Crespo Enjoys Moment, on to Next Goals
March 13, 2020
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
A single afternoon in middle school set Skyler Crespo down a path that would lead to four Individual Finals wrestling championships. It was the day he quit the sport.
The withdrawal was brief — only hours, really — but it happened. He ripped his headgear off and stormed out of the practice room, claiming he was done.
And for anyone who knows the Mendon senior, who is less than a week removed from becoming the 28th grappler in Michigan High School Athletic Association history to pull off the rare four-peat, it’s hard to believe.
In a combat sport where confidence is crucial, Crespo certainly hasn’t lacked any since his freshman year. He doesn’t dispute that he’s brash at times, nor does he have any desire to soften his image. After all, the approach he’s used has served him well.
Perhaps it’s because Crespo, who is slated to wrestle at Michigan State University next year, knows how it feels to be utterly humbled – and that he never wants to experience it again. That happened six years ago. And it broke him. It was an experiment conducted by Mendon head coach Caleb Stephenson, who wanted to see what the seventh grader was made of at the time.
Stephenson had two of the program’s top varsity wrestlers, Jonah Grimm and Caleb Hinkle, take turns lighting 90-pound Crespo up. In the past, these mismatched sessions were tame. This time around, Stephenson instructed his accomplished veterans, who had 40 pounds on the youngster, to show no mercy.
“I remember it vividly,” Stephenson said. “It was brutal, man. He cried and he was mentally hurting. To this day, I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do. But I felt he was ready.”
Each time Crespo was taken down, which was often, Stephenson yelled out the increasingly lopsided score. It got ugly.
“From there, we just kind of built him back up,” Stephenson said. “It was a tear-him-down-build-him-up kind of thing. I can remember (Grimm and Hinkle) looking at me like, ‘Is this ok? Are you sure you want us to just go pound this kid again? And the answer was yes. It might have been after that moment that there was real trust. We had a special bond that fostered his great career and a friendship. It has been amazing.”
“There were a lot of times I wanted to quit and didn’t want to practice anymore,” Crespo admitted. “I give a lot of credit to Caleb to make sure I was always on the right track, doing the right things and always pushing me. And, obviously, my parents didn’t let me quit.”
Two years later, Grimm and Hinkle were at The Palace of Auburn Hills when Crespo won his first Division 4 Finals championship at 125 pounds as a freshman.
It was the culmination of a year where there were several signals that Crespo had what it took to make history.
“I don’t think people realize how difficult it was his freshman year to win,” Stephenson said. “He had to go through the state runner-up in the District Final, the returning state champ in the Regional Final and the same kid again in the state Finals — a three-time finalist. Bursting on the scene is exactly what he did, and that’s what we expected him to do.”
Behind the scenes, Crespo put in the work. Stephenson said he could count on one hand how many times Crespo missed an offseason workout over seven years.
“He was always the one in the room with me,” Stephenson said. “He was the stalwart. He was the backbone. He was the kid that always said yes.”
Winning a 135-pound title as a sophomore, a 4-2 decision over Onaway’s Matthew Grant, got everyone’s attention, but the whispers from doubters ended up being louder to Crespo than the cheers.
“I always kind of had a chip on my shoulder,” Crespo said. “I never thought I got as much respect as I deserved. I always had the mentality that people didn’t believe in me, and I wanted to prove everyone wrong. I used that swagger to help me wrestle better.”
As a junior, he closed out the season with a dominating performance in the 140-pound finals with a 13-0 major decision against Bad Axe’s Ryan Wehner. Last week, Crespo completed his mission with an 11-0 major decision versus Clinton’s Kent McCombs in the 145-pound championship match. During his last two championship runs, Crespo bonused his way through the MHSAA Tournament.
“The more I think about it, the more I can appreciate it,” said Crespo, who finished his high school career with a 211-5 record, a couple of days after the MHSAA Finals. “Anything less than four was going to be a disappointment.”
“Hopefully it creates a standard for people. I think people don’t realize how good of a coach Caleb Stephenson is, really, and how much credit he deserves in all this. I’ll remember the relationship we have as people, not just because of wrestling. He’s just a genuine and good person.”
Even though Crespo fully expected to accomplish his goal, when it happened, it was a bit surreal as he celebrated with his family who had sacrificed a lot to help him get there, and the coaches who had ridden the emotional ride with him.
“It felt pretty good,” Crespo said. “I got to finally relax and feel a little satisfied, I guess.”
“It was really emotional,” Stephenson said. I can’t fathom how special it is. I don’t even know how to explain it to others. This kid has taken me on a really amazing journey. I’m appreciative to him for that. There are only 28 coaches who have gotten to do this, too. I feel special to have been with him. Skyler listened to everything. He soaked it all in. He is incredible like that, and it’s going to be profitable for him at the next level, too.”
A couple of days later, though, Crespo was back to being, well, Crespo, with new goals concerning the BIG Ten and NCAA.
“He texted me (Tuesday) and said, ‘I’m not satisfied,’” Stephenson said. “That’s just who he is.”
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) Mendon's Skyler Crespo takes control during his semifinal win over Leslie's Grant Weber. (Middle) Crespo leads wrestlers onto the Ford Field mats as one of the flag bearers at the Individual Finals. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D4 Preview: Champ Returns as Favorite
February 25, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Division 4 Team Wrestling Finals feature the smallest schools competing in our state.
But they also included the headlining finish from last season’s championship matches at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
New Lothrop ended Hudson’s record five-year title streak by downing the Tigers 33-22 – and the Hornets return to Kellogg this weekend as favorites to repeat.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 4, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at 1 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 9:30 Saturday morning and the championship match at 4 p.m. All matches this weekend will be streamed live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV. For results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page. (Records below are based on those submitted for the Individual Finals.)
#1 New Lothrop
Record/rank: 26-1, No. 1
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference.
Coach: Jeff Campbell, 14th season (365-65)
Championship history: 13 MHSAA championships (most recent 2014), four runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Tommy Malloy (34-19) fr., 112 Connor Krupp (34-12) soph., 130 Dalton Birchmeier (32-9) sr., 135 Cole Hersch (46-0) jr., 140 Gabe Bennett (36-3) sr., 145 Steven Garza II (36-0) jr., 145 Trevor Copes (29-10) sr., 152 Johnny Robinson (33-11) jr., 160 Erik Birchmeier (34-8) soph., 171 Joe Fisher (16-5) sr., 189 Caleb Symons (44-1) jr., 285 David Robertson (34-19) sr.
Outlook: New Lothrop’s title last winter was its first since 2004 and keyed in large part by eventual and now-graduated individual champions Josh Wendling and Taylor Krupp. But Symons, usually unable to break into the lineup at the same weights as those two, also was a hero of last year’s final weekend. Bennett, Garza and Connor Krupp are returning Individual Finals placers, and Hersch is considered a contender next weekend as well.
#2 Decatur
Record/rank: 29-2, No. 4
League finish: Second in Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Coach: Brian Southworth, 31st season (639-206-3)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 David Helmuth (44-8) soph., 130 Ethan May (45-11) soph., 145 Elijah Luth (41-10) jr., 152 Hunter Bell (50-1) sr., 189 Cole Southworth (45-7) sr., 285 Logan Kennedy (23-2) soph.
Outlook: Decatur returns to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2012, having conquered No. 3 Lawton in their District Final after finishing behind Lawton in the SAC standings and falling to the Blue Devils in District Finals the last two seasons. Half the starting lineup is underclassmen, but Kennedy was an Individual Finals placer last season, as were Cole Southworth and Bell.
#3 Hudson
Record/rank: 21-5, No. 2
League finish: Tied for first in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Scott Marry, 27th season (713-151)
Championship history: Five MHSAA championships (most recent 2013), runner-up 2014.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Dylan Leathers (24-13) jr., 119 Roddy Hamdan (37-7) sr., 125 Tyler Roberts (26-15) sr., 130 Michael Prock (34-12) sr., 145 Mason Lopinski (34-5) jr., 152 Kyle Johnson (41-6) jr., 171 Clayton Brockway (28-16) sr., 189 Mitch Ely (28-13) sr., 189 Tylor Grames (30-17) soph.
Outlook: Hudson is capable of starting another title run with five Individual Finals placers in the lineup this weekend including Johnson, the reigning champion at 152, and Hamdan, the runner-up at 112 last season. The Tigers edged No. 5 Springport in the Regional Final to advance after sharing the LCAA championship with Division 3 top-ranked Dundee.
#4 Manchester
Record/rank: 28-7, No. 7
League finish: Tied for first in Cascades Conference.
Coach: Steve Vlcek, 25th season (500-181)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2008.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Reese Fry (29-12) fr., 112 Brendan Abrigo (45-1) sr., 119 Ethan Woods (38-8) soph., 135 Nick Dettling (45-6) sr., 140 Brock Vlcek (45-3) sr., 145 Corey Johnson (41-7) sr., 152 Matt Cuevas (38-11) sr., 152 Garrick Ockerman (28-19) sr., 160 Trevor Humphrey (45-4) jr., 285 Stevie Suliman (33-17) jr.
Outlook: Manchester also is back in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. The Flying Dutchmen scored at least 60 points in all three of their postseason wins to get to Battle Creek after sharing their league title with No. 6 Addison. Abrigo was the Individual Finals runner-up at 103 last season, and Woods finished sixth at that weight.
#5 Leroy Pine River
Record/rank: 25-5, No. 8
League finish: First in Highland Conference.
Coach: Tim Jones, 16th season (424-95)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1991.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Nate Park (38-7) jr., 103 Andrew Park (28-7) fr., 112 Jordan Stone (44-8) sr., 119 Tony Moore (44-6) sr., 125 Tucker Fansler (36-15) soph., 135 Phil Ragatzki (27-16) sr., 171 Jeff Gross (33-11) sr., 189 Tyler McCurry (39-10) sr., 215 Dominic Garcia (25-4) jr., 215 Josh Jackson (39-8) jr., 285 Chase Morrison (37-6) jr.
Outlook: Pine River has dominated its league and District with 15 championships over the last 16 seasons at both stages. This is the Bucks’ first trip to the Quarterfinals since 2008 and has come after four tournament wins by an average score of 67-13. Stone should be an Individual Finals contender after placing eighth at 112 last season.
#6 Norway
Record/rank: 18-5, unranked
League finish: First in Mid Peninsula Athletic Conference.
Coach: Nick Burkland, sixth season (84-32)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Dylan Hoffart (39-3) soph., 140 Cole Gonzalez (40-1) sr., 152 Tanner Gonzalez (36-4) soph., 160 Taylor Bonetti (47-4) sr.
Outlook: Norway’s surge continues as it is making the trip to Battle Creek for the third straight year and is a combined 68-6 in duals over the last three seasons. The Knights have moved up one seed each of these Quarterfinal trips and return 10 wrestlers from last season’s lineup. Cole Gonzalez and Bonetti both were Individual Finals placers in 2014.
#7 Climax-Scotts/Martin
Record/rank: 22-4, unranked
League finish: Third in Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Co-coaches: Jason Wade, 10th season (N/A); Pete Boyd, 27th season (531-234)
Championship history: Martin was Class D champion in 2008, Division 4 runner-up in 2004 and Class D runner-up in 1991 and 1987.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Dayton VanderPloeg (34-8) jr., 145 Todd Myers (35-8) jr., 152 Zack Mobley (43-9) jr., 215 Ethan Simmons (37-5) soph.
Outlook: These two schools formed a cooperative program this season for the first time and finished third together in one of the toughest small-school wrestling leagues in the state. VanderPloeg finished fourth at 103 pounds at last season’s Individual Finals and brings championship experience to a lineup with only two seniors. Climax-Scotts/Martin edged both Hesperia and Kent City by a point apiece to win the Regional.
#8 Cass City
Record/rank: 40-10, unranked
League finish: First in Greater Thumb Conference.
Coach: Don Markel, 30th season (521-343-2)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 140 Darrin Dickson (38-11) soph., 189 T.J. Moore (45-7) soph.
Outlook: Cass City is making its first trip to the Quarterfinals but has won nine league and five District titles under Markel, who took over the program heading into the 1985-86 season. The Red Hawks bounced back from two straight sub-.500 seasons to make this historical run with only five seniors on the roster but 10 wrestlers total with at least 30 wins this winter.
PHOTO: New Lothrop's Caleb Symons (right) earned a major decision in last season's Division 4 Final win and will be among those counted on again this weekend. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)