D4 Preview: Hornets Seek to Stay On Top
February 25, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Eight Division 4 title hopefuls will be the first to take the mat at the first MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals weekend hosted by Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
Included among those eight is two-time reigning champion New Lothrop, two-time reigning runner-up Hudson, and three more teams returning to the Quarterfinals, which begin this season at noon.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 4, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at 12 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 10 a.m. 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 New Lothrop
Record/rank: 21-5, No. 1
League finish: Third in Genesee Area Conference Blue.
Coach: Jeff Campbell, 15th season (389-70)
Championship history: 14 MHSAA championships (most recent 2015), four runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Logan Zell (27-22) fr., 112 Tommy Malloy (39-12), soph.; 130 Austin Wolford, 30-15, fr., 140 Zack Riley (19-15) fr., 145 Cole Hersch (44-1) sr.; 152 Steven Garza II (50-1) sr.; 160 John Robinson (36-3) sr.; 171 Erik Birchmeier (28-2) jr.; 171 Brandon Henige (31-20) sr.; 215 Caleb Symons (48-1) sr.
Outlook: New Lothrop is favored to win a third straight Division 4 with a number of standouts who have been part of those previous title-winning teams. The Hornets are led in part by Garza, an individual champion at 145 last season, and Symons, who like last season enters Team Finals weekend with only one loss and was the runner-up at 189 in 2015. Hersch, another veteran standout, Malloy and junior Connor Krupp (16-4, 125) also are returning Finals placers.
#2 Decatur
Record/rank: 27-3, No. 3
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Coach: Jack Richardson, first season (27-3)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Coy Helmuth (45-5) jr.; 130 Lucian Parish (43-5) sr.; Ethan May (47-3) jr.; Zac Checkley (43-13) jr.; 285 Logan Kennedy (45-5) jr.
Outlook: Richardson, a former standout at Grandville, brings back a team that missed its first championship appearance by only six points last season. Nine juniors and two seniors gained valuable experience during the run and under former longtime coach Brian Southworth. Senior Elijah Luth (37-8, 152) didn’t make the Individual Finals this time, but was a placer in 2015, and Kennedy placed in 2014. Decatur eliminated No. 8 Schoolcraft at the Regional.
#3 Hudson
Record/rank: 17-14, No. 2
League finish: Second in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Scott Marry, 28th season (732-165)
Championship history: Five MHSAA championships (most recent 2013), runner-up 2014 and 2015.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Dylan Leathers (31-9) sr.; 103 Tucker Sholl (41-3) fr.; 112 Jordan Hamdan (44-6) fr.; 119 Carson Price (35-16) fr.; 145 Mason Lopinski (45-5) sr.; 160 Kyle Johnson (42-8) sr.; 189 Tylor Grames (45-6) jr.
Outlook: Hudson has made the championship match against New Lothrop the last two seasons, and the regular-season team record this winter can be overlooked given the difficulty of Hudson’s schedule. Another deep run would only put more fear into opponents for the next three seasons; seven Hudson starters are freshmen, and an eighth is a sophomore. Lopinski was an individual runner-up at 145 last season, while Johnson was the champion at 152 in 2014.
#4 Hesperia
Record/rank: 36-7, No. 4
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association Silver.
Coach: Doug Baird, 13th season (437-38)
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2008, five runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Davian Gowens (39-3) sr.; 140 Logan Eaves (28-9) sr.; 140 Trentyn Gleason (40-13) soph.; 145 Gerrit Yates (49-4) soph.; 171 Mark Workman (30-0) sr.; 285 Josh Ehrke (43-2) sr.
Outlook: Hesperia is continuing a dominating decade with its eighth appearance at Finals weekend over the last 10 seasons to go with the championship in 2008 and three of its five runner-up finishes all-time, the most recent coming in 2013. Yates was an individual runner-up last season at 135 and is one of eight underclassmen in the lineup. But there is experience; in addition to Yates last winter, Gowens was a champion in 2014 and Eaves and Workman were runners-up that season.
#5 Springport
Record/rank: 28-6, No. 6
League finish: First in Big 8 Conference.
Co-coaches: David Pratt, 11th season (291-78)
Championship history: Class D runner-up 1984.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Tyler Teague (46-6) jr.; 130 Noah Teague (41-11) soph.; 135 Sean O’Hearon (43-1) jr.; 145 Taylor Whitmore (43-5) sr.; 152 Zeth Caudill (38-3) sr.; 189 Nick Cooper (35-1) jr.; 215 Luke Overweg (30-22) soph.
Outlook: Springport is making its second Quarterfinals appearance in three seasons and third under Pratt after claiming its seventh straight league championship and 11th District title under the coach. The Spartans graduated three-time champion Jacob Cooper last spring, but junior Nick Cooper has picked up the mantle and finished runner-up last season at 171; Caudill, Noah Teague and O’Hearon all also were Individual Finals placers in 2015.
#6 Manchester
Record/rank: 23-6, No. 9
League finish: First in Cascades Conference.
Coach: Steve Vlcek, 26th season (524-187)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2008.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Reese Fry (40-6) soph.; 119 Blake Belaire (36-11) soph.; 125 Miquel Grammatico (35-13) sr.; 130 Ethan Woods (44-2) jr.; 171 Trevor Humphrey (43-4) sr.; 189 Jordan Good (15-3) jr.; 285 Stevie Suliman (39-10) sr.
Outlook: Manchester returns to Finals weekend for the second straight season and seventh over the last decade, and with 10 upperclassmen in the lineup despite graduating a strong group last spring. Woods was the individual runner-up at 119 last season and also placed as a freshman, and Humphrey also placed in 2015.
#7 Leroy Pine River
Record/rank: 25-4, No. 10
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference.
Coach: Tim Jones, 17th season (455-80)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1991.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Dylan Stephens (37-6) soph.; 112 Andrew Park (47-3) soph.; 119 Nate Park (41-4) sr.; 119 Jacob Roberts (40-5) soph.; 130 Tucker Fansler (39-12) jr.; 160 Joe Rigling (42-13) jr.; 171 Raden Holmes (43-9) jr.; 189 Josh Jackson (46-5) sr.; 215 Bryan Mccurry (34-16) fr.
Outlook: Only top seed New Lothrop has more Individual Finals qualifiers among Division 4 teams competing this weekend, and Andrew Park was an individual placer last season. They’ve been part of a team that has won 16 league and District titles over the last 17 seasons and also made the Team Quarterfinals a year ago for the first time since 2008. Pine River beat its three MHSAA Tournament opponents this month by an average of 40 points.
#8 Munising
Record/rank: 19-5, unranked
League finish: Does not wrestle in a league.
Coach: Bob Miles, 10th season (169-107)
Championship history: Upper Peninsula runner-up 1968.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Nick Miles (35-9) soph.; 189 Hunter Sadler (50-2) sr.
Outlook: The wrestling program is continuing a strong run by Munising teams in multiple sports, making Finals weekend for the first time in Miles’ decade as coach and after winning a second straight District championship. Sadler finished sixth at 171 last season and brings experience on the big mat. The Mustangs have accomplished this despite voiding four weights and with only two seniors – which could bode well for the future.
PHOTO: A New Lothrop wrestler has his hand raised by an official in victory during a match this season against Richmond at CMU. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
DCC Locks Up D1 Repeat In Rematch, Delivering Hartland's Lone Loss
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 24, 2024
KALAMAZOO – Darius Marines and his Detroit Catholic Central teammates don’t take winning MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals titles for granted.
But make no mistake about it, they do not hope to be hoisting the championship trophy when it’s all said and done. They expect it.
“It’s the standard,” Marines said with a laugh. “No, really, it’s the standard. Our coaches expect nothing less of us, and we expect nothing less of each other. We push each other every day in the room, and this is just what we do. It’s Catholic Central.”
Marines and the Shamrocks claimed their second straight Division 1 title Saturday, defeating Hartland 41-12 in a rematch of the 2023 Final at Wings Event Center. It was the 10th title for Catholic Central since 2010, and 17th in program history.
“I don’t count them, right. I don’t look at it that way,” said CC coach Mitch Hancock, who has been at the helm for each of those 10 titles since 2010. “You’re so in the trenches of daily work. When you get older and wiser you sit back and try to process it all, try to take it in those moments – my kids are all here. It’s nice. It doesn’t get old. But our athletes are the ones that make it happen. Our coaching staff is the ones that make it happen. Our coaching staff is the best in the state. They’re led by (assistant) Anthony Biondo, and he’s the best, bar none.”
Catholic Central finished the season 27-2, with both of its losses coming against nationally-ranked, out-of-state teams – St. Edward (Ohio) and Lake Highland Prep (Fla.).
Hancock prides himself on scheduling the toughest competition possible, which is why Catholic Central’s dominant lineup doesn’t come into the postseason with records that would typically match that dominance.
Marines, a three-time Individual Finals champion, is the only unbeaten regular for the Shamrocks.
“Look at a Lee Krueger, he’s got five losses,” Hancock said. “Look at a Conner Bercume, he’s got three losses. We test and try our kids. You can’t hide in the state of Michigan, wrestle no one and then expect to come in here and be ready to wrestle. There’s one standard here, and it’s Detroit Catholic Central.”
Saturday’s loss was the first of the season for Hartland (33-1), which did pick up dual wins against Division 2 champion Lowell and Division 4 champion Hudson during the season. But Eagles coach Kyle Summerfield knows the bar is currently higher in Division 1.
“We run a good program,” Summerfield said. “Just, there’s a juggernaut in front of us, and we have to keep chasing and doing the right things. They’re a great program. Mitch is a good coach, the rest of his staff is good. But, we’re a good program, and we’re going to continue to chase. We’re going to continue to try and close that gap because, yeah, there is one goal, and ultimately it is the big trophy.”
Summerfield said his team fully believed heading into the Final that it could come out victorious. Wrestlers wore shirts that said “The New Standard” on the back – and yes, CC’s wrestlers and fans noticed – and through eight matches, Hartland was nearly even with the reigning champ.
Catholic Central led 14-12 after Hartland’s James Butzier picked up an 8-4 decision at 175 pounds, but the Eagles would get no closer, as the Shamrocks claimed the final six matches, including a pair of pins and a technical fall.
“They have the strength of their lineup in the middle,” Hancock said. “We won 10 of 14 matches against a nationally-ranked Hartland team.”
Bercume (215) and Wyatt Lees (113) each had a pin for the Shamrocks, while Mack Mosovic (120) finished the dual with a tech fall. Mason Stewart (144), Marines (165) and Krueger (190) all won by major decision, while Simon Dominguez (126), Caden Krueger (157), Benny Eziuka (285) and Ryan Totten (106) won decisions.
Bohdan Abbey (133), Dallas Korponic (138) and Colin Jewell (150) joined Butzier in winning by decision for Hartland.
PHOTOS (Top) DCC’s Benny Eziuka, top, locks up with Hartland’s Jacob Pretzel at 285 pounds in Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Hartland’s Dallas Korponic, top, wrestles DCC’s Michael Cannon at 138 pounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)