D2 Preview: The Champs are Here
March 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Eight wrestlers who have won a combined 12 MHSAA individual championships will take the mat during this weekend’s Individual Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Among the many finishing high school careers are two hoping to do so with third high school titles – Clio’s Mason Smith and St. Johns’ Logan Massa.
See below for 10 contenders to watch this weekend, plus others who enter the tournament undefeated or coming off runner-up finishes in 2014. Follow all the matches beginning with Thursday's first round on a subscription basis live on MHSAA.TV, and click here for results at MHSAA.com.
Those listed below are only a handful of the numerous contenders for this weekend’s Division 2 championships. Come back to Second Half at the end of this weekend, when we’ll have post-match thoughts from all 14 title winners.
112: Dominic LaJoie, Gaylord sophomore (33-2) – LaJoie is 83-2 over his first two seasons after winning the championship at 103 last season, and he helped his team to the MHSAA Semifinals last weekend in Battle Creek.
119: Lucas Hall, Lowell junior (35-1) – Although his undefeated streak came to an end – Hall was perfect in winning 112 last winter – he’s 112-8 over three seasons and that lone 2013-14 loss came to two-time Division 3 champ Devin Schroder of Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
135: Mason Smith, Clio senior (44-0) – Smith hasn’t lost since his freshman season, claiming titles at 112 and 119 pounds and building a career record of 203-6; he also finished fourth at 103 as a freshman.
140: Austin Thompson, Marysville senior (46-1) – This weight class is loaded and Thompson might be the favorite after winning 130 last season; his only loss this winter came to GRCC two-time champ Nate Limmex.
140: Austin Melton, DeWitt junior (38-4) – He’s another reigning champion wrestling this weekend at 140, having claimed the title at 135 last season after also making the MHSAA Finals at that weight as a freshman.
140: Noah Hanau, Stevensville Lakeshore senior (49-0, 140) – The lone undefeated wrestler at 140 has qualified for four MHSAA Finals and placed fourth at 130 pounds as a sophomore before finishing just outside the top eight last season at 135.
152: Connor Myers, St. Joseph senior (26-0) – The Bears’ standout has been building toward this final run with third-place finishes at this weight both of the last two seasons.
160: Logan Ritchie, New Boston Huron senior (54-1) – This is Ritchie’s third season at this weight; he finished fourth as a sophomore before winning the title last year, and also finished sixth at 145 as a freshman.
171: Logan Massa, St. Johns senior (33-0) – Only an overtime Finals loss to Ada Forest Hills Eastern standout Tim Lambert in 2012 is keeping Massa from wrestling for a fourth title this weekend – he won at 135 as a sophomore and 152 as a junior and hasn’t lost since his first season.
215: Josh Colegrove, Lowell senior (36-0) – The reigning champion at this weight has only one loss over the last two seasons and also finished third at this weight as a freshman.
Other 2014 runners-up: Ortonville-Brandon junior Bryan LaVearn (125, 40-2, 112 in 2014), Flint Kearsley senior Jakob Chapman (119, 44-3, 119 in 2014), Eaton Rapids senior Jaeden Sklapsky (135, 52-2, 130 in 2014).
Also undefeated: Stevensville Lakeshore freshman Austin Franco (46-0, 112), Farmington Hills Harrison senior Michael Volyanyuk (42-0, 119), Hastings senior Jason Slaughter (49-0, 152), Warren Lincoln sophomore Jelani Embree (41-0, 171), Dearborn Heights Annapolis senior Diallo Matsimela (50-0, 189).
More of note: Ionia sophomore Cameron Mahlich (35-2, 103), St. Johns junior Ian Parker (35-2, 125), Lowell junior Zeth Dean (34-3, 130), Riverview junior Brandon Garcia (52-3, 145), St. Johns senior Ty Wildmo (36-3, 189), Greenville senior Cole Antcliff (45-1, 285).
PHOTO: Clio’s Mason Smith grapples toward his second MHSAA championship at last season’s Individual Finals. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Delta County's Best Prep for Ford Field
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2019
GLADSTONE – Two weeks have passed since the team season ended for Upper Peninsula wrestling teams.
Although, that doesn't mean it's over for all U.P. wrestlers.
Seven grapplers will represent Delta County at the MHSAA Individual Finals this Friday and Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit after placing among the top four in their respective weight classes in Regional meets.
All of them got together for practice last week at Gladstone Middle School.
"This is going to help me a lot," said Bark River-Harris freshman Avery Corrigan, who placed fourth at 103 pounds in a Division 4 Regional at Charlevoix. "I have people here my size who I've wrestled before. It feels great to be going to the state tournament. I felt confident going into the Regional and saw kids I hadn't seen before. It's going to be challenging, but I just have to stay confident. You just give it your all and treat it like any other tournament."
It was teammate vs. teammate for a Division 3 Regional championship at Kalkaska as Gladstone freshman Michael Brazeau pinned junior Lane Matzke 4 minutes, 49 seconds into the 103-pound final.
"We practice together," said Brazeau. "It was hard to make a move. It was a lot less intense than other matches because we knew what was coming. I didn't really care who won.
“It's looking very tough for 103 right now, but everybody's beatable. It feels like it's going to be pretty nerve-wracking, yet it's going to be exciting to go down there."
Matzke had similar thoughts about the Regional title bout.
"I didn't really care who won either,” he added. “The semifinal was the one that really mattered. We started laughing when we found out we were both in the finals.
“I went to the state tournament in my freshman year. It gets the butterflies out knowing I've been there before. I can't wait to get back there."
Junior teammate Cole Hansen (152) also captured a Regional title.
“It's quite an atmosphere down there,” Hansen said of the Finals. “I was pretty nervous when I went down there last year, but I'm more excited about going this year. My goal is to go down there and take first. I have to stay focused, get the right food in my body and drink a lot of water. I have to try to stay in good position. Last year I got out of position. This has been a good year so far."
This will be the first visit to the Finals for Gladstone senior Nick Dawson (130), who took fourth in the Regional at his weight.
"It feels real good to be going," he said. "This will be a great experience. It's going to be hard. It will also be exciting. I went down there to watch last year and there were a lot of mats, which motivated me to go down there this year."
Escanaba junior Hunter Larson (135) goes to the Motor City with the most MHSAA tournament experience among those in this group. He earned a third place in a Division 2 Regional at Gaylord last weekend and took sixth at 135 pounds at last year’s Finals.
"I started slowly in the Regional, then I got energized and my wrestling improved," said Larson, who won the Regional the past two years. "I'm a little disappointed I didn't get my third Regional. It will be a little longer road this time, but now I'll just have to trust in my ability.
“It definitely makes me less nervous after being (in Detroit) before. Everybody is pretty good once you get this far. I'm pretty excited about going back there."
Escanaba sophomore Collin Arnt (112) plans to take an offensive stance in Detroit.
"I have to wrestle aggressive," he said. "Hopefully, this will be a good experience. This was definitely one of my goals for this year. This is a real tough division. There will be some tough wrestlers. My goal is to place in the top eight."
PHOTO: Escanaba’s Hunter Larson wrestles this season at Marquette. (Photo courtesy of the Larson family.)