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D4 Preview: Return of the Champs
February 25, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend’s Division 4 Individual Finals field is loaded with wrestlers who've had their shares of success at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Eight champions are back from last season, as are 10 who finished runners-up at their respective weights. Hudson senior Cole Weaver is going for his third MHSAA individual championship after also helping the Tigers to three team titles.
See below for 10 contenders to watch this weekend, plus others who enter the tournament undefeated or coming off runner-up finishes in 2013. 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. And check back with Second Half later Saturday night for full coverage from the Finals, including comments from all 14 champions.
285: Ryan Prescott, Whittemore-Prescott junior (30-0) – Continues to build an impressive career at the heaviest weight; he’s wrestling for his third straight championship match appearance and second straight title, and is 78-1 combined over the past two seasons.
112: Roddy Hamdan, Hudson junior (41-12) – Moved up to 112 this season after winning the 103-pound title in 2013 and finishing fifth at that weight as a freshman.
119: Logan Griffin, Erie-Mason junior (31-4) – One of the best stories of last season’s Finals, Grffin overcame a separated shoulder to win the 112-pound title in overtime over two-time champion Kenneth Dittenber from Carson City-Crystal. Griffin was an MHSAA runner-up as a freshman.
125: Zack Yates, Hesperia senior (43-0) – Last season’s champion at 119 pounds is a combined 94-1 over his last two and is wrestling for his third championship match berth; he finished runner-up at 119 as a sophomore.
140: Cole Weaver, Hudson senior (53-0) – Reigning champion at 130 hasn’t lost since his freshman season and has never finished lower than second place at an MHSAA Finals. Weaver has won two titles after finishing runner-up at 112 as a freshman, and brings a career 216-7 record into the weekend.
145: J.D. Waters, Hudson senior (45-10) – Reigning champion at 135 has had a bit of a tougher go after jumping two weights, but is still seeking his third championship match berth and never has placed lower than third at a Finals.
152: Austin Hughes, Saginaw Nouvel senior (44-2) – Just missed winning Nouvel’s first wrestling championship ever last season, falling 4-2 to New Lothrop's Josh Wendling (see below) at 145 pounds. He’s also earned third and fifth places during his outstanding career.
160: Josh Wendling, New Lothrop senior (52-4) – Attempting to add a second straight title after winning at 145 in 2013; Wendling has made at least the Semifinals his first three seasons and brings a 198-24 record into the weekend.
171: Taylor Krupp, New Lothrop senior (52-0) – Hasn’t lost since falling in overtime in last season’s 160-pound championship match and finished third at his weight in the Finals the year before that. Krupp joined Wendling in helping the Hornets to last weekend’s team title.
189: Jacob Cooper, Springport junior (41-2) – Beat Krupp 7-5 in overtime in the 160-pound championship match last season and has continued to shine after moving up two weights. He also was a runner-up, at 145 pounds, as a freshman.
Other 2013 runners-up: Montrose junior Arthur Payne (112, 45-2, 103 in 2013), Hudson senior Isaac Dusseau (119, 34-11), Fife Lake Forest Area senior Matthew Elliott (130, 35-1, 47-6 in 2013), Hesperia senior Chase Siersema (140, 41-3, 135 in 2013), Grass Lake senior Chad Decker (145, 31-2, 140 in 2013), Hart senior Spencer Reterstoff (160, 43-2, 152 in 2013), Sandusky senior Pat Brown (171, 38-4), Laingsburg sophomore Kevin Koenig (215, 44-3).
Also undefeated: Watervliet senior Brock Thumm (135, 36-0), New Lothrop sophomore Steven Garza II (140, 25-0), Constantine senior Andres Montoya (140, 44-0), Manton senior Tristin Rosted (171, 44-0), Detroit Loyola junior Patrick Harbin Jr. (215, 17-0).
Others of note: Hesperia sophomore Davian Gowens (103, 20-3), Dansville sophomore Clay Ragon (112, 51-1), Jonesville senior Carter Ballinger (130, 43-1).
PHOTO: Hudson’s Cole Weaver hoists his opponent during a Team Semifinals match against Hesperia last weekend in Battle Creek. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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D3 Final: Richmond Gets Richer
February 25, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – Nick Burg stepped on the mat for the biggest match of his life Saturday. He was shaking.
The state’s biggest wrestling stage wasn’t lost on the Richmond sophomore. Nor the fact his team was losing by a point and only two matches from seeing its two-year MHSAA championship streak broken.
“That’s what I’ve been training for my whole life. … I was a little nervous. I’m not going to lie,” Burg said. “I just knew I had to go out there and win. That’s what they said. We need you to win. Bonus points are extra.
"But first, get the win.”
He accomplished both – and in doing so set in motion the final touches of a 34-23 win over Dundee that continued Richmond’s dominance of Division 3 with a third straight title.
In what ended up the last to be decided of Saturday’s Finals at Kellogg Arena, No. 2-seeded Dundee won six of seven bouts through the middle of the match to take a 23-18 lead with three weights remaining.
Top-seeded Richmond’s chances still looked good. The Blue Devils (29-5) finished with three Individual Finals qualifiers against three Dundee wrestlers who will not compete next week at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
But freshman Austin Vannatter, Burg and senior Stephen Ireland still had to come through.
Vannatter pulled the Blue Devils within a point with a major decision in 112. And Burg then got back the lead with a pin in 1 minute, 28 seconds. Ireland merely needed to avoid a pin or technical fall, but finished with a pin himself.
“These kids have all been together since sixth grade, and they’re just gritty and tough,” Richmond co-coach Brandon Day said. “A lot of our state titles have been like this, 11 points or less, because the kids just fight for each other.
“Dundee’s a great program. They’re awesome, and Tim Roberts is a great coach. That’s why this isn’t the last time this is going to happen. They’ll be back, and we’ll be back.”
Dundee finished 17-8. Since winning its most recent MHSAA championship in 2007, the Vikings have finished runners-up four of the last five seasons.
Click for match-by-match results from the Final, Semifinals and Quarterfinals. See more photos at High School Sports Scene.