D2 Preview: Ready for Storied Finish
February 26, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Coaches R.J. Boudro and Joe Ray Barry will lead celebrated wrestling programs into Friday’s MHSAA Quarterfinals at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
But while Lowell and Eaton Rapids, respectively, have combined for 12 MHSAA titles and are the top seeds in Division 2 this weekend, both coaches are guiding their teams into these final rounds for the first time.
And that’s just another wrinkle of intrigue in a division featuring four teams that have never made an MHSAA championship match and two more that haven’t won a title in more than two decades.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 2, listed by seed. Their Quarterfinal matches begin at 7:45 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 11:45 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 Lowell
Record/rank: 26-2, No. 2
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference White.
Coach: R.J. Boudro, first season (26-2)
Championship history: Four MHSAA championships (most recent 2014), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Sam Russell (24-10) soph., 119 Lucas Hall (32-1) jr., 125 Aaron Ward (25-9) sr., 130 Zeth Dean (31-3) jr., 135 Jordan Hall (32-4) sr., 145 David Kruse 25-10) fr., 152 Dan Kruse (26-11) jr., 189 Logan Blough (22-15) jr., 215 Josh Colegrove (33-0) sr., 285 Logan Wilcox (28-7) sr.
Outlook: Boudro was an assistant under previous Lowell coach Dave Dean and also an MHSAA individual finalist at Armada before competing at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. He inherited a loaded and veteran lineup, even with only four seniors starting. Lucas Hall, Colegrove and junior Max Dean won individual championships last season, and Zeth Dean and Jordan Hall were placers.
#2 Eaton Rapids
Record/rank: 39-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference White.
Coach: Joe Ray Barry, third season (91-21)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 1999), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Austin O’Hearon (38-4) fr., 125 Austin Eldred (46-8) sr., 135 Jaedin Sklapsky (49-2) sr., 145 Lane McVicker (46-1) jr., 152 Blaine Milheim (45-5) sr., 160 Caleb Norris (42-6) sr., Clayton Higelmire (40-5) jr.
Outlook: Eaton Rapids has a long history of wrestling success, but got its signature win so far under Barry – a former three-time individual champ for Mason – by beating No. 1-ranked St. Johns in the Regional Final. The Greyhounds also eliminated No. 5 DeWitt and No. 9 Mason during their tournament run. Sklapsky was an Individual Finals runner-up at 135 last season, and McVicker was a placer.
#3 Niles
Record/rank: 23-3, No. 3
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference.
Coach: Todd Hesson, eighth season (186-72)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Andrew Flick (24-3) soph., 119 Josh Dayhuff (38-5) sr., 125 Brendan Hall (34-8) soph., 130 Mitchell Findeisen (32-9) soph., 130 Warren Smith (38-8) sr., 135 Noah Hall (37-4) sr.
Outlook: Niles has firmly established itself among Division 2 powers with three straight Regional titles and two consecutive Semifinal appearances, and looks like a possibility to take the next step into a championship bout this weekend. Flick, Dayhuff and Smith are returning Individual Finals placers and lead a line-up anchored by seven seniors.
#4 Gaylord
Record/rank: 39-1, No. 6
League finish: First in Big North Conference.
Coach: Jerry La Joie, 21st season (558-126-2)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Trevor Giallombardo (23-2) jr., 103 Derek Giallombardo (28-6) fr., 112 Dominic La Joie (31-2) soph., 125 Jon Martin (45-3) jr., 145 Jeff Heinz (50-4) sr., 189 Tristan Gregory (33-3) sr., 215 Shane Foster (49-1) jr., 285 Tim Roney (27-8) jr.
Outlook: Gaylord is back in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2006 and has made four trips under Jerry La Joie, and also won eight straight league and seven straight District titles. The Blue Devils advanced by surviving a strong Regional with a four-point win over Clio and seven-point victory over No. 8 Bay City Western. Dominic La Joie was the champion at 103 pounds last winter to cap his first season, and Martin, Gregory and Foster all placed at their weights.
#5 Flint Kearsley
Record/rank: 35-5, No. 7
League finish: Third in Flint Metro League
Coach: Luther Brown, fourth season (113-45)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Andy Ruhstorfer (48-5) fr., 119 Jakob Chapman (43-3) sr., 135 Travis Wildfong (46-3) jr., 152 Dylan Tarrence (43-6) soph., 171 James Davis (47-3) sr., 189 Reese Harburn (39-14) soph.
Outlook: Kearsley will compete in its second Quarterfinal, having made the trip previously in 2004. But Brown supplies championship experience – he wrestled on the 1995 Class A championship team at Flint Northern – and has led the Hornets to two District titles over his four seasons. Chapman was the Division 2 runner-up at 119 pounds last season, and Davis also was an Individual Finals placer. They are the only two seniors on the roster.
#6 Tecumseh
Record/rank: 32-4, No. 10
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference White.
Coach: George Lesko, first season (32-4)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Andrew Marten (51-2) soph., 125 Wyatt Cadmus (45-9) sr., 135 Gabe Bechtol (39-9) fr., 152 Kyle Humphries (36-8) jr., 189 Kody McCrate (45-8) sr., 215 Landon Pelham (31-2) jr., 285 Nathan Brady (47-10) sr.
Outlook: Lesko has Tecumseh in the Quarterfinals for the fifth straight season and seeking its fourth Semifinal berth in that time. A former assistant with more than 30 years in coaching, he took over a squad that’s starting only three seniors but does have a 2014 Individual Finals placer in Pelham. Five others have at least 40 wins this season, with Marten among expected contenders next weekend.
#7 Warren Lincoln
Record/rank: 21-9, unranked
League finish: Fourth in Macomb Area Conference White
Coach: Vito Delia, 16th season (260-160-3)
Championship history: Class A champion 1994.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Demarco Dixon (40-13) jr., 130 Garret Kaercher (38-5) jr., 135 Shawn Lindsey (33-11) jr., 152 Khannor Kaercher (48-1) sr., 160 Deirrien Perkins (40-5) jr., 171 Jelani Embree (40-0) soph.
Outlook: Lincoln is back at the Quarterfinals for the third straight season and moved up a seed from 2014. Both Kaerchers and Perkins were Individual Finals placers last winter, and Embree is an emerging standout after missing his freshman season with an injury.
#8 Comstock Park
Record/rank: 19-9, unranked
League finish: Third in O-K Blue.
Coach: Jim Olson, 27th season (403-188)
Championship history: Class C champion 1974, runner-up 1980.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 135 Tyler Brewer (48-4) jr., 189 Aaron Martin (41-5) sr.
Outlook: Comstock Park is making its first appearance in a Quarterfinal, although it did finish Class C runner-up in the first season of Olson’s first tenure as coach, in 1980, when team scoring was based on individual placers. The Panthers did win seven District titles in eight seasons at one point, from 2005-12, but broke through this winter after bouncing back from two straight sub-.500 seasons.
PHOTO: Lowell's Lucas Hall and Niles' Andrew Flick wrestled during last season's Division 2 Semifinals; both return this weekend. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D4 Preview: Seeds Shuffle Contenders
February 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Hudson and New Lothrop have met in the Division 4 Wrestling Final five straight seasons, and one of those two teams has won the championship in this division a decade running.
But if seeds are correct this weekend, there will be some significant shake-up come Saturday afternoon at Kalamazoo's Wings Event Center.
Hudson and New Lothrop are seeded third and fourth, respectively, with Clinton seeking its first MHSAA wrestling title as the favorite and Carson City-Crystal hoping to achieve the same as the second seed.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 4, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at noon Friday, with Semifinals at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and the championship match that afternoon at 3:45 p.m. All matches this weekend will be viewable live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.tv. For Friday’s schedule and results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page.
#1 Clinton
Record/rank: 28-4, No. 3
League finish: First in Tri-County Conference
Co-coaches: Jeff Rolland, sixth season (162-42); Casey Randolph, first season (28-4)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Brandon Beach (27-12) sr., 119 AJ Baxter (44-6) soph., 125 Christian Minard (33-13) sr., 125 Noah Comar (47-1) sr., 130 George Ames (33-9) fr., 135 Spencer Konz (39-8) soph., 140 Kent McCombs (30-8) fr.,145 Riley Jeffrey (37-8) sr., 152 Jeffrey Konz (35-11) sr., 160 Brayden Randolph (40-1) soph., 171 Cecil Rafferty (36-12) sr., 215 Logan Badge (31-2) fr., 285 Will Felts (27-13) soph.
Outlook: Clinton will wrestle in the Quarterfinals for the fourth time in six seasons, and just missed its first championship match last year falling to New Lothrop in the Semifinals after entering the tournament as the second seed. Seniors fill half the weights, with underclassmen the other half. Comar has wrestled in three Individual Finals championship matches, winning a title in 2017, and Baxter – one of those underclassmen – also was an individual runner-up last season. Jeffrey and Randolph also were placers in 2018.
#2 Carson City-Crystal
Record/rank: 39-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Kacy Datema, ninth season (234-69)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up in 2000 and 2001.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Nolan Datema (42-1) sr., 125 Jaron Johnson (40-5) soph., 130 Jamison Ward (44-1) jr., 135 Daryn Shepler (36-7) sr., 140 Aiden Adkins (32-14) sr., 152 Caleb Collins (45-3) sr., 160 Braxton Seida (39-2) sr., 171 Nash Akin (33-13) jr., 189 Daniel Smith (43-2) sr., 215 Brian Yeakey (40-4) jr.
Outlook: Carson City-Crystal also has been edging up, moving to the second seed this year after entering last year’s Finals as a third seed and falling to New Lothrop in the Quarterfinals. This will be the Eagles’ fifth Finals weekend in seven seasons, and they got here in part by beating No. 6 Hart in the Regional Final. Ward and Seida were individual runners-up in 2017, and they were joined by Smith, Yeakey, Shepler, Adkins and Nolan Datema among placers.
#3 Hudson
Record/rank: 17-7, No. 1
League finish: Second in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Coach: Scott Marry, 31st season (789-187)
Championship history: Seven MHSAA championships (most recent 2018), three runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Bronson Marry (30-8) fr., 103 Payton Rogers (26-8) fr., 119 Caden Natale (23-4) soph., 125 CJ Berro (24-18) soph., 135 Jordan Hamdan (41-0) sr., 145 Dylan Smith (33-8) soph., 152 Jorge Sereno (32-11) sr., 171 John Betz (24-10) sr., 189 Kyle Moll (32-10) jr.
Outlook: Hudson won its second straight title and seventh over the last decade last season, and is returning after convincing wins over No. 7 Mendon and No. 9 Bronson at the Regional. Hamdan will wrestle next month for a fourth MHSAA individual championship, and Sereno, Natale and senior Carson Price also were Finals placers last year – Price returned last week after missing two months to win a match against Mendon. Senior Tucker Sholl – an individual champion in 2016 and runner-up in 2017 – also is back, returning two weeks ago after missing nearly a month of competition. It’s also important to note again that although Hudson finished runner-up in its league, that second place came to Division 3 top seed Dundee.
#4 New Lothrop
Record/rank: 23-7, No. 2
League finish: First in Mid-Michigan Activities Conference
Coach: Jeff Campbell, 18th season (456-90)
Championship history: 15 MHSAA championships (most recent 2016), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Andrew Krupp (25-18) soph., 119 Alex Wolford (28-9) fr., 135 Logan Zell (32-12) sr., 140 Micah Poletti (31-16) sr., 145 Austin Wolford (32-3) sr., 171 Justin Carnahan (32-5) jr., 189 Camden Orr (38-8) soph., 215 Isiah Pasik (36-8) fr.
Outlook: New Lothrop finished runner-up for the second straight season a year ago despite entering as the sixth seed, and the Hornets have appeared in five straight championship matches. In addition to contending again, this will be a valuable experience for a group that includes only six seniors, including five scheduled to be in the lineup Friday. Wolford won the 140-pound individual championship last season, while Carnahan was a runner-up and Zell was a placer.
#5 Manchester
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 5
League finish: First in Cascades Conference
Coach: Steve Vlcek, 29th season (601-213)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2008.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Jacob Bunn (27-7) fr., 103 Jared Bunn (39-10) fr., 119 Drew Gebhardt (41-9) jr., 130 Jacob Shelby (44-5) jr., 135 Grant Tungate (34-12) sr., 140 Josh Bunn (20-8) sr., 145 Jacob Kurgin (41-8) jr., 152 Max Wagner (36-16) sr., 160 Nick Phillips (36-16) jr., 171 Collin McCaffrey (46-7) jr., 189 Derek Guenther (34-13) jr., 285 Simon Lato (42-11) jr.
Outlook: Manchester is back at the Quarterfinals for the third time in four seasons after missing a year ago, with a win over No. 10 Springport in the Regional Final clinching this trip. This is another team that could be on the verge of a couple of big finishes, with only six seniors and four expected to start. Gebhardt and Shelby were Finals placers last season, and they are two of 10 Flying Dutchmen with at least 30 wins this winter.
#6 Leroy Pine River
Record/rank: 25-9, No. 8
League finish: First in Mid-Michigan Wrestling Conference
Coach: Tim Jones, 20th season (556-132)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1991.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Matthew Treiber (29-17) fr., 130 Jordan Koetje (35-9) jr., 145 Thomas Hooker (30-17) jr., 160 Austin Wuesten (33-10) jr., 171 Brock Nelson (44-2) jr., 215 Tim Rizor (42-2) jr., 285 Bryan McCurry (43-5) sr.
Outlook: Some incredible totals keep growing – make that now 19 league and District titles and eight Regional championships (including five straight) since Jones took over the program. Pine River also advanced to the Semifinals last season with a relatively young team that returns with one expected senior starter but a strong junior group. Nelson and Rizor were Finals placers last season, Rizor a runner-up.
#7 Onaway
Record/rank: 21-2, unranked
League finish: First in North Star League
Coach: Mark Grant, 17th season (record N/A)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Joey Galvez (34-11) soph., 130 Teddy Peters (37-10) jr., 135 Matthew Grant (30-5) jr., 140 Brendan Fenstermaker (37-13) soph., 152 Seth Enos (32-14) soph.
Outlook: After making the Quarterfinals last season for the first time, Onaway is back and moved up a seed. Matthew Grant was a Finals runner-up last season at 135 and leads a group of qualifiers that has grown from three last season to five making the trip to Ford Field next weekend.
#8 Schoolcraft
Record/rank: 27-11, unranked
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Coach: Rob Ling, 14th season (318-147)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Caden Sukich (44-7) jr., 119 Hunter Martens (42-11) soph., 152 Mark Fox (41-9) jr., 285 River Fox (49-2) sr.
Outlook: Schoolcraft is coming off its first Regional title and edged formerly-ranked White Pigeon to earn the trip to Kalamazoo. This next step comes after the Eagles won their second straight league and District championships, and with a lineup that’s split evenly between upper and underclassmen but will graduate only three starters. River Fox was a Finals placer last season.
PHOTO: Carson City-Crystal, here during a match in December, is the second seed in Division 4 this weekend. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)