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.)
Hudson Makes Big Stage Home Again in Division 4 Championship Repeat
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2023
KALAMAZOO – The Hudson wrestling team is never afraid of the big stage.
In fact, the Tigers thrive on it.
Hudson claimed its second-straight Division 4 team championship Saturday at Wings Event Center with an impressive 58-12 win over Bronson in the Final.
The Tigers have won 10 team titles in head coach Scott Marry's 35 years of leading the program.
Marry said aside from a lot of hard work, it's a simple formula for the small school and community in southern Michigan.
"We love each other – I love my kids, and they love me," Marry said. "I love my coaching staff, and when you wrestle out of the environment like that, it settles in and it's really powerful. Everyone calls it momentum, but it's really love."
The love and momentum were on full display Saturday in Kalamazoo, especially in the championship match against Bronson.
After falling behind 6-0 from a pin at 215 pounds, the Tigers ran off a string of nine straight wins. And among those nine straight wins, Hudson had seven pins.
Starting the streak was senior heavyweight Aidan Rackowski with a pin in 2 minutes, 44 seconds.
Pinning their opponents is a consistent theme for Hudson at the Finals.
During the Tigers’ 62-18 win over Iron Mountain in the Quarterfinal, 51-12 win over Martin/Climax-Scotts in the Semifinal and the championship victory over Bronson, Hudson had a total of 17 pins.
"We just work on a lot of subconscious brain work in the room," Marry said, "And visualization and creativity. And that manifests itself; it's powerful. Believe it or not, kids nowadays really do want to learn. They want to be loved, and they want to be taken care of."
The 17th and final pin of the weekend for Hudson came from senior Logan Sallows at 190 pounds.
Sallows a returning Individual Finals placer.
"We push hard at practice," said Sallows, who is the second-ranked 190-pounder in Division 4 by Michigan Grappler. "We always want to get better as a team, always. Everyone is family, and we continue to push ourselves until we hit our limits."
And those limits are high.
Although it ran up against one of, if not the best team in Division 4 year in and year out, Bronson coach Chad Butters was proud of his team's run this year.
The third-seeded Vikings defeated Manchester in the Quarterfinals 39-19, then second-seeded St. Louis in the Semifinals 38-29.
"We felt really good coming in here," said Butters, whose team ended with a 39-2 record. "I thought we wrestled really well against Manchester. Then against St. Louis, we showed a lot of toughness and grit.
"Against Hudson, we knew we would have to pull off some upsets; that just didn't happen," he added. "They overwhelmed us. They wrestled their match. They did what they do best."
Bronson got its wins in the Final from Matthew Blankenship at 215, Carson Norton at 157 and Jacob Britten at 175.
"I am so proud of my young men," Butters said. "I am proud of their heart. We just fell short."
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Nicholas Sorrow works toward a pin in his 113-pound match during the Division 4 Final. (Middle) Bronson’s Matthew Blankenship, right, and St. Louis’ Ramon Anguiano lock up at 285 in a Semifinal. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)