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Crespo Begins 'Chase' with 1st D4 Title
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
March 8, 2017
Oftentimes a coaching change is accompanied by the need to restock talent in order to rebuild.
That certainly wasn’t the case for first-year Mendon wrestling coach Caleb Stephenson, who took over for his father, Art, this winter.
Not only were the raw materials in place for the Hornets, as it turned out, some of the newbies weren’t that raw at all.
Already polished after having competed in national tournaments since the third grade, Skyler Crespo ripped through his first varsity season with only one loss en route to an MHSAA Division 4 championship at 125 pounds this past weekend.
Entering the tournament seeded No. 1 in his weight class, he expected nothing less.
Becoming the first freshman in school history to win a Finals championship, Crespo crushed it in his first appearance at The Palace of Auburn Hills, finishing 4-0 and atop the all-state podium. His final record for his rookie season was an astonishing 52-1.
Just like he did in the Regional Finals, Crespo, one of only two freshmen in the bracket, edged reigning champion Robert LeFevre of Erie Mason in the championship bout, this time by a 3-1 decision.
A few scrambles between the two ate up most of the first period before Crespo snatched LeFevre’s leg and recorded a takedown. Crespo was called for stalling a second time in the third period to make it 2-1. He dodged a couple more shots and had an escape in the final minute.
Supremely confident all season, Crespo wasn’t distracted by all the hype surrounding the Palace atmosphere. His first-round match Thursday went off without a hitch — a pin in 1 minute, 58 seconds against Roscommon’s Deklin James.
In the championship Quarterfinals on Friday, Crespo earned a 13-7 decision against Jacob Brand from Burton Bentley.
“The biggest thing for me was just getting to the second weigh-in (after the Quarterfinals),” Crespo said. “Trying to watch my weight wasn’t the most fun. After that, I knew I was in really good shape.”
Crespo put on a show in the Semifinals, dominating Jacob Roberts of Leroy Pine River in an 18-3 technical fall to advance to the Finals. In the championship against LeFevre, both grapplers knew the other’s moves from the Regional match (a 2-0 Crespo win) and studying footage.
“I knew he was going to be tough; he’s a strong kid,” Crespo said. “I knew I was better than him on my feet and better than him on top. I knew he was going to try to ride me and turn me. I knew if I worked my hardest, I was better in every aspect of the match.”
“Skyler wrestled a really great match from a match management standpoint, and controlled the situations he was in with composure,” Caleb Stephenson said. “LeFevre had a great game plan for us, but Sky stayed true to who he is and stayed confident in his offense and defense.
“Lots of people that see Skyler from afar don't understand the type of work that he has put in for years, both mentally and physically, that has prepared him for this moment. He has been all over the country pursuing great tournaments with his parents, who have dedicated so much to his success, so it may surprise some people, but it doesn't surprise those closest to him, because he's already chasing three more.”
It was a fantastic weekend for Mendon as a total of three grapplers were among the top-eight all-state finishers in Division 4.
Wyatt Cool defeated Hart’s Carlos Garza 6-1 in the fifth-place match at 160 pounds. The junior capped his season with a 48-4 record and second consecutive all-state finish.
Classmate Nik Andaverde also made it as far as the championship Semifinals before finishing fourth overall at 112 pounds. Andaverde ended the year with a 48-5 record.
Despite working on wrestling year round, Crespo competes in three sports at Mendon. He plays football and plans to tee it up for the golf team this spring.
“I always try to do something every day to get better (at wrestling),” he said. “It’s not always fun, but when you get rewarded like this, it feels good.”
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.
PHOTO: (Top) Mendon's Skyler Crespo wrestles Erie Mason's Robert LeFevre during Saturday's Division 4 Final at 125 pounds. (Middle) Crespo celebrates his first MHSAA championship. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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D4 Final: Hudson Pins 4th Straight
February 25, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – Hudson wrestlers know how to win MHSAA championships.
And the Tigers’ seniors will leave high school never knowing how it feels to lose a title match at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
Shelby made Saturday’s Division 4 Final as tough as any Hudson has won over the last four seasons. But after opening with a major decision win, top-seeded Hudson never trailed in claiming a 33-22 victory that gave five seniors four team championships.
“We come in day in and day out, bust our butts, and finally get to reap the benefits,” Hudson senior Devan Marry said. “It’s been more than just four years of high school. We’ve been doing this since middle school. And now it’s finally paid off.”
Since 1988, the start of MHSAA team championships being awarded using a dual-match format, only Dundee and Davison have won at least four straight – Dundee from 1995-98 and Davison five from 2002-06.
But No. 3-seeded Shelby – posting its highest team finish since 1972 – threatened to break the streak multiple times after outlasting No. 2 seed New Lothrop for a 29-28 Semifinal win that came down to Shelby having the most falls.
Hudson coach Scott Marry said his staff began scouting Shelby a month ago. Working out every possible scenario, he and his coaches saw Saturday’s Final coming down to as few as seven points – leaving little room for error.
Junior Austin Felt won a major decision at 103 pounds to pull Shelby within 26-19 with three matches to wrestle. Hudson sophomore Isaac Dusseau pushed his team’s lead back to 10 with a 6-2 decision at 112. But Hudson’s clinching win came in simply avoiding a heavy loss – freshman Tyler Roberts dropped a 4-0 decision to Shelby senior Will Foster at 119. But in avoiding any worse fate, he clinched the match win and the team championship.
Hudson (27-2) won only eight individual matches in the Final, to Shelby’s six. But four came from four of those seniors – Marry, Joel Varney, Luke Sparapani and James Herron.
“Every one of these seniors, I’ve known them for seven or eight years. They’re my boy’s best friends, and that’s a huge advantage,” said Scott Marry, also Devan’s father. “And I don’t think that just because this senior class was so good that this is the end of Hudson wrestling by any means. But those seniors had a big part of what happened today.”
Shelby’s Saturday was filled with heroics as well. The Tigers opened the Semifinal up 18-0 before falling behind and needing a major decision in the final match to force the tie-breaker scenario.
Shelby finished this season 33-3 and will send eight wrestlers to next weekend’s Individual Finals.
“We’re battlers. Tough, hard-nosed kids,” Shelby coach Ed Felt said. “They never quit. They never give up.”
Click for match-by-match results from the Final, Semifinals and Quarterfinals. See more photos at High School Sports Scene.