![Romeo’s Belicia Manuel, right, takes on Waterford Kettering’s Emily Medford in Saturday’s championship match at 140 pounds.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/240303_G_2H.png)
Manuel Sisters Bring Pair of Titles Back to Romeo, Just Getting Started
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2024
DETROIT – Romeo wrestling coach Justin Gides was a busy man Saturday afternoon at Ford Field.
He guided sisters Belicia and Kaili Manuel to back-to-back MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals championships on the same mat in the 140- and 145-pound weight classes, respectively.
Sounds like the Manuel pipeline may be far from drying up, too, as Gides noted there are seven Manuel sisters in total.
“I think they’ve got me busy for the next 15 years,” he said with a hearty laugh.
Belicia Manuel, a sophomore, started it off with a tight 8-7 decision over Waterford Kettering senior Emily Medford. It was Belicia Manuel’s first Finals title and made her 23-0 on the season.
Kaili Manuel, a freshman, followed with a 14-4 major decision over Riverview Gabriel Richard junior Rihanna Venegas. That made Kaili’s season record 26-1.
Between the Manuels: Two championships and a combined 49-1 record.
“I was just thinking about my family coming and watching me, and I just really didn’t want to lose in front of them,” smiling Belicia Manuel said.
“Definitely a new experience,” she added. “Having this big crowd watching me is kind of scary, but we pulled through.”
When asked who holds the upper hand in family room tussles, Belicia took the more diplomatic approach and declared a tie.
Kaili has been wrestling since she was in kindergarten, while Belicia picked up the sport in third grade.
“They’re training partners, they work together all the time, every day. They’re always at each other’s mat, they notice the small things,” Gides said. “Honestly, I could probably make them the coach some days – they know so much. They’re so detail-oriented. There will be times I’ll go to yell something and they’re already yelling at their sisters, ‘You’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do this.’ They’re big students of the game.
“I mean, it’s crazy, man. They’re good kids, they train every day. They’re two of seven of them. There’s seven daughters, they all wrestle. They train year-round – they love it.”
100
Champion: Madison Nieuwenhuis, Plainwell, Soph. (18-0)
Medical forfeit over Olesya Mullins, St. Louis, Soph. (19-1)
Saturday’s Finals match was easier than last year’s for Nieuwenhuis, now a back-to-back champion, not that she wanted it to happen this way.
“I’m glad that I made it (to the championship bout), but a little sad that I didn’t get to wrestle,” said Nieuwenhuis, who like last year dealt with an injury on the way to winning a title.
In 2023, she had a foot injury. This season, it was a fractured bone in her wrist.
Nieuwenhuis hopes to be fully recovered in time for the World Team Trials.
“I guess just making it to the Finals (is the highlight this season),” she said.
105
Champion: Natalie Gibson, Remus Chippewa Hills, Jr. (18-2)
Fall, 0:54, over Tricia Pyrzewski, Gladwin, Sr. (42-5)
Pyrzewski had success against Gibson this season, but this time Gibson didn’t even give Pyrzewski time to think.
The bout was over in a hurry. Gibson captured her first championship after finishing runner-up at 105 pounds last season. This was her third Finals trip.
“Honestly, I think I just caught her and we’re super competitive with each other. She’s beat me twice already this year,” Gibson said. “I caught her in a perfect moment and I stuck her – it was super quick.
“We had a game plan and it kind of went with our game plan, but it just turned out a lot more perfect than we planned.”
Gibson has been wrestling for 11 years, picking it up from her older brother’s influence.
She hopes to be right back in the same spot next season.
“Honestly, I’m stunned -- a little bit in disbelief,” Gibson said. “Super proud of all the work and everything that my coaches and I have put in and that they continued to do with the support.
110
Champion: Nakayla Dawson, Westland John Glenn, Soph. (9-0)
Fall, 2:25, Cheyenne Frank, Oxford, Soph. (15-1)
Some believed that the Finals match at 110 pounds was going to be Dawson vs. Sky Langewicz of Algonac, with Langewicz having won Finals titles the last two years. But Frank earned an 8-4 decision over Langewicz in the Quarterfinals.
Dawson captured the 105-pound championship last season, so bumping up a weight class pushed her a bit.
“I mean, I feel like this year was a little bit more challenging because I bumped up a weight class, but it’s kind of the same,” Dawson said. “Girls, they’re just really flexible and they’re hard to get into turns and pins. But, yeah, it’s pretty much the same.”
Dawson did match up with Langewicz, but it was in the Feb. 18 Regional Final at Birmingham Groves, where Dawson earned an 8-5 decision.
Dawson made sure to keep the right mindset and stay focused in the Final. Her career goals are clear.
“Trying to go all four (years of winning championships),” she said.
115
Champion: Sunni LaFond, Gaylord, Jr. (30-6)
Decision, 13-9, over Gracey Barry, Grand Haven, Jr. (34-2)
LaFond broke through after runner-up finishes as a freshman and sophomore, but it was far from easy. She seemed to be in control of her Finals match Saturday, but Barry battled to the very end and made it very interesting.
“It was really intense. I did not think that it was going to be that tough to win it, but it was worth it in the end,” said LaFond, who absorbed two bloody noses in the bout.
After the match was over, LaFond ran up the stairs of the press risers and gave her mom a hug in the front row of stands. Moments later, she was greeted by well-wishers and wrestlers with whom she’s familiar.
“I didn’t feel nervous before, I just felt like it’s just another tournament, it’s not anything special,” she said. “I mean, yeah, it’s states, but it definitely feels really good.”
120
Champion: Lola Barkby, Sturgis, Jr. (17-3)
Decision, 4-2, over Faith Burgess, Grand Blanc, Jr. (25-1)
Barkby finished runner-up as a freshman and took fourth as a sophomore, but she said that different training and changing up her style yielded the results she was seeking.
You might say she kept her nose to the grindstone, so to speak. She had marks on her face to prove it.
“I’m not too happy about the mat burn on my face, but it’s a part of it,” Barkby said with a smile.
When Barkby placed second in 2022, she lost to eventual four-time state champion Angelina Pena in the 120-pound weight class.
This time, it was Barkby’s turn to leave the mat a champ.
“I mean, this is the best season that I’ve had and my team, we competed really well as a team this year,” Barkby said.
125
Champion: Tyler Swanigan, South Lyon East, Sr. (12-1)
Fall, 3:45, over Jamie Cook, DeWitt, Jr. (30-3)
Swanigan collected her second championship in three years. Previous experience seemed to pay off.
“My sophomore year was my first year competing at high school sports, so nerves were a lot higher coming into today being in the Finals three years in a row,” Swanigan said.
For the Finals match, Swanigan said that getting a lot of sleep, eating healthy, and drinking a lot of water helped.
She’s certainly poured enough time into it.
“I’m very happy this is the way I ended my high school career,” Swanigan said.
130
Champion: Angelina Pena, Milan, Sr. (16-2)
Fall, 3:25, Isabella Cepak, South Lyon East, Jr. (10-2)
Pena won a fourth-straight championship, including the third in a row since the MHSAA added a girls division for postseason competition. She captured the 120-pound title as a sophomore and 130-pound championship as a junior.
“I mean, it’s similar (to the other three) in the fact that I won and I held the same amount of respect for all of my opponents regardless of how they lose,” Pena said. “I think it’s different (in how) it gets harder every year, you know. All the girls are getting better, they’re training all year, and you’ve just got to keep training and keep putting in more work than they are.”
Pena is proud of the growth of girls wrestling at the high school and lower levels.
She said that her Milan coach, Adam Cabarello, launched a youth program at the school and he’s invited her to come to his practices.
“The more I come in, the more girls I see. We’ve got, like, seven or eight girls in there right now. It’s really nice to be able to mentor,” Pena said. “I think it’s just going up from here. Exponentially, we’ve already seen a giant increase in the amount of girls that are joining wrestling or making it to Ford Field. I think it’s great.”
135
Champion: Margaret Buurma, Fowlerville, Jr. (24-1)
Major Decision, 11-2, over Paisley Denault, Clarkston, Soph. (28-2)
Buurma is a three-time champion, also achieving the feat at 125 pounds last season and 115 as a freshman.
Former Fowlerville and University of Michigan standout Adam Coon has influenced her career.
“Quite a few times over the summer when we’re training freestyle stuff, he comes in, he works with us, he tells about his journeys through high school and college and then through all the Olympic stuff and World teams,” Buurma said. “He’s somebody who I strive to be like with his success in wrestling, but also his success in the academic field and his success as an overall person.”
Buurma said she felt a little more stress and anxiety coming into the tournament.
“In the end, it’s a wrestling tournament, and we’re here because we like wrestling,” she said. “Winning’s just always a bonus.”
155
Champion: Maddie Hayden, Caledonia, Soph. (11-0)
Fall, 0:49, Brynn Campbell, Holt, Sr. (30-7)
Hayden defended her title at 155 pounds, but she also overcame obstacles in the form of injuries.
“I think it’s definitely trusting my training. I had a couple of injuries, too, so I was out for a while. That was a big obstacle to overcome, too. I mean, I wanted to repeat, but my goal was also to overcome those obstacles as well,” Hayden said. “So just trusting in my training, trusting in my faith that I was going to be all right and that I could do it again because I did it last year.”
In late December or early January, she broke her fingers. Hayden was back on the mat for a week before she hyperextended her elbow.
The injuries may have seemed like a curse to some, but Hayden took them on as a challenge. They certainly didn’t seem to hinder her performance Saturday.
“Like, going into Regionals and state, I had only been wrestling a week in the past two months,” she said. “It was definitely scary coming in here with not a lot of wrestling, but that was also a fun thing. ‘Let’s see how good I could do off of not a lot of practice.’”
170
Champion: Maddison Ward, Niles Brandywine, Jr. (37-1)
Fall, 5:48, Heaven Cole, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, Jr. (17-2)
The bear hug with her coach said it all immediately following Ward’s pinfall.
She summarized it with one word: “Amazing.”
“Like, I’ve been waiting for it for the longest time,” she said.
In her first Finals appearance, Ward pinned her way through the bracket.
“This year made it special because I knew I would be able to make it into the Finals this year, and it’s just exciting to be able to wrestle in the Finals – I’d never done it before,” she said.
190
Champion: Sabrina Nauss, Brighton, Sr. (9-0)
Fall, 1:35, Gabriella Allen, Marcellus, Sr. (25-3)
Nauss became just the third four-time state champ in Michigan high school girls wrestling history.
In another historical note, two years ago she was the first female to win an Individual Finals match at Ford Field.
“Just a lot of emotions right now. Excited. I’m excited about what’s to come next, but I’m also sad for what I’m leaving behind,” she said. “I’m leaving one of my coaches, who has coached me from the start until the very end. … I’m excited. I’m excited for the future. I’m excited for college, and there’s just so much going on right now.”
Nauss collected the 170-pound title in 2022 and 190-pound crown in 2023 at MHSAA Finals. Her freshman year, she won a championship at the Michigan Wrestling Association state tournament.
She was all business in Saturday’s Final, taking charge and trying to put it away early.
“I mean, I just wanted to come in and get the job done,” she said. “Like I’ve said before, this is a business trip for me. This is my job, so when I come in, I want to come in hard. I want to get the first takedown and I’m trying to score the most points, so coming in with a pin was my ideal for finishing the job.”
235
Champion: Madasyn Frisbie, Belding, Jr. (6-1)
Sudden Victory, 4-2, over Braelyn Flemming, Spring Lake, Jr. (18-4)
The now two-time champion Frisbie has been through her share of pain on the wrestling mat.
“I’ve had a really tough season because I missed the majority of my season because I dislocated my (right) shoulder,” Frisbie said. “When I got to come back, it was probably the best day of my life.
“And then I went to Regionals and lost in the Regional Finals, and I never want to have that feeling of losing again. I mean, that’s just what drove me. I decided I wasn’t going to lose, so I didn’t.”
PHOTOS (Top) Romeo’s Belicia Manuel, right, takes on Waterford Kettering’s Emily Medford in Saturday’s championship match at 140 pounds. (Middle) Kaili Manuel, right, works to gain control during her 145-pound championship match against Riverview Gabriel Richard’s Rihanna Venegas. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
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D4 Preview: New Contenders On Verge
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 26, 2020
Only two teams have won Division 4 team wrestling championships over the last decade, and before last season only five teams had competed in the deciding match over the previous 10 years.
But Clinton broke into the mix making its first MHSAA Final last winter – and five of eight Division 4 teams competing at this weekend’s Quarterfinals are seeking their first team championships, even as the long-standing powers wait at the gate as favorites again at Wings Event Center.
The Division 4 Quarterfinals will be wrestled at noon Friday. Top seed Hudson will face Onaway, No. 2 New Lothrop will face Lawton, No. 3 Clinton takes on Carson City-Crystal and No. 4 Hart wrestles Manchester.
Semifinals are 9:30 a.m. Saturday, with the championship match that afternoon at 3:45 p.m. All matches this weekend will be viewable live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.tv. For Friday’s schedule and results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 4, listed by seed.
#1 Hudson
Record/rank: 26-6, No. 3
League finish: Second in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Coach: Scott Marry, 32nd season (820-191)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2019), three runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Kannon Marry (20-4) fr., 103 Dallas Pibbles (29-9) sr., 112 Bronson Marry (32-6) soph., 112 Payton Rogers (23-14) soph., 125 Jackson Miller (23-13) soph., 125 Tyler Bolenbaugh (20-19) jr., 130 Caden Natale (34-4) jr., 135 CJ Berro (25-12) jr., 152 Dylan Smith (31-8) jr., 171 Cameron Underwood (27-14) soph., 189 Kyle Moll (35-7) sr.
Outlook: Hudson has won the last three Division 4 championships and eight of the last 11. The Tigers this time emerged from a Regional where they beat No. 8 Bronson and Addison, and after Addison had defeated No. 9 Union City in the other Regional Semifinal. Although four-time Individual Finals champion Jordan Hamdan graduated, there is still plenty of experience throughout the roster – six of the individual qualifiers mentioned above are repeat qualifiers from last season, when Bronson Marry and Natale finished runners-up at their weights and Moll also was a Finals placer. This is an annual note too, but important to mention – although Hudson did not win its league, the Tigers again finished second to Division 3 top seed Dundee.
#2 New Lothrop
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Mid-Michigan Activities Conference
Coach: Jeff Campbell, 19th season (481-92)
Championship history: 15 MHSAA championships (most recent 2016), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Daven Lockwood (28-12) fr., 125 Andrew Krupp (34-10) jr., 130 Alex Wolford (27-8) soph., 135 Logan Wolford (34-6) sr., 145 Harry Helmick (25-16) jr., 152 Bryce Cheney (28-3) jr., 160 Austin Barnette (35-6) sr., 189 Justin Carnahan (42-0) sr., 215 Camden Orr (38-3) jr., 285 Isiah Pasik (37-2) soph.
Outlook: New Lothrop saw its championship match streak end at five last season when it lost to Clinton in a Semifinal. But the Hornets are seeded to return to the final round after giving up only a combined 52 points over four postseason matches during this run. While last year’s team was relatively young with six seniors, this year’s has only three seniors but also six junior starters. Carnahan was an Individual Finals runner-up as a sophomore in 2018, and Krupp, Alex Wolford and Orr all were placers a year ago.
#3 Clinton
Record/rank: 28-5, No. 1
League finish: First in Tri-County Conference
Co-coaches: Jeff Rolland, seventh season (192-48); Casey Randolph, second season (58-10)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2019.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Connor Busz (39-7) fr., 112 Chase Packard (31-13) soph., 112 Ethan Younts (29-18) fr., 119 Zak Shadley (28-12) fr., 130 Landis Gillman (40-8) jr., 135 George Ames (34-6) soph., 140 AJ Baxter (44-5) jr., 145 Kent McCombs (29-9) soph., 160 Spencer Konz (31-2) jr., 171 Brayden Randolph (46-4) jr., 189 Logan Badge (29-0) soph., 215 Jack Voll (35-9) jr., 285 Will Felts (26-6) jr.
Outlook: Clinton won its fifth Regional title in seven seasons and returns to Wings after reaching the championship match last year for the first time. An impressive lineup has Individual Finals qualifiers at all but two weights – 125 and 152 – and some maneuvering produces an expected starting lineup featuring all 13 qualifiers with the 14th wrestler the lone senior starter Noah Deshano (21-14). Badge is the reigning champion at 215, Brayden Randolph was the runner-up last year at 160, and Baxter, Ames, Konz and McCombs also were Finals placers in 2019. Baxter was a Finals runner-up as a freshman.
#4 Hart
Record/rank: 33-3, No. 5
League finish: Second in West Michigan Conference
Coach: Brad Altland, eighth season (221-86)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Trayce Tate (37-7) fr., 112 Trenton Swihart (18-17) fr., 125 Spencer Vanderzwaag (34-6) jr., 130 Chance Alvesteffer (48-3) soph., 135 Mason Cantu (49-2) soph., 145 Jerry Brandel (35-7) sr., 152 Thomas Tanner (35-7) jr., 171 Leo Guadarrama (43-10) soph., 215 Braeden Carskadon (34-16) jr., 285 Tanner Breitwisch (39-5) sr.
Outlook: Hart is making its second appearance at the Quarterfinals, and first since 1990, after defeating No. 7 LeRoy Pine River to open the District and then cruising through three big wins. This run is even more impressive considering the Pirates graduated an individual champion and two more Finals placers last spring. As with Hudson above, it should be noted that while Hart didn’t win its league this winter, it did finish second to Division 2 No. 8 Whitehall in the WMC.
#5 Manchester
Record/rank: 35-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Cascades Conference
Coach: Steve Vlcek, 30th season (636-215)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2008.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Jacob Bunn (43-5) soph., 112 Jared Bunn (41-8) soph., 125 Drew Gebhardt (47-3) sr., 130 Jacob Shelby (46-1) sr., 140 Adam Pringle (38-10) jr., 145 Jacob Kurgin (39-7) sr., 152 Jacob Snowden (14-7) jr., 152 Garrett Pope (38-12) soph., 160 Nick Phillips (31-8) sr., 171 Derek Guenther (41-7) sr., 189 Collin McCaffrey (41-6) sr., 285 Simon Lato (47-2) sr.
Outlook: Manchester will make the trip the Quarterfinals for the fourth time in five seasons after giving up a combined 32 points over four postseason matches and defeating No. 10 Springport in the Regional Final for the second-straight year. Six returning Finals placers anchor the lineup, with Shelby a runner-up at 130 pounds last season after falling just 2-0 to Carson City-Crystal’s Jamison Ward in their championship match. He’s also one of seven Flying Dutchmen with at least 40 wins this season. Kurgin, Lato, Gebhardt, and Jared and Jacob Bunn also are returning placers.
#6 Carson City-Crystal
Record/rank: 32-4, No. 6
League finish: First in Mid-State Activities Conference
Co-coaches: Kacy Datema, 10th season (267-74); Dallas O’Green, first season (32-4)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up in 2000 and 2001.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Jaron Johnson (35-0) jr., 135 Jamison Ward (46-0) sr., 140 Cole Stone (42-5) soph., 145 Bryce Stanley (38-10) soph., 160 Blain Mitchell (31-7) jr., 171 Nash Akin (37-9) sr., 215 Ryan Holland (33-12) sr., 285 Brian Yeakey (45-3) sr.
Outlook: The Eagles are making their fourth-straight trip to the Quarterfinals and in sixth in 10 seasons under Datema. Although Carson City-Crystal graduated a good share of star power from last year’s run to the Semifinals, plenty returns to the mat this weekend. Ward is a two-time finalist and won the title at 130 pounds last season, and Johnson and Yeakey also were Finals placers.
#7 Lawton
Record/rank: 25-10, unranked
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Coach: Troy Johnson, seventh season (175-59)
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 1990), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Dustin Mallory (42-13) fr., 140 Landyn VanWyk (47-4) sr., 145 Carter Cosby (36-13) fr.
Outlook: Johnson – an individual champion as a senior in 1987 during Lawton’s string of team titles – has the program back at the Quarterfinals for the first time since his first season coaching in 2014. Eight expected starters are freshmen or sophomores. But Andrew O’Donnell (38-12/160 pounds) and Harrison Maynard (16-5/189) join VanWyk in providing senior anchors, and junior Dominic Pickett (33-18/135) also is among five with at least 30 wins this winter.
#8 Onaway
Record/rank: 11-14, unranked
League finish: Fifth in North Star League
Coach: Mark Grant, 19th season (156-223)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 135 Teddy Peters (17-3) sr., 140 Matthew Grant (20-1) sr., Brendan Fenstermaker (27-9) jr., Seth Enos (22-15) jr.
Outlook: Onaway has now won three-straight Regional titles and three in program history, and all four individual qualifiers mentioned above also were individual qualifiers in 2019. All 10 weights beginning with 130 and heavier are filled by juniors and seniors. Grant placed sixth at 135 pounds last season after finishing runner-up at that weight in 2018.
PHOTO: Clinton enters the competition area prior to last season's Division 4 Semifinals win over New Lothrop at Wings Event Center. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)