Highlight Reel: Saturday Semifinals Video
February 28, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals field was whittled to eight this morning over two sessions at Kellogg Arena.
Below are highlights from the morning matches for all four divisions.
Division 1
Duffy Scores A Late Win: Patrick Duffy keeps Anchor Bay in the meet against Hartland with a 5-4 win over Brandon Sturtevant at 152 pounds - getting back points in the final minute. Hartland advanced in Division 1 with a 29-28 win. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Hughes Second-Period Pin: After a scoreless first period, Reece Hughes of Hartland quickly pins Adam Wiscombe of Anchor Bay at 130 pounds to give his team the lead in this Division 1 Semifinal. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Brighton's Brish Bumps Bulldogs To Lead: A key decision down the stretch of the Brighton-Davison Division 1 Semifinal was Nicholas Brish's first period pin of Mike Kennedy. It gave Brighton a 25-22 lead at the time, and the Bulldogs advanced to the final with a 29-25 decision. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Fifield on the Hunt: Hunter Fifield of Davison scored all of his points on this sequence in the first period against Jose Ramos of Brighton. Fifield won the match at 140, 5-1, but Brighton advanced. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 2
Hall of Pins: Lucas Hall gets the Division 2 Semifinal for Lowell against Gaylord started with a quick pin over Trent Hibner. Lowell cruised to a 50-19 win over the Blue Devils. You can watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Trevor Scores Third-Period Win: In the final minute of the 103-pound match, Trevor Giallombardo picks up two points to claim a 7-5 win over Lowell's Sam Russell. You can watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Eaton Rapids Moving On: Austin O'Hearon of Eaton Rapids scored a 9-2 win over Cade Stephenson of Niles in the final bout, at 112 pounds, to give the Greyhounds a 30-27 win. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Noah Nails It For Niles: Niles jumped out to an 18-9 lead in its Division 2 Semifinal with Eaton Rapids. Noah Hall gets a first-period pin here at 140 over Hunter George. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 3
Reinhart Gets Dundee's First Points: After Saginaw Swan Valley won the first three bouts, Dundee got a triple of it own, started by Kenny Reinhart's second-period pin of Luke Hart. Dundee would eventually prevail, 38-32, and move into the Division 3 Final. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Bott Puts Vikings On Top: After Dundee tied the match at 14-14, Gerad Bott of Swan Valley came up with a first-period pin of Kyle Motylinski at 152 pounds to put the Vikings on top. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Todd Wins for Chippewa Hills: Here's the scoring sequence in the third period that gave Slade Todd of Chippewa Hills a 5-3 win over Alex Roberts of Richmond at 130 pounds in this Division 3 Semifnal. Richmond went on to win, 32-19. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Kilburn Gets a Restart Pin: Richmond's Aaron Kilburn recorded the only pin of his team's Division 3 Semifinal with Chippewa Hills ... a first-period fall after a restart. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 4
Manchester Gets On The Board: Brandan Abrigo scores a pin at 112 pounds over Aubrey Stone of New Lothrop in this Division 4 Semifinal. New Lothrop went on to a 38-22 win. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
New Lothrop Extends Lead: New Lothrop extended its lead against Manchester with Cole Hersch pinning Matt Smith in the first period of the 130-pound match. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
The Ax Man Wins For Decatur: Early in the third period of this Division 4 Semifinal, Decatur's Axton Gerhold turns things around against Hudson's Christopher Wollet and into a pin. Hudson went on to win the match, 39-33. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Pivotal Pin by Brockway: With the score tied at 30, Hudson's Clayton Brockway scores a huge pin of Decatur's Kyle Nye in the 171-pound match of this Division 4 Semifinal. You can watch the whole match and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
D1 Preview: Davison Seeks Return to Top
February 20, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Davison is arguably the most storied wrestling program in MHSAA history. And for seven seasons, the Cardinals have looked to add another championship chapter.
This weekend at Kellogg Arena, they are favored to win their first Division 1 title since finishing a string of five consecutive championships in 2006.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 1, listed by seed. Their Quarterfinal matches begin at 3:15 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 9:30 Saturday morning and the championship match at 4 p.m. All matches this weekend will be streamed live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV. For results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page. Rankings below are from MichiganGrappler.com.
#1 DAVISON
Record/rank: 23-4, No. 1
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley Association
Coach: Roy Hall, 17th season (426-72-1)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2006), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Devon Perez (31-11) soph., 112 Max Johnson (35-7) soph., 125 Lincoln Olson (38-1) jr., 130 Derek Humphrey (36-4) sr., 135 Matt Miller (30-7) sr., 140 Justin Oliver (40-1) sr., 145 Dominic Russ (33-8) sr., 152 Thomas Garty (33-3) sr., 152 Brenden McRill (22-11) fr.,171 Jordan Cooks (36-2) sr., 215 Jake Ellis (25-16) jr.
Outlook: Davison just missed the title last season, falling to Detroit Catholic Central 29-26 in the Final. But 11 starters from that match are back this weekend. The starting lineup features five 30-match winners, with five more 20-match winners able to sub in. Cooks was a repeat individual champion last season, while both Olson and Oliver have won multiple titles during their careers and Miller was a runner-up in 2013. Total, six of this weekend’s probable starters placed at last winter’s Individual Finals.
#2 HARTLAND
Record/rank: 38-2, No. 3
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: Todd Cheney, 22nd season (601-91-2)
Championship history: Four MHSAA runner-up finishes (most recent 2007).
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Sage Castillo (49-7) soph., 130 Nate Hughes (48-7) sr., 135 Austin Eicher (33-1) sr., 145 Jacob Gorial (52-1) jr., 160 Logan Vish (39-15) soph., 285 Josh Charneski (46-8) sr.,
Outlook: Hartland again is contending for its first MHSAA team title, moving up from a third seed a year ago as it makes its 13th straight Quarterfinal appearance. Eicher defeated teammate Gorial in one of last season’s most talked about Individual Finals, at 130, and Gorial is the team wins leader this season. Once again, the path to Battle Creek was a tough one, with No. 4 Brighton and No. 5 Holt among those Hartland downed along the way.
#3 DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 15-4, No. 2
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League
Coach: Mitch Hancock, seventh season (146-32)
Championship history: Ten MHSAA championships (most recent 2013), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Parker O’Brien (26-17) sr., 119 Trevor Zdebski (20-2) jr., 130 Evan Toth (27-13) sr., 135 Greg Johnson (32-10) sr., 140 Myles Amine (35-6) jr., 145 Malik Amine (27-3) sr., 152 Nick Bennett (36-0) sr., 171 Drew Garcia (34-1) sr., 189 Nick Giese (19-8) jr., 215 James Russell (36-7) sr.
Outlook: Detroit Catholic Central has won three Division 1 team championships in four seasons, including at the end of the last two, and should be in the hunt again despite the third seed. The Shamrocks’ only losses were to No. 1 Davison, Division 2 No. 1 Lowell and No. 2 St. Johns and Illinois power Oak Park River Forest. Malik Amine and Garcia are reigning individual champions, and Zdebski, Myles Amine and Giese also placed last season.
#4 GRANDVILLE
Record/rank: 17-1, No. 7
League finish: First in O-K Red
Coach: Bubba Gritter, fourth season (66-26)
Championship history: Two MHSAA championships (most recent 1993), three runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Josh Brower (33-9) soph., 135 Collin Tomkins (32-4) sr., 140 Kameron Bush (39-3) fr., 152 Jake Brower (31-8) sr., 160 Sam Greco (30-11) fr., 215 Eppe Saarenheimo (28-13) jr.
Outlook: Grandville returned to the Quarterfinals last season for the first time since Gritter’s senior year of 2003, and returns four seeds higher this weekend. Half of last season’s lineup is back including returning Individual Finals placer Tomkins. He’s one of five seniors; the probable starters for this weekend also include seven underclassmen looking to make this trip a tradition.
#5 OXFORD
Record/rank: 24-4, No. 8
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Paul McDevitt, 17th season (345-140)
Championship history: MHSAA Division 1 champion 2011, two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Alex Hrisopoulos (42-7) soph., 160 Noah Kinne (33-18) jr., 171 Wesley Maskill (46-5) sr., 189 Wyatt Harden (16-4) soph., 189 Grant Krause (31-9) sr., 215 Ben Line (39-7) sr., 215 Jamal Pettiford (18-9) sr., 285 Zach Wood (30-5) sr.
Outlook: Oxford missed the Quarterfinals last season for the first time in six, but returns this weekend after beating No. 10 Clarkston along the way. Hrisopoulos, Maskill and senior Eddie Schlickenmeyer all have won at least 40 matches this season and were Individual Finals placers in 2013. Maskill, Schlickenmeyer, Krause and senior Zab Throne all were in the lineup the last time Oxford wrestled in a championship match, in 2012 against Detroit Catholic Central.
#6 PLYMOUTH
Record/rank: 36-4, unranked
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: Quinn Guernsey, sixth season (112-75)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Brandon Harris (47-4) jr., 119 Mohamad Youssef (50-3) sr., 140 Jon Conn (44-7) sr., 145 Sofus Nielson (34-10) sr., 160 Joey Shaver (43-9) sr., 171 Hussein Youssef (45-8) jr.
Outlook: Guernsey, who wrestled at Brooklyn Columbia Central and then Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University, has led Plymouth to its first Quarterfinal this winter and an increased win total each of the last three seasons. Plymouth defeated No. 6 Temperance Bedford during this run. Mohamad Youssef was an Individual Finals placer last season.
#7 MACOMB DAKOTA
Record/rank: 25-5, No. 9
League finish: First in Macomb Area Conference Red
Coach: Ed Skowneski, second season (62-10)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Zack Prater (39-11) soph., 135 Kyle Cendrowski (29-19) sr., 152 Alex Bozinovski (42-7) sr., 160 Jake Johnson (48-1) sr., 171 Joshua Burnham (39-8) sr., 189 Greg Brohl (32-17) sr., 215 Antonio Balabani (38-7) jr.
Outlook: After making the Quarterfinals last season for the first time, Dakota is back with a lineup of half seniors. Half of the lineup also has at least 30 wins, including returning Finals placers Bozinovski and Johnson. Skowneski was a 2003 individual champion for Clinton Township Chippewa Valley before wrestling at MSU.
#8 LIVONIA FRANKLIN
Record/rank: 16-7, unranked
League finish: Fifth in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: David Chiola, 14th season (231-97)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Jeremy Nelson (33-23) soph., 119 Nick Robertson (40-14) jr., 125 Nathan Atienza (50-6) fr., 152 Kenneth Steele (32-19) sr., 152 Nick Frazier (42-7) sr., 160 Jordan Atienza (58-0) sr.
Outlook: Franklin is in the Quarterfinals for the first time after winning its ninth straight District title. Jordan Atienza is 166-1 over the last two seasons and was an Individual Finals runner-up at 152 last winter. Chiola has won 292 matches total as a coach, with six more seasons at Garden City.
PHOTO: Davison wrestlers participate in the "Grand March" before last season's championship matches at Kellogg Arena. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)