked what has stood out to him this season. “It doesn’t matter to them who they’re going up against. Big or small, good or bad, they go out there and wrestle hard and give it their best. That’s all I’ve ever asked of any of my teams. They do it probably better than any team I’ve had before on a consistent basis.”

To put that statement in context, Sosinski hypes his team as often as most people stick to their New Year’s resolutions.

There’s no denying that confidence has trickled down to the individual wrestlers, four of whom are among the top-10 ranked athletes in their respective weight classes in Division 4 by MichiganGrappler.com.

Ranked No. 3 at 130 pounds, sophomore Kyle Black is 22-2 on the year and eyeing a return trip to the MHSAA Finals. He’ll likely drop down to 125 to do so. Classmate Evan Atherton is ranked No. 10 at 130 but has since moved to 125.

“It makes us feel good,” Atherton, who is 20-3, said of the high praise from Sosinski, “because they used to talk about how there used to only be three kids on the team. “I’m pretty excited about it. It pushes me harder.”

Junior Nate Weber is 21-4 and ranked No. 6 at 135. He, too, will probably move down a class by the end of the year in order to try to get back to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Meanwhile, senior Hunter Rummler, ranked No. 7 at 171, just eclipsed the 100-victory mark for his career over the weekend and is pushing toward his first Individual Finals appearance.

Especially for the young men in the lower weights, stiffer competition is rarely found outside their own practices this year.

“We do a lot of live wrestling in the room, and it sure helps to have those guys around with all the variety it brings,” Weber said. “Me, Evan and Kyle all wrestle different styles. We see all these different techniques, and it sets us up to wrestle all these other teams.”

Black had just one word to describe practice sessions: “Intense.”

The other word that came up frequently was inspiration. The source? Sosinski.

“I would never have guessed that is the answer they would have given,” Sosinski said with a laugh. “As a wrestler myself and growing up in the sport, when people get beat, either as an individual or a team, I know how that feels. They beat themselves up and are upset. Me being upset with them or screaming and yelling at them doesn’t make them feel any better.

“I believe it probably makes them feel worse and can have a negative effect. My goal is to help them reach their goals. I’m happiest when I see them reach their goals and their potential. If being more soft-spoken and more of a fatherly type figure and voice does that, and it has worked so far, that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

With only two seniors on the varsity roster, the Chiefs are undefeated in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference. Rummler, who said reaching the century mark “hasn’t really hit me yet,” knows the strength of the team is in the lower and middle weights, which includes stalwarts Hunter Jourdan, Sebastian Castro and Carlos Castro, and feels a responsibility to hold up his end of the bargain.

For Rummler, a gifted running back and sprinter, most of the battle is mental — a fight he admits struggling with last season. Sosinski believes the senior is primed for a noteworthy finish to his career.

“He is confident,” Sosinski said. “I believe he has high goals and expectations of himself. He is confident he will meet those goals. Sometimes you need that swag, I guess. If I had to take a guess at (what’s different this year), just from knowing him for four years, it’s just his mentality.”

The same can be said for the rest of the wrestlers on the team, many of whom have sacrificed for the betterment of the squad.

“They want to be good as a team, and that’s first and foremost,” Sosinski said. “They have their own individual goals in their head, but they’re finding a way to do both.”

Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) White Pigeon’s Kyle Black works to gain control during a match against Berrien Springs. (Middle) Evan Atherton, here working from the top, also powers the Chiefs’ strong lower weights. (Photos courtesy of Wes Morgan.)