D4 Preview: Veterans of the Medal Stand

February 27, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

If you're a Division 4 wrestling fan, you're going to recognize more than a few faces taking the mat this weekend. 

Carson City-Crystal's Kenneth Dittenber will attempt to finish his high school career with a third-straight title. Five more 2012 champs also are back, plus six returning runners-up. A seventh second-place finisher from last season is wrestling in Division 3 instead.

See below for 10 contenders to watch this weekend, plus others who enter the tournament undefeated or coming off runner-up finishes in 2012. Follow all the matches beginning with Thursday's first round 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.

10 to watch

285: Ryan Prescott, Whittemore-Prescott sophomore – Fell in last season’s Final at 285 by a score of 4-3, but enters this weekend’s tournament 44-1.

112: Kenneth Dittenber, Carson City-Crystal senior – After claiming the last two championships at 103 pounds, has moved up to 119 and comes to the Palace with a 50-4 record.

112: Logan Griffin, Erie-Mason sophomore – Won’t make winning that next title easy for Dittenber; finished runner-up last season and is 23-0.

119: Zack Yates, Hesperia junior – Boasts a 49-1 record after helping his team to second at the Team Final and finished runner-up at this weight last season.

130: Cole Weaver, Hudson junior – Helped the Tigers to a record-tying fifth-straight team title last weekend, and now will go for a third-straight championship match berth and second straight title; enters Thursday with a 48-0 record.

140: Jacob Perrin, New Lothrop senior – Looking to finish his high school career with a second-straight title after winning 130 last season; enters the weekend 59-2 this winter.

140: Chanc Ravish, Niles-Brandywine senior – Carries a 46-2 record into this weekend and after finishing second to Perrin at 130 last season.

152: Jared Bruner, Addison senior – Like Perrin, hoping to finish with a second-straight championship after winning 145 last season; comes to the Palace with a 47-3 record this season.

171: Galloway Thurston, St. Ignace senior – Claimed the championship last season at this weight after finishing runner-up in 2011; will carry a 48-2 record into the repeat quest.

215: Joe Ostman, St. Ignace senior – Can finish his high school career with three championships after winning 189 in 2011 and 215 last season, and is 50-0 so far this winter.  

Also undefeated: Bangor senior Stephon Willis (130, 39-0).

Other runners-up: Springport sophomore Jacob Cooper (160, 42-2, 145 in 2012), Sand Creek senior Nick Garza (160, 46-7, 152 in 2012).

PHOTO: Carson City-Crystal's Kenneth Dittenber (right), here in last season's Division 4 championship match at 103, will go for a third-straight title this weekend. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Moment: Richmond Gets Pin to Win

March 27, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Three matches remained in the Division 3 Wrestling Final on Feb. 28, 2015, and Dundee led 25-12 with a third-straight championship nearly in grasp.

But after his Richmond teammates Adam Boyd and Roy Costello fought back to pull their team within four points of the lead with only his 112-pound match left, senior Conor Behem found himself with an all-or-nothing title-deciding opportunity.

Behem’s pin in 1 minute, 7 seconds, gave Richmond a 27-25 win over Dundee and its first championship since 2012 – and after Richmond had fallen to Dundee in the Finals both of the previous two seasons.

Oh, and Behem finished off the victory despite wrestling with tears to a knee ligament and meniscus.

“I kind of broke down emotionally,” Behem said of the immediate aftermath. “It felt so good, words can’t even describe it.”

Click for coverage from Second Half – Richmond: Nothing Compares to This – and see below for coverage from the NFHS Network.