D3 Preview: Seeking 4 on Familiar Floor
March 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Few if any Michigan high school wrestlers have more MHSAA championship match experience than Richmond senior Devin Skatzka.
He helped his team to the Division 3 championship last weekend in Battle Creek and also to the title in 2012 – plus runner-up finished in 2013 and 2014. And this weekend, he’ll compete to join only 19 others who won four individual titles during their high school careers.
Skatzka enters the favorite at 160 pounds, having won 152 as a junior, 145 as a sophomore and 135 as a freshman.
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 3 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: Tristan Serbus, Corunna junior (37-7) – Corunna actually might have the two best wrestlers at this weight, with Serbus getting a lot of matches at heavier weights after winning the title at 103 as a freshman.
119: Aaron Kilburn, Richmond junior (40-6) – Last season’s champion at 112 also earned a third place at 103 as a freshman and is coming off helping Skatzka and their team with the Division 3 team title.
119: Devin Schroeder, Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior (43-1) – The reigning champion at this weight is the only wrestler to have beaten Division 2 favorite Lucas Hall of Lowell this season, and Schroeder’s only loss was to reigning Division 4 champ Logan Griffin of Erie-Mason.
125: Jerry Fenner, Birch Run senior (48-3) – The 2013 champion at 119 earned that title with an overtime win and then fell to Foster Karmon (see below) by a 2-1 decision in the 125-pound championship match last season; Fenner earned a third place at 103 as a freshman.
135: Kanen Storr, Leslie junior (50-1) – Storr finished second to GRCC’s Schroder at 119 last season, losing 5-2 in the Final, but won the title at 103 in 2013.
135: Grant Turnmire, Almont senior (46-1) – The reigning champion at 130 has jumped up a class and been even better; he’s 93-5 over the last two seasons and 135-11 over his last three after finishing seventh at 125 as a sophomore.
140: Nate Limmex, Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior (40-0) – The champion last season at 135 and at 130 in 2013, Limmex hasn’t lost since his freshman year when he took fourth in Division 2 at 125 pounds wrestling for Lowell.
145: Foster Karmon, Allegan junior (26-0) – The reigning champion at 125 moved up four weight classes in his third high school season and has yet to lose after finishing 58-2 as a sophomore title winner.
160: Devin Skatzka, Richmond senior (50-2) – As mentioned above, he’s looking to graduate with four titles and carries a 189-15 career record into this weekend.
215: Trent Hillger, Lake Fenton sophomore (54-0) – Hillger finished fourth at 171 pounds his freshman season after entering the tournament with eight losses; he’s raised his performance to a championship level going undefeated after moving up two weights.
Other 2014 runners-up: Saginaw Swan Valley junior K.J. Suitor (125, 49-1, 112 in 2014), Dundee senior Tye Thompson (189, 44-6, 171 in 2014), Croswell-Lexington sophomore Collin Lieber (152, 53-3, 135 in Division 2 in 2014).
Also undefeated: Caro senior Marshall Conley (47-0, 140), Chesaning senior Justin Sloan (47-0, 171), Millington sophomore Jared Roehl (45-0, 189).
More of note: Howard City Tri-County freshman Dakota Greer (36-1, 103), Corunna freshman Jarrett Trombley (42-1, 103), Farwell sophomore Glenn Beardsley (45-2, 130), Saginaw Swan Valley junior Matt Santos (50-1, 130), Allendale senior Brandon Dyke (40-3, 152), Dundee freshman Brandon Whitman (53-2, 171), Allegan sophomore Chase Beard (51-2, 189), Williamston junior Maddox Maki (48-6, 285).
PHOTO: Richmond's Devin Skatzka celebrates his win as part of his team's Division 3 title match victory Saturday against Dundee. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Rematch of Rivals Goes Dundee's Way
February 23, 2019
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
KALAMAZOO – One of the things that makes the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals special is that a wrestler can be a hero for his team and make a real difference by taking a "good" loss.
That's exactly what happened for the Dundee Vikings in their Division 3 championship match against familiar foe Richmond on Saturday at Wings Event Center.
With his team down two points, and three matches left to wrestle, Dundee freshman Austin Jaworski stepped on the mat with Richmond junior Austin Kilburn, one of the top Blue Devils.
Suffering a pin would have been damaging, putting the Vikings behind Richmond by eight points with two pairs of evenly-matched wrestlers facing off in the next two matches.
Jaworski battled, and lost to Kilburn 11-5, but no bonus points were surrendered.
Dundee won the next two matches by decision with Tyler Swiderski and Jonathon White, and the Vikings won their second straight Division 3 title and 11th title overall with a 26-25 victory over Richmond.
"I just went out there and did my job," Jaworski said. "I didn't worry about how good he was, I just went out there and wrestled. I did the best I could."
Even though Jaworski may sound humble about what he did for his team, it did not go unnoticed by coach Tim Roberts.
"When Austin Jaworski did his job, and he had a stellar guy he was going against and only gave up three points to them, I felt confident going into those last two," Roberts said. "We didn't know this would come down to the last match. We hoped it would be over before that, but that is the way it goes in duals with good teams."
And Richmond and Dundee are two good teams.
Over the last 13 years, they have wrestled nine times for the Division 3 title. Dundee now has won the last two Finals matchups, and is 5-4 against its rival during that time.
"Every year it comes down to us two," said Roberts, whose team ended with an 18-5 record. "They do such a great job over there. They are a fantastic coached team, and they have a community that is really into it. Their kids work so hard, I have nothing but respect for what they do over there. So when we get a chance to compete with them and win, it feels really good because you beat somebody good."
The lead by either team was more than five points only once during the dual. And the Blue Devils had chances, but were unable to extend the lead when they had it.
"Both teams had their chances," said Richmond co-coach Brandon Day, whose team ended 26-3. "I wouldn't say one kid changed this match one way or another. We have some young guys that did a great job saving bonus, and they had some young guys do the same."
PHOTOS: (Top) Dundee's Stoney Buell works toward a major decision during his championship match bout at 160 pounds Saturday. (Middle) The Vikings celebrate their second straight Division 3 title. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)