DCC, Hudson Standouts Next to Chase #4

March 9, 2018

By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half

There is no offseason for a championship wrestler.

And if he’s on the verge of making MHSAA history, he may get only a week off before getting back to work.

Hudson's Jordan Hamdan and Detroit Catholic Central's Kevon Davenport are ready to hit the mat again and train for next year in an attempt to become the state's 25th and 26th four-time individual champions. 

Both won their third straight Individual Finals titles last weekend at Ford Field, as Hamdan took the 130-pound weight class in Division 4 with a 10-0 major decision victory over Robert Rogers of Burton Bendle and Davenport won the 145-pound Division 1 title with a 7-1 decision over Vic Schoenherr of Bay City Western. 

"This Sunday and Monday I will get in some practice time and then go from there," said Hamdan, who finished this season with a 52-0 record. "It never ends. If you stop training then someone can catch up, so you have to keep improving."

Davenport is ready as well.

"(Being a four-time champ) is always in the back of everyone's mind when you get here," Davenport said. "I got my three in; now the next step is number four."

Davenport said he is open to advice from the 24 wrestlers who have already forged the path of four straight titles. 

That historic club increased by two members this year as Dundee's Brandon Whitman and Lake Fenton's Jarrett Trombley became four-timers Saturday evening.

"Wisdom is everything; experience is everything," Davenport said. "Even if there is a little bit that they can teach me, I will take whatever I can get."  

If Hamdan and Davenport can become Nos. 25 and 26, they will be the first four-time champions from their highly successful programs. 

Hudson and Detroit Catholic Central have each had multiple three-time champions – for Hudson, Devan Marry (2009-10, 2012) and Cole Weaver (2012-14) were three-timers, and for the Shamrocks Trevor Stewart (2003-05), Alec Mooradian (2009-11), Ken Bade (2011-13) and Drew Garcia (2012-14) claimed three titles.

"There is a lot that can go wrong trying to win four," Hudson coach Scott Marry said. "Injuries, sickness, being in the right weight class and keeping your weight under control. I think Jordan will be a good recipient of it because of what he does. He believes in the process and all the training that goes into avoiding those pitfalls."

Added Detroit Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock about Davenport: "Kevon could be the first for us. We have created such an environment at Catholic Central so that these guys flourish in it. We have very committed parents and very committed wrestlers."

Commitment is what all great wrestlers can agree is the key to making it to the top of the podium.

"I will put in the work," Hamdan said. "If I do what is necessary, I will still be comfortable no matter what the pressure becomes to be a four-timer. I will be focused on the goal. It all boils down to putting in the work."   

Hopefully that will be enough.

"There is an element of luck involved to win four," Scott Marry said. "But you make your own luck. Keep you weight in control, study your opponents and train and that will help you seize that opportunity.”

PHOTOS: (Top) Kevon Davenport’s arm is raised in victory after the Detroit Catholic Central junior earned his third MHSAA championship Saturday at Ford Field. (Middle) Hudson’s Jordan Hamdan also won his third individual title and receives a salute from the crowd. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

#TBT: Kish Earns 4th Finals Title

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 26, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Only 18 MHSAA wrestlers have graduated with four Individual Finals championships.

And while all stood tall, few cut as imposing a shadow as Lapeer West's Roger Kish, who earned his fourth and final high school title in 2003. 

Kish capped his high school career at the 2003 Individual Finals with a 26-11 technical fall of Mason's Tom McDiarmid in the Division 2 championship match at 189 pounds. He also won by a tech fall at 189 pounds in 2002, by pin at 171 pounds in 2001 and by an 11-7 decision as a freshman at 160 pounds in 1999.

He became the 10th four-time champion with his 2003 win and remained the most sizable four-time winner before Fowlerville's Adam Coon finished a four-title run in 2013 with two each at 215 and 285 pounds. 

Kish went on to wrestle at the University of Minnesota, ending with a 117-27 career record and two NCAA runner-up finishes. He currently is in his fourth season as coach at North Dakota State University and twice has been named Coach of the Year for the Western Wrestling Conference.