Delta County's Best Prep for Ford Field
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2019
GLADSTONE – Two weeks have passed since the team season ended for Upper Peninsula wrestling teams.
Although, that doesn't mean it's over for all U.P. wrestlers.
Seven grapplers will represent Delta County at the MHSAA Individual Finals this Friday and Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit after placing among the top four in their respective weight classes in Regional meets.
All of them got together for practice last week at Gladstone Middle School.
"This is going to help me a lot," said Bark River-Harris freshman Avery Corrigan, who placed fourth at 103 pounds in a Division 4 Regional at Charlevoix. "I have people here my size who I've wrestled before. It feels great to be going to the state tournament. I felt confident going into the Regional and saw kids I hadn't seen before. It's going to be challenging, but I just have to stay confident. You just give it your all and treat it like any other tournament."
It was teammate vs. teammate for a Division 3 Regional championship at Kalkaska as Gladstone freshman Michael Brazeau pinned junior Lane Matzke 4 minutes, 49 seconds into the 103-pound final.
"We practice together," said Brazeau. "It was hard to make a move. It was a lot less intense than other matches because we knew what was coming. I didn't really care who won.
“It's looking very tough for 103 right now, but everybody's beatable. It feels like it's going to be pretty nerve-wracking, yet it's going to be exciting to go down there."
Matzke had similar thoughts about the Regional title bout.
"I didn't really care who won either,” he added. “The semifinal was the one that really mattered. We started laughing when we found out we were both in the finals.
“I went to the state tournament in my freshman year. It gets the butterflies out knowing I've been there before. I can't wait to get back there."
Junior teammate Cole Hansen (152) also captured a Regional title.
“It's quite an atmosphere down there,” Hansen said of the Finals. “I was pretty nervous when I went down there last year, but I'm more excited about going this year. My goal is to go down there and take first. I have to stay focused, get the right food in my body and drink a lot of water. I have to try to stay in good position. Last year I got out of position. This has been a good year so far."
This will be the first visit to the Finals for Gladstone senior Nick Dawson (130), who took fourth in the Regional at his weight.
"It feels real good to be going," he said. "This will be a great experience. It's going to be hard. It will also be exciting. I went down there to watch last year and there were a lot of mats, which motivated me to go down there this year."
Escanaba junior Hunter Larson (135) goes to the Motor City with the most MHSAA tournament experience among those in this group. He earned a third place in a Division 2 Regional at Gaylord last weekend and took sixth at 135 pounds at last year’s Finals.
"I started slowly in the Regional, then I got energized and my wrestling improved," said Larson, who won the Regional the past two years. "I'm a little disappointed I didn't get my third Regional. It will be a little longer road this time, but now I'll just have to trust in my ability.
“It definitely makes me less nervous after being (in Detroit) before. Everybody is pretty good once you get this far. I'm pretty excited about going back there."
Escanaba sophomore Collin Arnt (112) plans to take an offensive stance in Detroit.
"I have to wrestle aggressive," he said. "Hopefully, this will be a good experience. This was definitely one of my goals for this year. This is a real tough division. There will be some tough wrestlers. My goal is to place in the top eight."
PHOTO: Escanaba’s Hunter Larson wrestles this season at Marquette. (Photo courtesy of the Larson family.)
Led by 1st-Year Coaches, Dundee Adds to Longtime Tradition with Another D3 Win
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2023
KALAMAZOO – Nate Hall and Garrett Stevens knew what they were taking over when they were announced as co-coaches of the Dundee wrestling team before this season.
Longtime coach Tim Roberts did not leave the cupboard bare when he decided to retire.
His Vikings program had won five straight MHSAA Division 3 team titles and was littered with talented and powerful wrestlers.
Hall and Stevens proved to be the right picks to take over the legendary program, as they helped coach the Vikings to their sixth-straight title, and 14th overall.
And Dundee did it in its usual impressive fashion, with a 60-18 win over Whitehall in the Final on Saturday at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo.
"The well was not dry, and don't wreck it," said Hall, whose team finished duals at 19-2. "We didn't change much. We have all been around the program long enough, we had a great idea of what was taking place and how we are successful."
Which is?
"The commitment of the families, that is 100 percent why this program is so successful," Hall said. "I am not chasing kids down to have them wrestle in the summer. I'm chasing them trying to keep up with them."
And that is exactly what the Vikings' three opponents were doing all weekend in Kalamazoo – chasing down Dundee's talent.
In the Final, the Vikings were down 12-0 after two pins by Whitehall. But after that, Dundee went on to win 11 matches in a row, seven straight by pin.
Freshman Haydn Nutt began with a pin in 3 minutes, 9 seconds. Nutt was one of six freshmen who took to the mat this weekend for the Vikings. And all six are ranked among the top 10 in their respective weight classes by Michigan Grappler, including Nutt, who is the state's top-ranked 106-pounder in Division 3.
"We started the year and we had 13 freshmen, and I can't say enough the way our program has developed those kids," Hall said. "They were ready from day one this year, and they stepped up and progressed properly. They were ready to go."
It helps when you have a senior class of state champions leading the way like Braeden Davis at 132 pounds, Kaden Chinavare at 138 and Aiden Davis at 157.
"Dundee is the best place to be when you want to pursue wrestling," said Braeden Davis, who will look to win a fourth-straight individual title next weekend at Ford Field and couple that with his now four team titles. "We have a great staff, a great community. It's all about wrestling at Dundee."
Braeden Davis went 3-0 for the weekend and helped Dundee defeat Hart in the Quarterfinals 64-15 and Constantine in the Semifinals 59-16.
Braeden Davis was most impressive in the Final, when he won by fall in 15 seconds.
Whitehall co-coach Justin Zeerip knows good wrestling when he sees it. A four-time Individual Finals champion himself, Zeerip was impressed with the Vikings.
"Dundee is so tough, " said Zeerip, whose team ended with a 32-4 record. "From 106 to 175, they have seven top-ranked guys. And a couple other guys are ranked really high, so hats off to them, they are a great program. Our kids wrestled hard, they are just a super team."
Whitehall did wrestle hard during the two-day event as well, downing Gladstone in the Quarterfinals 48-24 on Friday, and then Algonac in the Semifinals 40-27 earlier Saturday. Whitehall wrestled over its seed in that match, as the No. 3-seeded Vikings got past the second seed.
"I was proud how my guys wrestled this weekend," Zeerip said.
PHOTOS (Top) Dundee’s Kaden Chinavare, right, goes for a takedown during his 126-pound match with Whitehall’s Caden Varela. (Middle) Whitehall’s Jackson Cook wrestles to a 7-3 decision win at 190 in the Semifinal against Algonac. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)