D1 Preview: One Champion Will Emerge
February 26, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Hartland, Davison and Detroit Catholic Central have taken turns against each other and as the presumed favorite in Division 1 this season.
They make up the top three seeds among another strong class of teams from Michigan's largest wrestling schools, but should be wary of at least a few others that already have surprised during this tournament run.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 1, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at 2 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday and the championship match at 3:30 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.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
#1 Hartland
Record/rank: 32-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West (also Lakes and overall)
Coach: Todd Cheney, 24rd season (665-97-2)
Championship history: Five MHSAA runner-up finishes (most recent 2015).
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Corey Cavanaugh (41-10) fr.; 103 Kyle Kantola (50-4) fr.; 125 Noah Lopez (43-6) sr.; 130 Garnet Potter (33-11) jr.; 135 Nick DiNobile (35-16) jr.; 140 Reece Hughes (45-4) jr.; 152 Sage Castillo (52-0) sr.; 152 Logan Vish (45-9) sr.; 171 Lucas LaForge (45-6) sr.; 189 Andrew Spisz (35-15) jr.; 285 Brandon Krol (23-3) sr.
Outlook: Will this end with Hartland’s first team championship? The Eagles have made 15 straight trips to the Quarterfinals and fell to Brighton by only six points in last season’s championship match. Hartland gave up only 34 points total in four postseason matches to return this weekend, and its only loss this season was to Detroit Catholic Central during their dual at CMU in January. Hughes, Vish and Potter all were individual placers last season and Castillo is a favorite to also contend next weekend, and they together help make up a nucleus of 11 upperclassmen that fill every weight from 125-285.
#2 Davison
Record/rank: 22-4, No. 2
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley League
Coach: Roy Hall, 19th season (467-88-1)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2006), three runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Steven Garty (28-8) fr.; 112 Max Johnson (27-0) sr.; 119 AJ Facundo (28-9) soph.; 125 Deven Perez (35-6) sr.; 130 Ryan Schlak (24-13) jr.; 135 Brian Case (33-5) fr.; 145 Kurt Schlak (25-13) sr.; 160 Gabe Ellis (26-11) soph.; 189 Brenden McRill (34-2) jr.; 189 Logan Mabbitt (20-7) sr.; 215 Tanner Thomas (24-11) sr.
Outlook: Davison followed two straight runner-up finishes in 2013 and 2014 by falling to eventual champion Brighton by only four points in a Semifinal last season, but looks capable of taking the final step again for the first time since 2006. Facundo is the reigning champion at 112, and Johnson, Perez, McRill and Thomas all also placed last season (McRill for the second straight). Davison hasn’t given up more than 17 points to an opponent during this run, and is built for now and the future with six seniors plus six underclassmen among starters.
#3 Detroit Catholic Central
Record/rank: 15-5, No. 1
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League.
Coach: Mitch Hancock, ninth season (186-41)
Championship history: Eleven MHSAA championships (most recent 2014), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Benyamin Kamali (14-1) soph.; 112 Stone Moscovic (26-11) soph.; 119 Kevon Davenport (41-3) fr.; 125 Cameron Amine (34-8) fr.; 130 Aaron Rehfeldt (28-16) sr.; 140 Aidan Wagh (30-15) soph.; 171 Tyler Morland (39-1) jr.; 215 Jackson Ross (33-9) jr.; 285 Nicholas Jenkins (33-10) jr.
Outlook: The Shamrocks are seeking their fifth Division 1 championship in seven seasons and as mentioned above are the only team to beat Hartland this season. DCC has replaced a pair of strong graduating classes the last two years with a strong group of underclassmen to go with eight upperclassmen who hold down eight of the nine heaviest weights. Moreland and Jenkins were individual placers last season.
#4 Oxford
Record/rank: 24-8, No. 6
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red.
Coach: Paul McDevitt, 19th season (386-155)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2011, two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Daltan Myers (15-1) soph.; 125 Sergio Borg (35-15) soph.; 140 Alex Hrisopoulos (44-5) sr.; 152 Devin Trevino (26-18) fr.; 215 Wyatt Harden (42-3) sr.
Outlook: The Wildcats are back at Finals weekend for the eighth time in nine seasons and as a fourth seed after competing as an eighth only a year ago. A young lineup last season is more veteran with eight upperclassmen but still five freshmen plus another four who have gained valuable experience this winter. Hrisopoulos is coming off his second-straight top-three individual finish, and Borg and Harden also were Finals qualifiers in 2015.
#5 Hudsonville
Record/rank: 27-5, unranked
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Coach: Mike Rottier, ninth season (147-108)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Kameron Kempker (28-7) soph.; 103 Jack Samuels (42-1) fr.; 130 Austin Fine (38-9) sr.; 140 Anthony Snead (24-17) sr.; 160 Brenden DeVries (34-9) sr.; 285 Lane Potter (26-19) jr.
Outlook: Hudsonville has built its best record under Rottier and is back at the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2011. The lineup is filled with veterans, with eight seniors, and upperclassmen at every weight from 119-285. Although the team doesn’t have any wrestlers who placed at last season’s Individual Finals, six have won at least 30 matches this winter, including both freshmen at the top of the lineup.
#6 Macomb Dakota
Record/rank: 26-12, No. 9
League finish: Second in Macomb Area Conference Red.
Coach: Ed Skowneski, fourth season (116-34)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Justin Tiburcio (48-10) fr.; 130 Tyler Sanders (52-5) soph.; 140 Layne Malczewski (50-7) soph.; 145 Dustin Solomon (34-16) fr.
Outlook: Dakota definitely is a team on the rise; the team has only one senior among 28 on the roster, starts eight sophomores and three freshmen, and beat rival and No. 8 New Baltimore Anchor Bay by a point on the way to its third Quarterfinal in four seasons. Malczewski and Sanders both placed at the Individual Finals as freshmen, and 12 wrestlers have at least 30 wins this season.
#7 Grand Ledge
Record/rank: 19-7, unranked
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Blue.
Coach: Steve Delaney, ninth season (185-71)
Championship history: Class B runner-up 1962.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Cole Janes (44-2) jr.; 125 Jack Snauko (43-4) jr.; 140 Dylan Steward (44-1) sr.; 285 Matt Lloyd (23-3) sr.
Outlook: Grand Ledge has been the surprise of the MHSAA Tournament after knocking off reigning champion Brighton, which was ranked No. 4 entering the postseason, in their Regional Semifinal. This is the Comets’ first trip to the Quarterfinals since 2005, but Steward has championship experience as the reigning winner at 140. Lloyd also placed in 2015, and they are two of a strong group of 10 upperclassmen leading the charge.
#8 Temperance Bedford
Record/rank: 11-0, No. 10
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference.
Coach: Kevin Vogel, fifth season (114-34)
Championship history: Eleven MHSAA titles (most recent 2001), seven runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 135 Austin Teague (34-11) sr.; 152 Brad Stewart (35-6) sr.; 160 Blake Montrie (46-1) sr.; 189 Gabriel Elarton (39-7) sr.; 285 Tim Stevens (38-5) sr.
Outlook: One of the most storied programs in MHSAA history is back at the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2013, with its last championship match appearance coming during a runner-up run in 2008. Montrie is one of six seniors in the lineup and the reigning champion at 152; Stewart at Stevens also were placers last season. The Kicking Mules eliminated No. 7 Westland John Glenn on the way to CMU.
PHOTO: Detroit Catholic Central and Hartland squared off during the CMU Duals last month, with the Shamrocks coming away victorious. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Repeat Reaffirms Clinton's Spot Among Annual Contenders
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 30, 2021
KALAMAZOO – The Clinton wrestling program took its place at the top of Division 4 a year ago, claiming the first Finals title in school history.
On Tuesday, it emphatically announced that it’s here to stay.
Clinton rolled through its competition throughout the day, topped off with a 55-9 win against New Lothrop at Wings Event Center, to claim its second-straight Division 4 title.
“I think now people know that we’re the real deal,” Clinton co-coach Jeff Rolland said. “We solidified what we did last year. We’ve got a lot of young kids – there's only four guys in our lineup every day that aren’t going to be here next year. We did this without three all-staters in our lineup from last year. We have a lot of depth. We have more coming. I think people know that we’re for real now. It’s not a one-year deal or whatever.”
Clinton was dominant throughout the postseason, and closed it out the same way, winning 76-6 in the Quarterfinal against Ravenna and 59-9 in the Semifinal against Leslie. That’s despite what Rolland said was a performance in the Semifinal that was less than the team’s best. But Clinton has reached the point where it can win even when it’s not at the top of its game.
“Since my freshman year we were chasing it and we fell short, then we fell short again my sophomore year,” senior Landis Gillman said. “My junior year we really picked it up, and we got into the mindset that we wanted it. We became a family. We’ve just been striving and pushing ourselves to the limits to reach this point.”
And in case there was any doubt remaining about the program’s status, Clinton has won its titles against the two programs that had dominated the division for more than a decade prior – Hudson (2020) and New Lothrop.
“Last year was big because we had to go through both,” Rolland said. “New Lothrop, if they’re not the most storied program in the state, I don’t know who is. We’ve got nothing but respect for that team, those guys. It makes it special when you beat a team like that, for sure.”
It was Gillman who started Clinton off with a bang in the Finals, as he bumped up to 140 pounds and won by major decision against New Lothrop’s Andrew Krupp in a matchup of wrestlers ranked in the top three.
Clinton won the first six matches of the dual, five by major decision – by Gillman, Kent McCombs (145), AJ Baxter (152), Spencer Konz (160) and Logan Badge (189) – and one with a first-period pin from Brayden Randolph (171).
“Landis had a day today,” Rolland said. “He went through some kids today. That was big. He’s up a weight class. He’s very, very good as you saw. But a major starting out, I think our kids fed off that. I’m so proud of that kid. He’s a senior, he spent two years on the bench, waited his turn, and now he’s got his shot.”
New Lothrop picked up its two wins in the dual at 215 and 285, as Grayson Orr won a 4-3 decision, followed by a second-period fall from Isiah Pasik.
Clinton closed the dual out with six straight wins, however, as Connor Younts (103) and Ethan Younts (135) each won by pin, Nik Shadley (125) won by technical fall, and Coy Perry (112) and Zak Shadley (130) won by decision. Connor Busz (119) won by forfeit.
“We did what we needed to do; we wrestled those kids hard,” New Lothrop coach Jeff Campbell said. “They sent a kid out at every weight that was a very talented wrestler, a very experienced wrestler who was well-coached, and we had to compete hard against them, and every single kid did. We just didn’t have as much ammunition as they did today. But I was really, really proud of our effort. We made plenty of mistakes, but we definitely made every point get earned, and that’s all we can try to do.”
The championship match appearance was the first since 2018 for the Hornets, who had made five straight starting in 2014 and have won 15 team titles.
“It’s an expectation – from the youth level up, we try to put ourselves in a position to do well,” Campbell said. “I think it’s great for our younger guys, and those younger guys that got to step onto the mat. It’s another one of those years when we lose a good crop of seniors. I told them out here, ‘You seniors, your legacy isn’t whether or not you win or lose this last match or you win or lose a state title yourself. It’s what did you teach the kids along the way? Even when you didn’t know they were watching, what were you doing? How hard were you working? Were you cutting weight the right way? Did you compete in these matches when you were the underdog fearless and wrestle hard?’ They showed that today.”
New Lothrop defeated Bark River-Harris 54-20 in the Quarterfinal, and received a bye in the Semifinal, as both Hudson and Schoolcraft were disqualified for putting in a wrestler at an ineligible weight in their Quarterfinal.
Gillman, McCombs, Baxter, Randolph, Badge, Connor Younts, Perry, Busz and Zak Shadley each picked up three wins on the day for Clinton.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clinton’s Landis Gillman wrestles New Lothrop’s Andrew Krupp during Tuesday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Clinton celebrates its repeat championship. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)