D3 Preview: New Final Match-up, Guaranteed
February 26, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Dundee and Richmond have met in the last four MHSAA Division 3 championship matches.
That will not happen this weekend.
By way of Dundee receiving the top seed and Richmond the fourth, those rivals could meet in a Saturday morning Semifinal, with the winner expected to see either Remus Chippewa Hills or Lake Fenton to decide the title this time.
And that's if seeds play out – a scenario four more teams are working against.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 3, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at 4 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at noon 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 Dundee
Record/rank: 19-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Tim Roberts, 17th season (458-61-1)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2014), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 135 Tylor Orrison (33-3) soph.; 140 Zach Blevins (44-3) sr.; 145 Alex Motylinski (34-11) jr.; 152 Sean Sterling (40-4) jr.; 160 Kyle Reinhart (21-10) soph.; 171 Kyle Motylinski (31-9) soph.; 189 Brandon Whitman (41-1) soph.; 215 Gabe Heiserman (39-9) sr.
Outlook: Dundee is up to 14 straight appearances at Finals weekend, coming off its eighth championship match appearance in nine seasons although the Vikings saw their two-season streak of titles come to an end with a two-point loss to Richmond a year ago. Three more wins would give Dundee its first perfect season under Roberts – it has lost only one match twice during his tenure, including in 2013-14. Whitman was the champion at 171 and Blevins an individual runner-up last season at 135, and Orrison, Sterling, Heiserman and senior Drew Mandell all were placers.
#2 Remus Chippewa Hills
Record/rank: 30-1, No. 4
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association Gold.
Coach: Nate Ethridge, 16th season (463-90)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Mason Hayes (36-10) fr.; 119 Kaden Ellis (42-6) jr.; 140 Todd Slade (43-4) sr.; 145 Jaycob Sharp (46-4) soph.; 152 David Spedowski (35-8) soph.; 160 Luke Henderson (36-14) jr.; 189 Brendan Barry (43-6) sr.; 215 Billy Koepf (45-4) soph.; 285 Andrew Vinton (35-13) soph.
Outlook: Chippewa Hills is seeking the take the next step for the first time after reaching the Semifinals last season for the second time and the Quarterfinals now for the ninth in 11 seasons. The road once again was a tough one, with No. 6 Caro among those the Warriors defeated to reach CMU. Slade was an individual placer in 2015 and is one of only three seniors in a lineup with eight underclassmen and 12 wrestlers total with at least 30 wins.
#3 Lake Fenton
Record/rank: 38-3, No. 2
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference.
Coach: Vance Corcoran, sixth season (190-53)
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2011.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 AJ Geyer (46-8) jr.; 119 Jarrett Trombley (27-0) soph.; 125 Hunter Corcoran (47-9) jr.; 135 Sean Trombley (42-14) fr.; 135 Devan Melick (48-2) soph.; 140 Jackson Nevadomski (49-8) soph.; 285 Trent Hillger (57-0) jr.
Outlook: Lake Fenton has bounced way back after not winning its league or District last season, returning to the Quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons and third time under Corcoran, a two-time MHSAA individual champion during the mid-1980s. Hillger was the individual champion last season at 215 and helps headline a lineup with only two seniors and 12 wrestlers total with at least 30 wins. Corcoran and senior Saben Spangler also were individual placers last season.
#4 Richmond
Record/rank: 24-10, No. 3
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference.
Coach: Brandon Day, 12th season (382-84)
Championship history: Seven MHSAA championships (most recent 2015), five runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Hunter Seguin (20-12) fr.; 112 Roy Costello (35-10) jr.; 119 Cody Keller (36-7) sr.; 119 Alec Ziza (29-11) soph.; 125 Aaron Kilburn (39-4) sr.; 135 Graham Barton (27-6) sr.; 140 Alex Roberts (24-14) soph.; 171 Colton McKiernan (36-6) soph.; 215 Tyler Marino (33-13) soph.
Outlook: Richmond is back at the Quarterfinals for the eighth straight season after edging Dundee for the title in 2015, and despite graduating a strong group of nine seniors who led the charge. There are only four seniors in the lineup this time and six underclassmen, but Kilburn was the individual runner-up last year at 119 and won at 112 as a sophomore. McKiernan and Costello also were placers last winter.
#5 Whitehall
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 5
League finish: First in West Michigan Conference.
Coach: Cliff Sandee, ninth season (210-32)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1984.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Hunter Bower (39-6) soph.; 119 Corey Robinson (42-6) sr.; 125 Allen Powers (39-13) fr.; 135 Reiley Brown (45-1) sr.; 140 Jwan Britton (45-2) sr.; 140 Josh Thommen (34-13) soph.; 145 Jojo Dowdell (40-5) jr.; 152 Joe Haynes (37-18) sr.; 189 Luke Morningstar (40-15) sr.
Outlook: After a two-season hiatus, Whitehall is back at the Quarterfinals for the third time in five years after surviving a path that included frequent power Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Brown was the individual champion last season at 125, and Britton was third at 135; they anchor a lineup keyed by seven upperclassmen and also 11 wrestlers total with at least 30 wins.
#6 Birch Run
Record/rank: 26-4, No, 7
League finish: Second in Tri-Valley Conference East.
Coach: Mike Miller, first season (26-4)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Kyle Parlberg (31-17) fr.; 125 Mason Breece (49-3) soph.; 135 Trent Naragon (15-8) fr.; 140 Kyle Naragon (24-12) jr.; 145 Ean Taylor (38-8) sr.; 152 Malachi Breece (39-13) sr.; 160 Logan Bovee (40-9) sr.; 160 Tyler Childs (39-8) sr.
Outlook: The Panthers are making their fourth trip to Finals weekend in five seasons, this time with a first-year varsity coach and eight underclassmen – although Miller has coached in the community for more than a decade. Mason Breece, Taylor and Childs all placed at last season’s Individual Finals, and Bovee also is a returning qualifier for that tournament next weekend.
#7 Gladstone
Record/rank: 16-1, unranked
League finish: First in Great Northern Conference.
Coach: Jesse DeBacker, sixth season (65-17)
Championship history: Upper Peninsula champion 1987, two U.P. runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 130 Adam Bruce (36-1) fr.; 145 Bobby Beauchamp (32-4) sr.; 160 Austin Demeuse (35-3) jr.; 160 James Bruce (27-5) sr.; 285 Zach Bailey (24-6) jr.
Outlook: This is Gladstone’s fourth trip the Quarterfinals over the last decade and first since 2013, and comes with Beauchamp also a returning individual placer at 145. He’s one of only two seniors in a lineup with seven underclassmen and a strong group of juniors. Gladstone defeated No. 10 Roscommon by eight points in the Regional Final.
#8 Delton Kellogg
Record/rank: 19-3, unranked
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley.
Coach: Brett Bissett, first season (19-3)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Jake Bever (41-14) jr.; 145 Christian Kapteyn (24-12) sr.; 152 Jake Reed (48-2) sr.; 215 Tyden Ferris (50-2) soph.; 285 Esteban Villalobos (32-15) jr.
Outlook: This will be the first appearance for Delton Kellogg at an MHSAA Quarterfinals, but the Panthers dominated on the way not giving up more than 15 points in a postseason match. Ferris finished eighth at 215 as a freshman last season and is the most accomplished so far of a lineup with only four seniors. Bissett, a two-time league champion last decade, was an assistant for nine seasons before taking over this winter.
PHOTO: A Remus Chippewa Hills wrestler works against an opponent from Hudson during last month's duals at CMU. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Cushman: Good to Great to 101 Straight
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 14, 2018
Flushing’s Ben Cushman wanted to be better than good on the wrestling mat.
After his sophomore season ended in at the MHSAA Finals, one win shy of the podium and all-state honors, Cushman decided to do everything he could to become great – to be able to compete with the state’s elite.
One hundred and one straight victories, one Division 1 individual title and a signed letter of intent to Central Michigan University later, it’s safe to say he’s accomplished that.
“I think a lot of it was just getting beat,” Cushman said. “I got beat by Brendan McRill (a former MHSAA champion from Davison), and just always got beat by guys like him. I just changed up my whole technique. Before I was just always shooting double legs. I didn’t really have a good takedown that was effective against other wrestlers.
“I really looked at a lot of film, looked at all the mistakes I made and what I could have done better.”
Cushman won the Division 1 title at 215 pounds as a junior, becoming Flushing’s first Finals champion since 2000. He’s 45-0 as a senior this winter, and he recently won a District title to keep alive his opportunity for a run at a repeat championship, although this season he’s back at 189 pounds.
He has yet to be taken down this season, allowing only escape points to his opponents through those 45 matches. He’s only been taken down once in the past two years. It’s a stunning run of dominance, and to those looking in from the outside, it appeared to come out of nowhere.
“He’s been around (wrestling) for a long time, so most people in Michigan knew who he was,” Flushing coach Andy Rishmawi said. “I think he surprised people in the way he went about it. He wrestled a lot of good kids, and last year we put him up against everybody, and he went undefeated and had one offensive point scored on him all year. So to me, I think the way he went about it, I think that surprised some people.”
It wasn’t a surprise to Rishmawi and Cushman, however, as they saw what he went through each day to get there.
“Coming into his junior year, he was just focused and ready, and working out all the time,” Rishmawi said. “In the weight room, on the mat, working on his form, working on his technique, just really understanding more how you do certain things. There was a huge growth in him.”
While Cushman was working to add more to his repertoire, the focus remained on simple things – and doing those simple things incredibly well.
“We would just take it day by day,” he said. “There was one thing that Coach would want me to work on, which is just pulling the elbow. We would do that for a half hour straight until I got it down perfectly, and when we would wrestle live, I would work on other moves off of that. I kept doing that until it became second nature.”
Rishmawi said the raw ability was always there with Cushman, calling him freakishly strong while at the same time extremely coachable. Because of the latter, Cushman has been able to maintain that same level of focus in practice, despite the fact he’s already established his dominance in the state.
“When you’ve dominated people and you’ve had such a good run, you wouldn’t expect to have coaches still screaming in your ear about a move you might have done wrong,” Rishmawi said. “Let’s say he’s doing a 30-second drill. We know that the person he’s wrestling against can’t keep up with him, so he needs to get six takedowns instead of five. During sprints, we’re in his face. While he’s working on a move, we’re in his face. He understands, ‘They’re really trying to help me.’”
Cushman has remained motivated, in part, by the fact he knows he has to improve to be successful when he goes to Central Michigan. He also knows that in this sport, losing his focus for one second could end this run.
“I just know that in order to get to that stage, you need to wrestle each and every match one match at a time,” he said. “You can’t advance to the state Finals without winning Districts. I really just try to stay humble, and I give the glory to God, because I know that’s why I’m doing this.”
But the training isn’t just about holding off hungry competition, it’s about feeding Cushman’s own hunger, the same that burned inside him in 2016.
“Everyone wants to knock the king off the mountain, and this year people have taken the approach, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose, this is a state champion, I’m supposed to lose,’ so they really go after me,” Cushman said. “My coach reminds me every day, ‘You’re chasing something, too. You want to win another title. You want to go to college and win a national title and be an All-American.’
“I never want to be satisfied.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Flushing’s Ben Cushman works against Grand Haven’s Drake Morley during last season’s Division 1 championship match at 215 pounds. (Middle) Cushman locks up with Detroit Catholic Central’s Jackson Ross during a quarterfinal. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)