Hudson's Weaver Ends With Perfection
March 1, 2014
By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half
AUBURN HILLS – After seeing his team’s string of five straight MHSAA team championships come to an end the week before in the Division 4 Final at Kellogg Arena, Hudson senior Cole Weaver was not about to let his high school career end with a loss at the Individual Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
A two-time champion with a perfect record this winter, Weaver was determined to not have a letdown in his title match at 140 pounds against Chase Siersema, a returning finalist from Hesperia.
Weaver capped his career in style as he defeated Siersema 9-4 to win his third straight individual title and finish this season with a 57-0 record.
“I wanted to end my career with a bang,” Weaver said. “I did not want to get beat. I turned it up.”
Weaver, who will continue his wrestling career at Indiana University next season, was solid on his feet as he steadily built a lead against Siersema, who finished the season with a 44-4 mark.
“Takedowns were the key,” Weaver said. “I didn’t think he could beat me on my feet.”
While three individual titles in a row meant a lot to Weaver, the sting of seeing Hudson’s string of team titles snapped was still a painful subject for him.
“That is still a touchy subject,” Weaver said. “It hurts knowing that the string was snapped. It meant a lot to Hudson and to us.”
103
Champion: Davian Gowens, Hesperia, Soph. (24-3)
Decision, 14-6, over Corey Agens, Hesperia, Sr. (43-9)
Teammates and training partners squared off when Gowens wrestled Agens at 103 pounds. Gowens, who beat his teammate by a single point in both the District and Regional tournaments, steadily built a lead against his teammate in the Final.
“I’m a lot stronger this year,” Gowens said. “I weighed 95 pounds last year.”
Going up against his training partner was not something to which he looked forward.
“We wrestle each other every day,” Gowens said. “It’s very difficult wrestling against your partner. You really don’t want to beat him, but you are in the state finals.”
112
Champion: Joe Traynham, Onaway, Jr. (43-4)
Major decision, 16-4, over Roddy Hamdan, Hudson, Jr. (45-12)
Coming from Onaway, Traynham showed the crowd at The Palace that there are some serious wrestlers in Northern Michigan as he defeated a returning MHSAA champion with a major decision.
Traynham grabbed the lead early and steadily built it to double figures.
“Anybody can be beat,” Traynham said. “I feel like I put more time into training then anybody here.”
Traynham was making his first trip to the Finals as he was defeated in the second round of consolations at Regionals last year to miss the cut.
“I just worked so hard during the summer,” Traynham said. “I went all over the country wrestling and spent so much time in the weight room.”
All the work paid off in a big way.
“I can’t explain how it feels,” Traynham said. “It’s too good a feeling. This is something that I’ve been working for since the eighth grade.”
119
Champion: Logan Griffin, Erie-Mason, Jr. (34-4)
Decision, 6-2, over Dresden Simon, Dansville, Soph. (49-4)
Last year, Griffin battled through a shoulder injury at the Finals to win his first title. This season, a healthy Griffin was in command throughout his match with Simon.
“Last year I didn’t have much practice because of my injury,” Griffin said. “This year I was on my A game. I thought I peaked at the right time.”
Griffin also sported a new look at the Finals as his newly-dyed bright blue hair stood out.
“I lost a bet with my teammate,” Simon said. “If I pinned my first kid at Regional he would dye his hair, and if he beat his first kid at Regional I would dye my hair. We ended up both pinning, so we both dyed our hair.
125
Champion: Zack Yates, Hesperia, Sr. (47-0)
Technical fall, 15-0, over Logan Eaves, Hesperia, Soph. (38-15)
Not only did Yates defeat a teammate when he stopped Eaves, but he also defeated a family member to earn the title as the two are also first cousins.
“You can’t go out there thinking you are wrestling a family member,” Yates said. “You have to go out there and give it your all. You can’t go out there and take it easy.”
For Yates, it was his third straight appearance in the Finals and second straight individual title. Yates also wrapped up the season with a perfect record.
“I was proud that my cousin made it to the Finals,” Yates said. “He had a couple of ranked kids ahead of him, but he pulled it off. I just had to go out there and go as hard as I can.”
130
Champion: Carter Ballinger, Jonesville, Sr. (47-1)
Decision, 5-3 (OT), over Kyle Barkovich, Lawton, Jr. (50-3)
On the trip up to Auburn Hills from Jonesville on Thursday, Ballinger was not sure he would even be able to wrestle this weekend. Early in the week, Ballinger suffered an allergic reaction to some medicine used to treat a spot staph infection, which left him with a bright red rash on his neck and shoulders.
“I only got an hour and a half of sleep worrying about if I would be able to wrestle or not,” Ballinger said. “I was not sure I would be able to wrestle.”
Ballinger got the green light and took full advantage as he brought home the first title for Jonesville in 40 years.
“My coach was planning to retire after my freshman year, but I sent him a text saying that I was going to win a state title some day, and he decided to stick around,” Ballinger said. “This is just crazy. It’s amazing.”
135
Champion: Brock Thumm, Watervliet, Sr. (40-0)
Decision, 10-5, over Trenton Roesly, Hesperia, Jr. (50-4)
If not for a shoulder injury suffered last year, Thumm could well have been wrestling for a third consecutive title Saturday.
An MHSAA champion as a sophomore, Thumm suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder early last season. He needed to have three bones shaved and three titanium pins placed in his shoulder and missed the remainder of his junior season.
“I put in a lot of work over the summer and it feels great to come back,” Thumm said. “I worked on my conditioning and to get my shoulder strong.”
The hard work paid off for Thumm, who started strong and never looked back.
“This is very special for me,” Thumm said. “I worked pretty hard for this. I just wanted to end my senior season at state.”
145
Champion: JD Waters, Hudson, Sr. (49-10)
Fall, 0:51 over Zachary Francis, Lutheran Westland, Sr. (20-4)
The signature move for Hudson wrestlers is the far-side cradle, and Waters wasted little time in executing the move to perfection as he won his second consecutive title.
“The far-side cradle, it’s what Hudson is known for,” Waters said. “All Hudson wrestlers know how to use it, and it came in handy today.”
Waters’ victory at 145 pounds came on the heels of his teammate Weaver’s title at 140, and the wins were a perfect end to the high school careers of the Hudson wrestling standouts who started out as teammates at a young age.
“I love Hudson; there is nowhere else I would want to wrestle,” Waters said. “Cole is my partner, and we have been wrestling together since kindergarten. When we were in junior high school, we would go to the high school meets and see all the bigger guys and say that we wanted to be like that some day.”
152
Champion: Kyle Johnson, Hudson, Soph. (46-10)
Decision, 5-4 over Ali Rashad, Highland Park Renaissance Academy, Sr. (29-2)
Working in the Hudson wrestling room with champions like Weaver and Waters has proven to be very beneficial for Johnson, a sophomore. After finishing third at the MHSAA Finals at 152 pounds last year, Johnson is starting to work on his own Hudson wrestling legacy as he avenged a loss suffered against Rashad in the Individual Regional.
“He (Rashad) beat me 2-1 at Regionals,” Johnson said. “I knew what I had to do this time. I had to make sure that he didn’t throw me.”
Johnson took an early lead against Rashad and wrestled a solid technical match to earn the win.
“I train for the big moments,” Johnson said. “Wrestling against Cole and JD, you gain so much and learn so much. You know, at a little school like Hudson, when you wrestle against Cole you are going up against someone that is going to Indiana and that makes you so much better. I’m so glad I’m able to train with guys like that.”
160
Champion: Josh Wendling, New Lothrop, Sr. (56-4)
Decision, 13-7, over Mark Workman, Hesperia, Soph. (27-3)
Wendling added a second straight title and finished his career at New Lothrop with a 202-24 overall record.
After helping New Lothrop win the team title a week ago, Wendling had to guard against a letdown this week.
“I had to keep my mind right,” Wendling said. “Everyone was talking about the team state all week, and it was tough keeping my mind at the task at hand. I thought I was able to do that and keep myself at the top of my game.”
Wendling also had to guard against the high expectations of a returning champion.
“Just because I won it last year, everyone thought I had it locked up this year,” Wendling said. “They thought I would win automatically. Winning this one was awesome. It feels great.”
171
Champion: Taylor Krupp, New Lothrop, Sr. (56-0)
Decision, 6-5, over Shane Rodenburg, Kent City, Jr. (52-2)
Saturday’s title was vindication for the entire Krupp family.
Last year Taylor lost in overtime in the 160-pound championship match. Taylor’s older brother Justin reached the Finals twice during his career but also came up short both times.
This time Taylor won the title and did it in a big way as he scored a takedown in the final 10 seconds to secure the win. Making the moment even more special was having Justin, a New Lothrop assistant, right there on the mat.
“Justin is my coach, and he was the first one who hugged me after the match,” Taylor said. “It was sweet having Justin there when I finally won it. It was a great brother-bonding moment. It was great to share it with him. He was there to see me lose last year, and now he was here to see me win this year. ”
Making the day even sweeter for the Krupp family was young brother Connor, a freshman, placing fifth at 103 pounds.
189
Champion: Jacob Cooper, Springport, Jr. (45-2)
Decision, 7-2, over Nathan Philburn, Byron, Sr. (35-5)
After winning the 160-pound title last year, Cooper went up two weight classes this winter. The move up in weight did little to slow him down as he added a second straight title.
“At first it was hard getting used to the new weight class,” Cooper said. “I eventually got used to it and adapted to it.”
Cooper used his quickness and ability to score on his feet to his advantage during the match.
“I knew he was all upper-body,” Cooper said. “I knew I would have some shots. I just had to keep going in.”
With a second MHSAA title under his belt, Cooper already is setting his sights on a three-peat.
“I just have to keep getting better and stronger,” Cooper said. “I have to keep working hard.”
215
Champion: Kevin Koenig, Laingsburg, Soph. (48-3)
Decision, 14-3, over Patrick Harbin Jr., Detroit Loyola, Jr. (20-1)
After losing in the Final by technical fall last year, Koenig was on a mission this season and he didn’t let up until he captured the first MHSAA title in school history.
“I knew I had him after the first takedown,” Koenig said. “He couldn’t stop it.”
Koenig began wrestling in the third grade.
“I wanted to be the first state champion in school history,” Koenig said. “Ever since the eighth grade I have been working for this.”
285
Champion: Ryan Prescott, Whittemore-Prescott, Jr. (34-0)
Fall, 2:41, over Nate Boardman, Hillsdale, Sr. (40-2)
It was a second straight title for Prescott, who turned in a dominant season. Prescott took command of his match early and then finished the job with a pin in the second period.
“It feels like I’m on top of the world,” Prescott said.
A three-time MHSAA finalist, Prescott lost by one point in the title match as a freshman and then won the by decision last year. This time around Prescott won the title in a big way, and he credits his improvement to hard work and experience.
“Maturity,” Prescott said. “My maturity really helped me. I feel I am such a better wrestler and much stronger. I have improved a lot since last year. I worked so hard during the summer. Training and going to camps.”
PHOTO: Hudson's Cole Weaver (left) works to control Hesperia's Chase Siersema during their Division 4 Final at 140 pounds. (Click to see more fromHigh School Sports Scene.)
Brooklyn Twins Locked In After Scare
By
Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
March 2, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN – A little more than a year ago, Cooper Gunnells’ greatest dream was thwarted by what turned into a horrible nightmare.
A sophomore wrestler at Brooklyn Columbia Central at the time, Gunnells dreamed of qualifying for the MHSAA Division 3 Individual Finals at The Palace.
He never got the chance in 2015, but he will be there this year as a Regional champion – and his twin brother will be there, too, in the same weight division.
In January of 2015, an illness – paired with a freak wrestling injury – turned into a nearly two-month stay in the hospital that threatened Cooper’s life.
“At first, we thought we’d lose him for a couple of weeks. Then it was, ‘Oh shoot, we’re going to lose him for the year,’ and then it was, ‘He might die.’ It suddenly put everything into perspective. Wrestling just didn’t seem that important anymore.” – Columbia Central wrestling coach Ron Guernsey
Cooper said he had a slight cold early in January, but it didn’t keep him from wrestling as it wasn’t a big deal. However, what happened in one match turned into a very big deal.
“My throat was a little dry because of the cold,” he said. “I got put in a headlock, and I think I went to pry up on this guy’s elbow to get away from him, and I felt a little rip in my throat, but I didn’t think anything of it. I just kept on wrestling.”
As the days went on, Cooper began to have trouble breathing. He noticed it during some of his matches.
“It hit me hard,” he said. “When I was wrestling one kid, I felt very fatigued. I couldn’t get my breath back. I was looking at my coach like, ‘What is going on? I’m not usually like this.’”
It also affected his sleep, and the only way he could get a decent night of sleep was to sit in a chair with his arms folded on the top of the chair to provide a little relief in his lungs.
After two trips to the emergency room – both times he was told he had mononucleosis – things got worse.
“The moment I really started to feel like something was really serious was when I started having shallow breaths and couldn’t really breathe that well,” Cooper said. “My chest really, really hurt; it hurt to the touch.
“I called my dad and told him that something was really wrong; he needed to come get me, and we needed to go to the hospital now. It was like nine or 10 o’clock at night. They hooked me up to an EKG, and they looked at me, then looked at the machine again, and said, ‘You need to get to U of M pronto.’ I didn’t know what was going on.
“All I remember from that point on is they hooked me up to a morphine bag. They started pumping me full of morphine, and I just kind of dozed off to sleep. I was there, but I wasn’t. I remember like little periods of that whole incident.”
The “rip” he had felt in his throat was actually a tear in his esophagus, so when he ate or drank, everything spilled into his lungs and chest cavity, causing an infection.
“If we had waited another day or two, from what the doctor said, the outcome wouldn’t have been very good,” said Cooper’s father, Scott Gunnells.
Cooper was in the intensive care unit as the doctors battled the infection.
“It was just a weird set of circumstances that brought it about,” Guernsey said. “Once it got into his lungs, they had to go in two different times to scrape his lungs.
“It was a big deal. They were pumping him with antibiotics, and he went from 125 pounds to 100 pounds. It was hard to even look at him.”
Cooper’s twin brother, Keenan, had a similar feeling.
“It was really scary,” Keenan said. “I didn’t even want to go to the hospital to see my brother in the condition he was in. It was hard.”
As Cooper lay in the hospital, he really was unaware of his condition or the severity of it.
“At first, when I starting coming to, I was bloated full of fluids and had chest tubes in me,” he said. “I was like, ‘What is going on?’ I had a whole bunch of IVs in my arm. The doctors came in and told me I ripped my esophagus and everything I was eating and drinking was going to my chest cavity. It made this thick mucus inside my lungs, and then the pericardium (sac around your heart), that was full of fluids, too.
“I had tubes going in my neck down into my chest area and tubes from both sides of my chest that was draining out all of the junk that was inside of me.”
He also was incubated with a breathing tube.
“The thought came to my head that I might never wrestle again, but I really wanted to wrestle.” – Cooper Gunnells
When Cooper was first released about six weeks after going into the hospital, he returned after just eight hours and stayed another week.
While in the hospital, his spirits were lifted when the Michigan State University wrestling team sent a signed shirt, and three members of the University of Michigan wrestling team visited him in the hospital.
“That was really cool,” Cooper said. “I asked them about their go-to moves and stuff like that, and they said to ‘stick to the basics.’”
A return to wrestling was going to be a big step for a young man who had dropped 20 percent of his body weight from 125 to 100 pounds, and the doctors put him on a 4,000-calorie diet – maybe the only good thing that happened to Cooper during that time.
“It was great actually,” he said. “I splurged on ice cream and chocolate milk. They had these calorie bags that they would open and pour into my chocolate milk. It’s like 1,000 calories each.”
Cooper got out of the hospital in time to see his twin brother, Keenan, nearly advance to the MHSAA Tournament. He lost by one point in his final match in the Regional.
During the season, Keenan normally wrestles at a different weight class than Cooper so both can get into the lineup, but that was not necessary when Cooper was sidelined last season. But Keenan felt like he was wrestling for his stricken brother and made some changes to honor him.
“I was wrestling for him for sure,” Keenan said. “He made me try harder. Actually, at two tournaments, I bumped up to his weight class and took first at that level. I did it for him.”
Cooper never lost his desire to get back to wrestling. He returned to the mat near the end of the WAAAM (Wrestling Amateur Athletic Association) season.
“My dad told me I couldn’t wrestle at first,” Cooper said. “He just said, ‘We’ll see where you are in a couple of months.’ It was two weeks before WAAAM ended when I wrestled in WAAAM. I was huffing and puffing; it was hard to breathe.
“Keenan took first in WAAAM and I took eighth, but it was a learning process and had to start somewhere.”
Cooper played on the soccer team last fall to help build up his cardio, and he was relentless in his work to get back in wrestling shape.
“He worked so much harder when he got out of the hospital to get back where he is now,” Keenan said. “Those late-night runs, while I’m sitting on the couch doing cookie curls – eating cookies while he’s out running and busting his butt – just to know where he’s at now, I’m so proud of him.”
Cooper said he feels like he is 100 percent in all areas except endurance.
“I would say I’m 100 percent now strength-wise, but cardio-wise no,” he said. “Those months of being in bed – I couldn’t even walk down the hallway and back.”
Cooper is back. He is seeded first at 125 pounds in Division 2, and he brings in a record of 38-3.
But there remains one unique twist to the story.
“My little brother beat me.” – Keenan Gunnells, on losing to Cooper in the Regional Semifinals two weeks ago
Although Keenan had wrestled at 130 pounds most of the season, he dropped down to 125 for the Regional in an attempt to reach The Palace.
Obviously, that set up the possibility of the twin brothers meeting each other officially for the first time. It was a situation that was tough to face, and it ended up becoming a reality in the Regional Semifinals.
Not everybody wanted the match to take place.
“I told them not to do it,” Scott Gunnells said. “I didn’t want them to wrestle, just flip a coin and save the energy for someone else. Somebody had to lose anyway, and whoever loses has to wrestle harder to get back in.”
Cooper had similar thoughts.
“I really didn’t want to wrestle him because he’s my brother,” he said.
Keenan, who likes to remind Cooper that he is 4 minutes older, was a little more for settling things on the mat.
“It was hard, but it was fun,” Keenan said. “Coach Guernsey gave us the chance not to wrestle. I could have injury-defaulted out of the match and then dropped back down, but I wanted to take first or second to move on, so why not wrestle for it? Who’s the better wrestler?
“It went to overtime, and he got the last takedown, so my little brother beat me.”
While Cooper went on to win the Regional title, Keenan regrouped and finished third to earn a spot at the Finals with a 38-10 record. And a repeat meeting could happen again.
Both are seeded high, and a rematch could take place in the Semifinals or possibly even the Final. With a championship at stake, the twin brothers have a little different outlook.
“It’s a no-mercy kind of thing,” Cooper said. “That’s what we kind of did at Regionals, but now that we’re in states, we’re going to go at it if we meet.”
Keenan would love to reverse the outcome of the last meeting, but either way, he is really pleased to be there with Cooper.
“It’s kind of neat,” Keenan said. “Say Cooper and me both make it through our brackets, we could meet in the Finals. Twins in the Finals? I’m pretty sure everyone would be watching us and not caring about the other matches that are going on.
“I really wanted to make it to state, but it makes it 10 times better to know that my brother will be there with me on the mat while I’m wrestling.”
“I learned that you can’t take life for granted.” – Cooper Gunnells
Cooper said even he is surprised to be where he is today after the terrible ordeal.
“I would have thought it was going to take way longer for me to recover,” he said. “I was like 101 pounds.”
Scott Gunnells reflects on the past year and remembers the pain and worry. He also said he will never forget the support from the community.
“They had a big spaghetti dinner last year, and people showed up who I didn’t even know,” he said. “The community was great, and the outgiving of the community and the sacrifices of the coaches will always be in my mind.
“I don’t care who wins or loses. They are both coming home and both are going to eat at the same table. It doesn’t matter to me.”
The Gunnells brothers have another year to wrestle in high school, and wrestling in college is something both would like to do.
When asked if he had any colleges in mind, Cooper gave an insightful answer.
“I want to wrestle in college and I am hoping to go to Western Michigan because they have a nursing program,” he said. “After going through everything, I think it would be cool to be able to help people.
“You can’t take life for granted. Going through the ICU and seeing some people who were much worse than me, that was pretty painful, too.”
Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Brooklyn Columbia Central twins Cooper (left) and Keenan Gunnells wrestle during a Regional Semifinal at Williamston two weekends ago. (Middle) Cooper, below left, Keenan and their coach Ron Guernsey. (Below) Keenan Gunnells faces Alma's Alex Rosas in a third-place match at the Regional. (Top and below photos by HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)