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DCC 'Vikings' Dominate in D1 Repeat
February 24, 2018
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
KALAMAZOO – They are called the Shamrocks, but for this wrestling season a more appropriate nickname would be Vikings.
The Detroit Catholic Central wrestling team not only won the Division 1 team championship this season, it dominated everything that got in its way in the state of Michigan.
Catholic Central’s final hurdle came in the Division 1 team championship match, a 57 to -1 win over Brighton, which had one point deducted early in the match for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The victory against Brighton capped a three-match blitz through Finals weekend by a combined score of 173-5 over the two-day event.
If that sounds like something out of Viking lore, that is exactly what the Shamrocks planned.
“Well, our team motto in the tourney is `burn it down, burn the boats,’” said Catholic Central junior Joe Urso. “Like they say on the TV show ‘The Vikings,’ ‘burn their boats.’ We came into this tournament looking to burn it down.”
That was exactly what a group of Shamrocks were chanting after the final match of the dual clinched a second consecutive title, the sixth Division 1 team title in the past nine years for Catholic Central.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Catholic Central junior Kevon Davenport. “We came out and from one through 14 everyone did a great job. We have great team unity, and that is one of our strong points. We have fun, and we like each other like brothers.”
Davenport was one of three Catholic Central wrestlers who recorded pins in the Final. Joshua Edmond (135 pounds) and Aidan Wagh (171) joined Davenport (145) with falls.
A pair of Shamrocks added five team points apiece with technical falls: senior Benyamin Kamali and junior Cameron Amine, a pair of two-time individual champions, won at 119 and 160 pounds, respectively.
“This is unbelievable,” said Kamali, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Kamali points to the team’s work ethic as a key to producing those impressive results.
“We are the hardest-working team in the state,” Kamali said. “Nobody in the state works as hard as we do. We also have the best coaches in the country.”
Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock has led the Shamrocks (29-1) to their six titles since 2010. Along with hard work, Hancock believes in testing his team against the best competition he can find.
“I believe iron sharpens iron,” Hancock said. “The common equation of all this year’s champions (Lowell, Dundee and Hudson as well) is the teams all put together such difficult schedules. We wrestled Lowell a few weeks ago, and we also wrestled Dundee and Hudson.”
Catholic Central’s lone loss this season came against Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward, ranked No. 8 nationally by one publication.
“We have been undefeated in Michigan the last two years,” Hancock said. “We have a great group of coaches who know how to lead young men. We also have great parents and great support from our school’s administration. We also have a great group of young men who focus on the team.”
Catholic Central received major decisions from Easton Turner (215) and Steven Kolcheff (285), who started the dual with four-point victories to put the Shamrocks up 8-0.
Brighton (33-4) put up several strong efforts, but came up just short in six matches that ended in decisions. At 189 pounds, Catholic Central’s Rory Cox edged Brighton’s Greyson Stevens 3-1 in overtime. At 130 pounds, Catholic senior Stone Moscovic edged Brighton’s Zach Johnson 3-2. The Shamrocks’ Devon Johnsen (112) and Dominick Lomazzo (125) both won 3-1 decisions over Ben Manly and Eddie Homrock, respectively. Also picking up wins by decision for Catholic Central were Daniel Rehfeldt (103), Derek Gilcher (140) and Urso (152).
“This was pretty special,” Moscovic said. “Last year was a big moment because we lost in the Quarterfinals my sophomore year. We just came in with a mission this year. This team is like one big family. Each of our teammates is like a brother. Our team is more of a brotherhood.”
Click for full results of the weekend’s Division 1 matches.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central’s Dominick Lomazzo celebrates his win at 125 pounds. (Middle) Brighton’s Luke Stanton and DCC’s Easton Turner lock up at 215 pounds. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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D1 Preview: Heavy-Duty Contenders
March 2, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Often, the most intriguing bouts heading into a weekend of wrestling at The Palace of Auburn Hills are scheduled somewhere in the middle weights.
But this weekend, arguably the best matchup could come in a rematch among the heaviest competitors in Division 1.
Keep an eye out for returning finalists Dan Perry of Lapeer and Ali Wahab of Dearborn Heights Crestwood locking up again at 285 pounds after Perry won 3-2 in last season's championship match to finish undefeated and hand Wahab his only loss of 2014-15.
They are two of 10 contenders we’ve broken out below among many to watch this weekend at the Division 1 Individual Finals. 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 come back to Second Half this weekend as we’ll interview all 14 title winners.
112: Max Johnson, Davison senior (27-0) – The champion at this weight in 2014 slid to fifth last season, but he’s coming off helping Davison to the team runner-up finish last weekend and is considered the favorite again.
112: Mike Mars, Westland John Glenn sophomore (48-2) – Last season’s champion at 103 pounds has lost to only Warren Woods Tower’s Elijuh Weaver, who Mars beat in last season’s Final, and another favorite at this weight in New Baltimore Anchor Bay’s Jack Medley.
119: AJ Facundo, Davison sophomore (28-9) – Last season’s champion at 112 might have a few more losses than other contenders, but he was one of the few to win all three of his matches at last weekend’s Team Final and beat an equally-impressive field to emerge a year ago.
135: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central junior (38-0) – Last season’s champion at 125 has only one high school loss, which came when he was a freshman and still went on to win the Division 1 title at 103.
140: Dylan Steward, Grand Ledge senior (45-1) – Steward won the Division 1 championship at this weight last season despite a loss at his Regional, and his loss this season came in December to another reigning champion, Dresden Simon of Dansville.
145: Nathan Atienza, Livonia Franklin junior (53-0) – Atienza may have surprised only a bit last season reaching the 140 Final with four losses, but he’s the top seed and favorite this time around.
160: Blake Montrie, Temperance Bedford senior (47-1) – After winning the championship at 152 last season, in overtime, Montrie has again lost only once, to Dundee’s Sean Sterling in December.
215: Luke Ready, Brighton senior (37-1) – The reigning champion at this weight is also, predictably, the top seed this time and is the only competitor at his weight with fewer than three losses.
285: Dan Perry, Lapeer senior (50-2) – As noted above, Perry won one of the most exciting matches of the 2015 Finals and can expect something similar in his final high school match before continuing at University of Michigan next season.
285 – Ali Wahab, Dearborn Heights Crestwood senior (57-0) – He fell to Perry in last season’s Final only 3-2, and it was his only loss of the season; Wahab can finish with a little revenge on his way to continuing his career at Old Dominion.
Other 2015 runners-up: Southgate Anderson junior Donte Rivera-Garcia (125, 51-2, 112 in 2015), Bay City Western junior Noah Schoenherr (130, 45-2, D2 119 in 2015), Dearborn Fordson senior Abe Ajami (140, 38-3, 130 in 2015), Kalamazoo Loy Norrix senior Nick May (189, 47-0, 189 in 2015).
Also undefeated: Ann Arbor Pioneer junior Rayvon Foley (103, 54-0), Bloomfield Hills senior Kajuan Caldwell (145, 23-0), Utica Eisenhower senior Owen Donovan (145, 45-0), Hartland senior Sage Castillo (152, 55-0).
More of note: Detroit Catholic Central freshman Kevon Davenport (119, 43-3), Monroe senior Carl Antrassian (119, 52-2), Davison senior Deven Perez (125, 35-6), Oxford senior Alex Hrisopoulos (140, 46-5), Holt junior Kolin Leyrer (152, 38-3), Lapeer senior Devon Pingel (171, 47-3), Davison junior Brenden McRill (189, 34-2).
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTO: Lapeer’s Dan Perry and Crestwood’s Ali Wahab compete during last season’s Final at 285; they’re the favorites again this weekend. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)