D3 Preview: Dundee's Drive for 5 May Include Meeting of 2021 Champs
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 24, 2022
It’s not often we get to see two of last year’s Finals champions face off for this season’s title. But we could Saturday in the Division 3 Team Wrestling Final.
Dundee is seeking to win its fifth-straight Division 3 championship. Clinton won the last two in Division 4 before moving into Division 3 this winter. They are the top seeds in the bracket heading into this weekend. They also wrestle together in the Lenawee County Athletic Association; Dundee won the regular-season dual 40-26.
But there is plenty of wrestling ahead before we reach that potential rematch – and a repeat No. 3 seed in Alma, along with five more qualifiers, looking to reach that last match of the weekend as well. Friday’s Quarterfinals begin at 4:30 p.m. at Wings Event Center – see matchups below – with Semifinals at noon Saturday and the championship match later that day at 3:45 p.m.
#1 Dundee (14-4) vs. #8 Constantine (25-10)
#4 Imlay City (27-5) vs. #5 Hart (30-5)
#3 Alma (26-1) vs. #6 Montrose (18-5)
#2 Clinton (30-3) vs. #7 Gladstone (15-1)
Tickets for Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals will be sold by the Wings Event Center box office. All matches for all three rounds also will be viewable on MHSAA.tv with subscription.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 3, listed by seed. (Girls Finals qualifiers are noted with “G” with weight class, as those classes differ from the other Individual Finals brackets.)
#1 DUNDEE
Record/rank: 14-4, No. 1
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Coach: Tim Roberts, 23rd season (572-80-1)
Championship history: Thirteen MHSAA championships (most recent 2021), seven runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Ashton Viers (24-12) fr., 112 Kade Kluce (34-6) soph., 119 Braeden Davis (34-2) jr., 119 Kyle Smith (27-7) sr., 125 Cameron Chinavare (32-2) soph., 130 Kaden Chinavare (29-3) jr., 135 Logan Sander (29-6) sr., 135 Kole Katschor (28-11) fr., 140 Trey Parker (25-8) soph., 145 Austin Jaworski (17-10) sr., 145 Aiden Davis (36-0) jr., 152 Casey Swiderski (38-0) sr., 152 Jacob Fenbert (24-13) jr.
Outlook: Dundee has wrestled in the last 10 Division 3 championship matches and brings back eight starters from last season’s winning team. Swiderski will wrestle next weekend to join the elite group of four-time individual champions, and Braeden Davis is right behind wrestling for his third individual title in three seasons. Kluce, Kaden Chinavare and Aiden Davis also were Individual Finals champs in 2021, while Smith, Sander and Parker were placers. Also among Dundee’s wins this season was a victory over Division 1 top seed Davison.
#2 CLINTON
Record/rank: 30-3, No. 2
League finish: Tied for second in LCAA
Co-coaches: Casey Randolph and Jeff Rolland, ninth seasons (247-52)
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Braylon Long (42-6) fr., 112 Connor Younts (39-6) soph., 119 Connor Busz (43-2) jr., 125 Zak Shadley (38-9) jr., 130 Chase Packard (34-9) sr., 135 Coy Perry (43-7) soph., 140 Maurice Ames (32-13) soph., 145 Joey Preston (29-7) soph., 160 Kent McCombs (28-2) sr., 189 Logan Badge (33-4) sr.; 130-G Faith Blackburn (20-1) soph.
Outlook: Eight starters return this weekend from last season’s Division 4 championship match win, and they provide major points potential even as the team graduated two individual champions. Badge also will be attempting to join the four-time individual champions group next weekend, again at 189, and Younts (103) and Perry (112) were Division 4 champs a year ago as well. Busz was the 112 runner-up to Perry in 2021, while Shadley (119), George Ames (140) and McCombs (145) also all finished runners-up at last year’s Individual Finals, McCombs for the second straight. Ames, a senior, is 21-2 at 152.
#3 ALMA
Record/rank: 26-1, No. 3
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference East
Coach: Randy Miniard, 11th season (260-100)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Isaiah Mullins (34-3) sr., 125 Fabian Facundo (33-2) fr., 130 Buddy Leonard (32-8) fr., 135 Gianni Tripp (28-7) jr., 160 Jaden Morrow (35-5) sr., 171 Cole O’Boyle (35-2) soph., 189 Jacob Munger (35-2) sr., 215 Adam Garcia (26-6) sr., 285 Caden Adams (17-11) sr.
Outlook: The Panthers have extended their Regional title streak to five seasons and are back in Kalamazoo as the No. 3 seed for the third straight after advancing again with a Regional Final win over No. 10 Portland. A lineup loaded with nine seniors has lost only to Division 1 No. 10 Brighton, in December. Munger placed fifth last season at 160, and O’Boyle and Tripp also will be making repeat trips to the Individual Finals.
#4 IMLAY CITY
Record/rank: 27-5, unranked
League finish: Fourth in Blue Water Area Conference
Coach: Tony D’Ambrosio, eighth season (118-76-1)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Tanner Land (39-8) fr., 119 Dominic D’Ambrosio (41-2) soph., 125 Cristian Rojas (42-3) sr., 130 Julian Rojas (41-4) jr., 145 Anthony D’Ambrosio (40-6) jr., 215 Latham Perry (32-12) jr., 285 Chris Torres (38-9) sr.
Outlook: The Spartans are making their first trip to the Quarterfinals, and after an unforgettable Regional at which they defeated No. 4 Algonac 36-30 and No. 5 Richmond 37-31. Cristian Rojas finished fourth at 125 at last year’s Individual Finals; he’s part of a powerful group of five wrestlers with at least 33 wins apiece taking the mat between 119-145.
#5 HART
Record/rank: 30-5, unranked
League finish: Second in West Michigan Conference
Coach: Brad Altland, 11th season (277-95)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Trayce Tate (37-4) jr., 145 Mason Cantu (44-1) sr., 160 Zane Thomas (34-15) jr., 215 Leo Guadarrama (44-2) sr.
Outlook: Hart is making its third-straight trip to Finals weekend, this time the fifth seed after previously entering as a No. 7 last year and No. 4 in Division 4 in 2019. Tate and Cantu were Individual Finals placers last season, and Cantu and Guadarrama are two of only three senior starters for a lineup that should continue to surge next winter.
#6 MONTROSE
Record/rank: 18-5, No. 7
League finish: Second in Mid-Michigan Activities Conference
Coach: Jason Perrin, fifth season (80-41)
Championship history: Nine MHSAA championships (most recent 2005), five runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Hunter Coxon (38-5) jr., 135 Aidan Bernard (41-1) sr., 140 Blake Greenman (11-7) sr., 189 Braxton Powell (33-12) sr., 285 Levi Harber (39-4) sr., 285 Aden Viar (8-6) sr.
Outlook: A senior-loaded lineup is bringing Montrose to Finals weekend for the fourth consecutive year, as eight seniors start and are joined by six underclassmen. The Rams defeated No. 6 Freeland 45-22 in a Regional Semifinal last week. Harber was the 285 runner-up last season, and Bernard also was an individual placer.
#7 GLADSTONE
Record/rank: 15-1, unranked
League finish: Second in Mid-Peninsula Conference
Coach: Jeff Brazeau, third season (44-11)
Championship history: Upper Peninsula Finals champion 1987, two UP runner-up finishes
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Eli Terrien (26-8) jr., 112 Drew Hansen (33-5) soph., 119 Michael Brazeau (38-7) sr., 125 Austin Solis (28-1) soph., 285 Brett Boudreau (41-4) sr.
Outlook: Gladstone finished second in its league only to Division 4 team qualifier Iron Mountain, and is making its first trip to Finals weekend since 2016. Gladstone defeated No. 8 Kingsley 46-34 in a Regional Final to advance. Hansen and Solis were individual placers last season.
#8 CONSTANTINE
Record/rank: 25-10 unranked
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Coach: Dale Davidhizar III, eighth season (137-69)
Championship history: 1993 Class C-D champion, 2002 Division 3 runner-up
Individual Finals qualifiers: 130 Eric Demas (30-10) sr., 152 Dathan Smith (17-20) soph., 171 Troy Demas (40-1) jr., 189 Bennett VandenBerg (44-7) soph., 215 Greg Reed (24-8) soph.; 170-G Bo Geibe (22-3) sr.
Outlook: Constantine won its third-straight District and second-straight Regional titles to earn this weekend’s trip to Wings. Eric Demas is the only senior starter, and the Falcons should continue to rise with nine underclassmen also in the lineup. Demas also is one of five wrestlers with at least 30 wins this winter.
PHOTO Braeden Davis will try to help Dundee to a fifth-straight Division 3 championship this weekend. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D2 Final: Redwings Golden Again
February 25, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – Four years ago, a highly-anticipated group of freshmen joined a St. Johns wrestling program long considered solid – and took the first steps toward making it elite.
Those Redwings left Kellogg Arena on Saturday with their third straight MHSAA Division 2 championship – and a claim on being one of the most dominant teams ever to compete in this state.
St. Johns downed Lowell 41-18 to finish a Finals weekend during which it beat three opponents by a combined 161-35. The Redwings finished 25-1 this season, with that lone loss to Ohio powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward. But St. Johns still hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since 2010 – and had beaten Lowell by the identical score earlier this winter.
“The first title as a team we won was one of the most exciting moments of my wrestling career. This was a great one too,” said St. Johns senior Taylor Massa, who next weekend will attempt to become the 16th four-time individual champion in MHSAA history.
“We knew we worked hard all our lives, and we knew we deserved this. I think we just proved it.”
St. Johns, which also beat eventual Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central during the regular season, led the Red Arrows the entire Division 2 Final and clinched it with two bouts remaining.
Lowell and St. Johns have a combined 25 individual Finals qualifiers, and St. Johns earned only three pins Saturday – by Massa at 171 pounds and juniors Brant Schafer at 130 and Josh Pennell at 145. But the Redwings also pulled off decisions by two and one point, respectively, and gave up just one pin.
Lowell finished 26-2 this season, with both losses to St. Johns.
“They put a lot of pressure on,” Lowell coach Dave Dean said. “They work very hard, but (also have) just talent alone. We kinda had a string theory of if we did this and this, maybe we’d have a chance today.”
All but one of the Redwings' seven seniors will compete at the Individual Finals, with Jordan Wohlfert joining Massa as a reigning champion. Massa has signed to wrestle at the University of Michigan next season, and Wohlfert will do the same at Michigan State.
St. Johns was 59-51 in the four seasons before these seniors entered high school. The Redwings finished 121-7 during their four-year run.
“These guys are awesome. We’re going to miss them,” St. Johns coach Zane Ballard said. “They are just a great group of kids and were real close.
“Our goal could only be one thing, and that’s to be here next year doing the same thing. That is our goal, and I know this group we have, they can come back and do it.”
Click for match-by-match results from the Final, Semifinals and Quarterfinals. See more photos at High School Sports Scene.
