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.). 

Hartland’s Dallas Korponic, top, wrestles DCC’s Michael Cannon at 138 pounds.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.

Click for full results.

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.)

Rising Cadillac Dreaming Bigger Entering 5th Season Back on Varsity Mat

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

December 20, 2024

When Luke Phillips was a seventh grader, Cadillac High School did not have a wrestling team.

Northern Lower PeninsulaCadillac Middle School didn’t either. Phillips, now a senior at Cadillac, started wrestling in a community youth program started by his father, Chad, and Eli Hoffert, Paul Hanus and Mark Cronkhite. 

The youth program grew from 34 to 93 participants after its inception in 2016. Today there is not yet an official middle school team, but there sure is a high school team. Hoffert is now the head coach of Vikings, and he’s assisted by Hanus and Chad Phillips. Cronkhite was also on the Vikings’ coaching staff two seasons.

Cadillac returned to the mats with Hoffert at the helm five years ago — after last offering the sport in 2007. And now the Vikings are rolling along after capturing the school’s first District team wresting championship last season.

“It was a big year for us,” said Hoffert, a former Vikings wrestler himself. “It’s amazing. I want to train these kids so they can be as good as they can be and be better than I ever was and break school records and keep progressing, not just obviously in wresting, but with life.”

The Vikings graduated key seniors last year but have strong underclassman this winter including key freshman. They are 10-0 heading into this weekend’s tournament at Sault Ste. Marie.

Cadillac coach Eli Hoffert, left, stands with Phillips.Luke Phillips and sophomore Payton Sampson have hopes and dreams of getting on the podium at this year’s Division 2 Individual Finals. They also have hopes of bringing their team along with them through District and Regional competitions.

Phillips already has made school history. He became the first Cadillac wrestler to place at the Individual Finals, finishing eighth last season at 165 pounds. He wants much more this time around. He’s currently wresting at 190 after bulking up for football purposes but is planning to get down to 175 soon.

“It’s really special to me,” he said of earning Cadillac’s first Finals placing. “Obviously, I couldn’t have done it by myself. It took a lot of extra time and hard work from my coaches and teammates and the community that supported me.”

Phillips, a team captain for the third-straight year, is shooting to top the 150-win career mark long before the championship meet in March and rack up 160 or more total career victories. He’s at 122 now.

“I want to go and win a state championship, and winning Regionals with the team would be nice as well,” Phillips said. “It’s what I’ve been working for since I was 5 when I started wrestling.”

The Vikings’ team bond is growing with each day, the captain and coach pointed out.

“We have a lot of hard-working guys, and we’re one tight-knit group,” Phillips said. “It has been really important to our success not just as our team but in the community and our social lives and we have each other at all times – we all want what is best for our team.”

Phillips won both his matches this week as Cadillac knocked off Division 2 No. 9 Cedar Springs 41-33 and Charlevoix 69-4. Last weekend, the Vikings captured first place in a tournament at Montague. Earlier this year, they won a tournament at East Kentwood.

The Vikings' Payton Sampson works toward a takedown in his match against the Rayders.Hoffert is striving to grow a winning culture while helping kids get better at wrestling and health and fitness.

“When it’s wrestling season, it’s all wrestling,” said Hoffert, whose first coaching job was an eight-year run at Lake City. “It consumes us, and that’s the way it’s got to be to be a top-level program.”

The Vikings have postseason success on their minds but hope to claim the Big North Conference title first. Perennial champion Gaylord could be an obstacle.  

The Vikings’ locker room board reads “Beat Gaylord” at the top.

It’s something Hoffert and Phillips have yet to do.

“Gaylord has always had a solid program that has won the majority of Big North championships and a lot of District championships and even Regional championships,” Hoffert said. “They are the hammers in the north.”

Topping Gaylord for conference and District titles this year would please the senior captain.

“I want to go out with a bang,” Phillips said. “It means a lot.”

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) An official raises Luke Phillips' arm in victory after his match this season against Charlevoix. (Middle) Cadillac coach Eli Hoffert, left, stands with Phillips. (Below) The Vikings' Payton Sampson works toward a takedown in his match against the Rayders. (Photos by Kristi Hoffert.)