Highlight Reel: Friday's Quarterfinal Video
February 28, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first day of MHSAA Team Finals weekend is one of the busiest days of each wrestling season, with 16 matches over four divisions deciding those that will move on to meet in Saturday’s Semifinals.
And we’ve got highlights for every team that competed Friday, split up by division below.
Click to keep up with the tournament on the MHSAA Wrestling page, and come back to Second Half tonight for more highlights and coverage from all four championship matches.
Division 1
DAVISON GOES ON TOP: Lincoln Olson of Davison pins Joe McGrath of Detroit Catholic Central in 130-pound action. The Cardinals prevailed in this one, 35-28. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
MORELAND PICKS UP SIX: Detroit Catholic Central tightened things up at the end against Davison. Tyler Morland records a pin in 36 seconds against Tanner Thomas. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
VANHOEF FINISHES WITH A GRAND HAVEN PIN: Chase Vanhoef of Grand Haven pinned Jacob Renard of Anchor Bay in the 285-pound weight class of their Division 1 Quarterfinal match. It was all Anchor Bay in this one, 49-12. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
MICELI PINS FOR ANCHOR BAY: Anchor Bay had five pins in its Quarterfinal win over Grand Haven. Here's a second-period pin by Vince Miceli over Cole Miles. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
POTTER PINS FINLEY: Garnet Potter of Hartland pinned Justn Finley of Monroe in 45 seconds. The Eagles went on to a 44-19 win. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
MATHEWS CLOSES IT WITH A WIN: Keith Mathews was one of the bright spots for Monroe against Hartland, ending the match with a pin late in the second period in the 285-pound weight class. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
BRIGHTON OPENS UP ITS LEAD: Brighton won the last seven weight classes against Oxford. Here's a pin by Nicholas Brish at 171 pounds over Campbell Coker. Brighton advanced to the Division 1 Semifinals, 39-19. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
EXCITING FINAL MINUTE: The finish of the 135-pound bout in the Division 1 Quarterfinal between Oxford's Vinny Vackaro and Brighton's Jose Ramos saw Vackaro come from behind for a 13-10 win. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 2
TECUMSEH COMES BACK FOR THE LEAD: The Tecumseh-Niles match in came down to the wire. Wyatt Cadmus gives Tecumseh the lead with one weight class to go with a third-period pin of Brandel Hall at 125 pounds. But Niles won the final weight class and the match, 29-26. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
MITCHELL'S MONSTER THIRD PERIOD: Mitchell Findeisen wins the last weight class and the match for Niles with a 20-4 techinal fall over Adam Shelby of Tecumseh. Findeisen nearly gets the pin in the third period. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
PRIDE OF THE PANTHERS: Tyler Brewer ties things up early for Comstock Park against Lowell with a third-period pin of Garret Taylor. Then the Red Arrows won 11 of the last 12 weight classes to cruise to a 63-12 Division 2 Quarterfinal victory. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
MCKECHNIE KEEPS THE PIN STRING GOING: There were pins in the last nine weight classes in the Lowell-Comstock Park Quarterfinal - eight by the Red Arrows. Here Austin McKechnie does his share with a second period pin over Tristan Gore. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
ABES GET A WIN IN OT: Warren Lincoln gets a 10-8 overtime win at 119 pounds by Desmond Prazuch over Isaac Coolidge. This Division 2 Quarterfinal, however, belonged to Eaton Rapids, which won, 42-18. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here
EATON RAPIDS' ELDRED EXECUTES: Eaton Rapids' Austin Eldred gets a first period pin for the Greyhounds against Tommy Hang. Final - Eaton Rapids 42, Warren Lincoln 18. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
DAVIS DOES IT: Malik Davis gives Flint Kearsley an 11-4 lead after three weight classes against Gaylord. Davis pinned Seth Gregory late in the first period. Gaylord would prevail, 36-32. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
FOSTER WITH THE QUICK PIN: An 11-second pin was recorded by Gaylord's Shane Foster over Marcus Moss of Flint Kearsley in the 215-pound bout of this Division 2 Quarterfinal. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 3
RAZOR SHARP: One of the quickest pins of the Division 3 Quarterfinals was this 28-second fall by Jaycob Sharp of Remus Chippewa Hills over Ben Diaz of Allegan to start the match. Chip Hills advanced with a 46-24 win. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
CUT TO THE CHASE: Chase Beard got a pin late in the second period for Allegan to win at 215 pounds over Billy Koepf. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
BACK-TO-BACK TENNIHILL PINS: Jared and Grant Tennihill scored back-to-back pins for Grand Rapids Catholic Central against Saginaw Swan Valley. Here's Grant's fall in13 seconds against Joshua Shaner. Swan Valley held on to advance, 38-35. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
SUITOR SECURES THE WIN: K.J. Suitor of Saginaw Swan Valley clinched the Division 2 Quarterfinal win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central with a first-period pin at 125 pounds against Emable Irankunda. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
MIGHTY QUINN: Matt Quinn gets on the highlight reel for Mason County Central with a quick third-period pin over Gabe Heiserman of Dundee. Dundee won this Division 3 Quarterfinal, 60-9. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
PIN IT IN A MINUTE: Brandon Whitman scores a quick pin for Dundee over Jarod Alvestteffer of Mason County Central. You can watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
BIRCH RUN REVERSAL: Mason Breece of Birch Run scored a 4-0 win over Cody Keller of Richmond at 119 pounds in this Division 3 Quarterfinal. Here he picks up two points on a third-period reversal. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
SKATZKA STARTS A STREAK: Richmond broke away from Birch Run by winning three straight matches by pin. Here's one by Devin Skatzka against Justin Elliott at 160 pounds. Final: Richmond, 37, Birch Run 19. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 4
GARZA PINS FOR NEW LOTHROP: Steve Garza of New Lothrop scored a first-period pin against Eric Peters of Cass City in a 64-9 Division 4 Quarterfinal victory. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
ALL SMILES: Daymon Tabavo of Cass City is all smiles after his pin of Caleb Stankiewicz of New Lothrop in the 215-pound weight class. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
SIMMONS PINS FOR CLIMAX-SCOTTS/MARTIN: Ethan Simmons keeps Climax-Scotts/Martin in the match against Decatur with this second-period pin of Thomas Conklin. The Raiders, however, went on to win this Division 4 Quarterfinal, 47-22. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE FOR HELMUTH: In the opening match of the Decatur v. Climax-Scotts/Martin match, David Helmuth of Decatur turned a reversal into a pin with 35 seconds left in the first period against Tristan Smith. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
LO-PIN-SKI!!!!!!!!: Hudson started its match with Norway by scoring four straight pins. Mason Lopinski got the fourth in 23 seconds over Michael Tomczak. The Tigers won the meet, 59-15. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
TAYLOR MADE: Taylor Bonetti gets Norway on the board against Hudson with a 45-second pin of Jarrett Waters. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
BUCKS BATTLE BACK: Leroy Pine River posted five straight wins late against Manchester. Here's a quick pin by Andrew Park of the Bucks at 103 pounds over Reese Fry, which tied the score with two weights to go. The meet ended in a 33-33 tie, with Manchester advancing on criteria. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
LOTS OF TAKEDOWNS: Late in the final weight class, Manchester's Brendan Abrigo rips off a series of takedowns against Jordan Stone of Pine River. Abrigo's 11-4 win at 119 tied the team score at 33-33. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Dundee Ties Program Best with 4th-Straight Finals Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 30, 2021
KALAMAZOO – The Dundee wrestling team found itself in an unfamiliar position Tuesday evening: behind.
The Vikings were dominant all season. They feature eight wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their weight class, and lost just once – against Division 1 Finals champion Davison.
But thanks to wins from Whitehall’s Max Brown and Marco Moore, which sandwiched a long technology delay, Dundee had to spend nearly 30 minutes of the Division 3 Final trailing on the scoreboard.
It didn’t take nearly as long for the Swiderski brothers – Casey and Tyler – to erase the deficit, though, as they re-established a Dundee lead that was never relinquished in a 55-17 victory at Wings Event Center.
“I was saying it myself, ‘Here we are. We’re behind after two matches. Here we go,’” Dundee coach Tim Roberts said. “The guys responded and came back well. (Whitehall) was wrestling well. I give them a lot of credit; their guys came to compete. It was their first time in the Finals ever, and I think they made a good showing of themselves in how hard they competed and how they started that dual. I think they have a lot to be proud of, too.”
It’s the fourth straight title for the Vikings, and their 13th overall. It’s the second time Dundee has won four straight titles, as the program did as well from 1995-98 in Division 4 and Class C-D (1995). The program has entrenched itself as the best in Division 3 by advancing to the Finals each year since 2007, winning in eight of those 14 years.
"I’m just very grateful to be part of a program that’s done this well,” senior Stoney Buell said. “It puts a little more gratefulness on this year with COVID. I’m just beyond blessed for this opportunity and to be able to do it with a great bunch of guys.”
Dundee had a bye in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, and defeated its longtime rival Richmond 72-6 in the Semifinals. It was the culmination of an entire season spent as a heavy favorite, but the team never lost focus.
“Our whole mentality and in practice, it’s all about having fun,” junior Casey Swiderski said. “It’s not about coming here and winning team state, it’s about putting points on the board, everybody does their job and then you win 55-17 in the Finals. That’s how it works.”
The season-long dominance didn’t mean it wasn’t a stress-free season for Roberts, as he spent the entire year trying to make sure his team was healthy above all else.
“We know we have a good team, we know we had a lot of talent on it, but we need them to keep their minds in the right place moving forward and still fighting for something,” Roberts said. “That was a lot of work building goals for these to keep chasing. The way they handled it, and the way they kept fighting all year, I’m really proud of them and the way they came through in a situation that was weird. They handled it really well.”
Whitehall kept things interesting for a while, though. Brown’s victory came in overtime against top-ranked Austin Fietz at 140 pounds and was followed by Moore’s decision at 145. Casey Swiderski won by technical fall at 152, followed by a major decision from his brother Tyler at 160. Dominick Lomazzo (171) and Buell (189) each won by fall to stretch Dundee’s lead to 21-6, but Whitehall pulled back to within four after Shane Cook (215) won by forfeit and Ira Jenkins (285) won by technical fall.
Dundee closed the match with six straight victories to clinch the title, getting pins from Kade Kulce (103), Braeden Davis (112), Kaden Chinavere (119), Logan Sander (125) and Aiden Davis (135). Trey Parker won by major decision at 130.
“We just told our guys to go out there and compete and give their best effort,” Whitehall co-coach Justin Zeerip said. “At the end of the day, if they gave their best effort, I knew they could be happy with themselves. We just wanted to go out there and wrestle them hard. That was a really big match for Max, that kid’s been ranked No. 1 all year, so for Max to go out there and win it in overtime, I thought he looked really, really good today.”
Brown, Cook and Jenkins each won three matches on the day for Whitehall, which defeated Hart 41-23 in the Quarterfinals and Alma 37-29 in the Semifinals.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the kids,” Zeerip said. “Our first two matches today, they wrestled really, really hard. Even in the Finals. Dundee, they have such a historical program, and even though we didn’t win the match, I was really happy with our kids’ effort and how hard they fought out there.”
PHOTO: (Top) Dundee celebrates its fourth-straight Division 3 title. (Middle) Whitehall's Max Brown works to gain control during his match at 140 pounds. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)