Hamdan Brings More History to Hudson

March 2, 2019

By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half

DETROIT – A humble Jordan Hamdan pinned his place in wrestling history Saturday evening at Ford Field. 

The Hudson senior became the 25th four-time MHSAA Finals champion when he pinned New Lothrop's Logan Zell in 54 seconds in their Division 4 135-pound title match.

He also became his storied program's first four-timer.

"This is pretty cool; it's a big honor," Hamdan said. "To see all these greats do this before me, I have looked up to them since I was really, really small."

Hamdan, who will wrestle at Michigan State next season, made easy work of the competition this weekend, pinning two of his opponents and beating the other two by technical fall.

"This is a bit overwhelming, a lot to take in," said Hamdan, who also has three team Finals titles on his impressive resume. "I did feel a little bit of pressure, but I would treat this just like I would in the practice room."

103

Champion: Brayton Mears, Union City, Fr. (36-4)
Decision, 4-2 (OT), over Bronson Marry, Hudson, Fr. (33-9)

Mears had come close to winning state titles in his youth wrestling days, but was never able to get to the top of the podium. 

It took a trip to the high school sport's biggest stage to finally break through. 

"I've taken second, third, fourth and fifth, and now I finally got to win one," Mears said. "I came out here to wrestle my best match, and I think I did and I got the win."

112

Champion: Ben Modert, Bronson, Jr. (52-2)
Decision, 7-0, over Nolan Datema, Carson City Crystal, Sr. (45-2)

It is hard to lose when you don't give up a point.

That is what Modert accomplished this weekend on his way to winning his second straight title. 

He did not surrender a point to his four opponents, capping it off by beating Datema in the final, 7-0.

"I made sure I stayed in control and wrestled as smart as I could," Modert said. "My goal this whole weekend was to not give up any points, and I accomplished that. I just tried to dominate as much as I could."

119 

Champion: Robbie Altland, Hart, Sr. (49-1)
Decision, 4-2 (2OT), over Caden Natale, Hudson, Soph. (26-5)

It is never one person who is responsible for molding a state champion. 

It is a process, and Altland made sure he thanked all who helped him win Saturday.

"Hard work, dedication, my teammates and my coaches got me here," Altland said. "And I have great supporters who all helped me get here. It has been a long run, but worth it."

125

Champion: Noah Comar, Clinton, Sr. (51-1)
Decision, 8-2, over Noah Cantu, Hart, Sr. (48-2)

Comar has a hard time looking back, but reflection helped get him back on top of the podium.

Two years ago the Clinton senior won a title, but he fell in a final last year. 

"I think (last year's loss) pretty much drove me," Comar said. "I came here this year to have fun and score points. I had a good tournament this year."

Comar finished his weekend with two pins, a technical fall and Saturday's decision.

130

Champion: Jamison Ward, Carson City Crystal, Jr. (48-1)
Decision, 2-0, over Jacob Shelby, Manchester, Jr. (47-6)

A couple of heart-breaking trips to the Finals helped pave the way for Ward to win his first title. 

Two years ago he was a finalist, but was handily beaten 10-0. Last year he fell in the semifinals, so this year he was not going to take anything for granted. 

"I have been dreaming of this since I was a little kid," Ward said. "Losing two years ago in the finals 10-0, it never gets out of your head. Just being there and being so close. And then last year I thought I would make my way back to the finals again, and I got upset in the semis, so this year I would not let that happen."

140

Champion: Skyler Crespo, Mendon, Jr. (50-1)
Major Decision, 13-0, over Ryan Wehner, Bad Axe, Sr. (40-6)

Crespo looks very comfortable wrestling on his sport's biggest stage in the state.

The Mendon junior cruised to his third straight Finals championship. And now Crespo is on the brink of history, as he will try to become a four-time champion next year.

"I felt great this weekend," Crespo said. "I felt like no one could even touch me. I only gave up two points all weekend off of cuts – no one even came close to me."

And it is that confidence that has Crespo thinking about history next year. 

"I'm looking forward to getting back and getting better," Crespo said. "I want to get better now, because that four is so close and I have been waiting for that so long."

145

Champion: Austin Wolford, New Lothrop, Sr. (36-3)
Injury default over Kyle Black, White Pigeon, Sr. (45-3)

This is not how Wolford wanted to end his high school wrestling career, even though it meant winning his second straight championship.

Wolford was visibly shaken as his opponent, White Pigeon's Black, had to be taken off the mat on a stretcher after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury.

"I have no words. I just feel bad for what happened," Wolford said. "That is not the outcome that I wanted. I won, but that is not what I wanted. That was not a state championship match."

152

Champion: Andy Simaz, Traverse City St. Francis, Jr. (42-2)
Decision, 6-4 (OT), over Jorge Sereno, Hudson, Sr. (35-12)

A spent Simaz laid sprawled on the turf at Ford Field after what he had just accomplished. 

The Traverse City St. Francis junior had battled his way to an overtime win over Sereno, and he had a hard time finding the words to describe his thrill.

But he knew in his head the thrill was coming. 

"I feel really good," Simaz said. "In overtime I tried that high crotch (takedown) and got sprawled out and I reached for a double leg and I told myself there that I was going to be a state champ. In my head I told myself that I would be a state champion there."

160

Champion: Braxton Seida, Carson City-Crystal, Sr. (43-2)
Decision, 4-2, over Brayden Randolph, Clinton, Soph. (43-2)

Seida knew he had two very excited fans when he walked off the mat with a title in hand. 

He could almost hear the cheers from the Ford Field stands. 

"I have been working for this my whole life, and this is the best thing that has ever happened to me," Seida said. "My dad (Phil Seida) was going crazy up there, and he is definitely appreciative. And my grandpa (Eric Seida), he kept telling me that this was the best part of his life. I did this for him because he wanted me to for the last four years."

171

Champion: Carson Scroggie, Sand Creek, Sr. (41-2)
Decision, 4-3, over Brock Nelson, Leroy Pine River, Jr. (47-3)

Scroggie did what he does best, and that is wrestle on his feet. It was a takedown that was the difference in his one-point win over Nelson.

Scroggie became Sand Creek's second Finals champion.

"This feels amazing," Scroggie said. "My coaches kept me in the neutral position because they know I am good on my feet. So I did what I do best and got the takedown, and I knew there was short time after that so all I had to do was just lay on him."

189

Champion: Ethan Weatherspoon, Napoleon, Sr. (53-0)
Decision, 3-2, over Kyle Cassiday, Beaverton, Sr. (51-2)

In one of the most anticipated matches of the Division 4 Finals, a pair of returning champions took to the mat at 189 pounds

Reigning D4 189-pound champion Cassiday was taking on last year's Division 3 champion in the weight class, Weatherspoon. Napoleon moved into Division 4 this year, setting up this epic battle. 

And just like when these two met earlier in the year, a 1-0 win by Weatherspoon, it came down to one point.

"That was good, it was tough, but I got the W," Weatherspoon said. "My grind, my work ethic, being aggressive in the match, that helped me win today."

215

Champion: Logan Badge, Clinton, Fr. (35-2)
Decision, 6-3, over Tim Rizor, Leroy Pine River, Jr. (45-3)

Not often do you see a freshman excel at a heavier weight class. Size, strength and experience, those usually come out on top when the larger wrestlers hit the mat. 

That makes what Badge has done all year, and again Saturday, so special. 

"I feel good," Badge said. "I got a good warmup with my warmup partner, and I wrestled well."

And what is nice for Badge, he gets to celebrate this week after his team fell short to Hudson in the Team Final a week ago.

"I thought we could have performed better a team states," Badge said. "But a lot of us redeemed ourselves here with 11 placing."

285

Champion: River Fox, Schoolcraft, Sr. (53-2)
Decision, 7-1, over Jake Renfer, Manton, Sr. (49-4)

Fox made Schoolcraft history Saturday night.

He became the school's first Finals champion. 

"I feel pretty good about this," Fox said. "I just felt comfortable with my moves. I just kept trying to score points and move the match."

Click for full results.

PHOTO: Hudson’s Jordan Hamdan was selected as one of the flag-bearers for the Finals’ opening march Saturday at Ford Field, before going on to win his fourth MHSAA individual title. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Vance Bounces Back to Finish as Champ

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

March 10, 2020

It took a day for Tristan Vance to fully appreciate what he had accomplished.

The Clio senior won the Division 2 189-pound championship Saturday at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals. Quite often, it takes some time before the gravity of the moment sets in. For Vance, that was partially true. But mostly, he was too sore to celebrate in a big way.

“That night, I was happy about it and celebrating about it, but I was so sore,” Vance said. “My back started spasming up right after the match. I was just so sore. I wanted to get home, and I wanted to rest. The next day, I was ecstatic.”

The spasms were nothing new to Vance, but rather a painful reminder of what he had to endure to get to this point. He missed more than half of the season because of them and didn’t return to the mat until the postseason. 

While Vance himself wasn’t showing the elation and emotion that comes with overcoming what he did, his coach and father, Tony, certainly was understanding of the achievement.

“All I wanted to do is find my wife in the stands and give her a hug and kiss,” Tony Vance said. “It was the best feeling I think I’ve had since my kids were born. I got excited, and I kind of walked to the middle of the mat looking for her. I didn’t know where she was at, then I saw her waving to me. I climbed the wall and gave her a hug. It was such a struggle for him, and so much for us, too.”

The pain started late in the summer for Tristan, but it stemmed from a surgery he had as a 12-year-old. Back then, he was having back pain that effected the way he was walking. After consulting with multiple doctors, a benign tumor was found on his spine.

“I thought I had cancer, and I thought I was going to die – for like 10 minutes,” he said. “Until my mom was like, ‘That’s not what it is.’ After that, I’ve always been kind of chill, not too worried about things.”

The surgery to remove the tumor was successful, but that wasn’t the end of Tristan’s problems. He said he suffered from nerve damage and sciatica. His muscles were still tight, and he had to undergo rehabilitation for his left hamstring.

Eventually, he improved and blossomed into a star athlete at Clio, playing quarterback and linebacker on the football team and earning all-state honors (eighth place) on the wrestling mat as a junior. 

That’s what made things even harder when the back pain returned.

“In middle school, none of that mattered to me,” Tristan said. “This year, it really kind of hit a soft spot. I was really depressed about it. I was kind of sure that I wasn’t going to be able to do anything.”

Tristan thought he had another tumor, but that was quickly ruled out. He was told that the smaller muscles around the hole where the tumor used to be were weakened and never fully recovered. The bigger muscles in his back were overcompensating, causing the spasms.

He decided, however, to play quarterback through the football season, even though he ran the ball a lot in Clio’s read-option offense. 

“It got so bad where he couldn’t even run sometimes in games,” Tony Vance said. “He would play until he couldn’t play anymore.”

The motivation for Tristan was to play his final season with his friends on the football team. He did admit, though, that if he felt his wrestling season was truly threatened, he may have stopped. 

When wrestling season began, the thought was to take things slow. Tristan returned to the mat in January, but his back acted up again in the New Lothrop tournament, and he was once again forced to sit.

“When I had to stop wrestling, it wasn’t because of the pain. It was because my muscles would contract and spasm, and I wasn’t able to do it physically,” he said. “It hurt my feelings. I was like, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to finish the season. I had four other guys on the team that ended up going to the state tournament with me, and I was seeing them do well and I was happy to see that, but I wanted to be part of that so bad.”

Tristan helped his teammates in the practice room, though he wasn’t sure if he would be able to compete again. As the postseason drew near, he began working out more and preparing for the possibility. The decision was made to put him into the lineup during the Team District and see how he held up. 

“We ended up holding him out as long as we could,” Tony Vance said. “He wrestled (in the Team District) and felt pretty good, so I said, ‘All right, we’ll wrestle you in (Individual) Districts. I was worried, because I didn’t want to have another kid have to sit out, then take him all the way up to Gaylord and enter him into Districts and him not be able to wrestle.”

Tristan entered the District with a 10-2 record. He also entered at 189, despite having wrestled at 171 earlier in the season. He weighed around 180 pounds, and Tony Vance didn’t think adding a large weight cut to the stress already on Tristan’s body was a good idea. The bump didn’t bother Tristan, who was second in the District and first at the Regional.

He entered the Individual Finals as the No. 2 seed. But thanks to having wrestled so few matches, and the presence of undefeated Central Michigan recruit John Shelton of East Grand Rapids on the other half of the bracket, Tristan came in under the radar.

“I had a problem with that last season, where I kind of got in my head a little bit and too full of myself, which really affected me,” he said. “Coming in as an underdog – it wasn’t the most fun way for my last season to be, but it really helped with my mentality coming into the tournament.”

Tristan won handily in his first two matches before running into Fruitport’s Crue Cooper in the semifinals. Cooper was considered by many to be Shelton’s main competition heading into the Finals, but Tristan came away with the 3-1 overtime victory.

“I really wasn’t getting too excited about anything, to be honest,” Tony Vance said of his mindset coming into the tournament. “Me and my wife were just happy that he was able to wrestle again. He won a huge match in the semis. As the match was going, I was like, ‘Man. OK, he’s really looking good.’ After that match was done, I was excited. I thought, whatever happens from here, he’s made a good run. I wasn’t thinking that he was going to win it, I was just thinking that we’d see where it goes (Saturday), and I’ll be able to tell how he’s doing at the end of the first period.”

Tristan was calm as he entered his match against Shelton, even after he was informed right beforehand of Shelton’s credentials. 

“I have never wrestled him before, and I have never seen him wrestle before because he’s on the west side of the state,” Tristan said. “My plan was mostly just to get to my tie-ups, get to my offense and do what I do best instead of waiting on what he can do.”

The match was tied at 3 after one period, and Tristan was able to take a 4-3 lead with an escape in the second. In the third period, Shelton chose down, and Tristan built an 8-4 lead thanks to a nearfall and a takedown. An escape and a stalling point put Shelton out of striking distance again, and he threw Tristan in a headlock as the clock was winding down. Tristan was able to get to his stomach, though, preventing the takedown or any back points.

“He has ice in his veins,” Tony Vance said. “He doesn’t have any doubt in himself, but he doesn’t show any emotion. He’s just calm and cool.”

After what could be his final competitive match – Tristan said he’s undecided about his future – he was congratulated by a host of spectators just off the mat, including his teammates and coaches from other schools. 

Excited but sore, Tristan calmly walked through it all, not yet fully cognizant of the degree of his remarkable achievement.

“I had a lot of emotions through that time, and I wasn’t really thinking about (going through the injury) too much,” Tristan said. “I was just thinking about what had just happened. Now I’ve realized that I kind of accomplished a lot given my circumstances this year.”

Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Clio’s Tristan Vance works to maintain control in his opening match of the Division 2 Individual Finals against Lansing Waverly’s Demitrius Webb. (Middle) Clio coach – and Tristan’s father – Tony Vance celebrates as Tristan finishes a semifinal win over Fruitport’s Crue Cooper. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)