MHSA(Q&)A: St. Johns wrestling coach Zane Ballard
March 4, 2012
This weekend had to resemble, at least slightly, a typical dual match for St. Johns coach Zane Ballard – except he was at The Palace of Auburn Hills for the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals.
But with 13 qualifiers, Ballard guided all but one of his regular line-up at some point over the tournament’s three days. Seven Redwings won championships and two more finished runners-up, just more reminders of how his program has evolved over the last four seasons from solid to arguably the state’s strongest.
St. Johns was 59-51 in the four seasons before these seniors entered high school. The Redwings finished 121-7 during their four-year run and won a third-straight MHSAA Division 2 team title Feb. 25. They haven’t lost to an in-state opponent since 2010. And four of those champions -- plus three more Finals placers -- should be back next season.
Second Half caught up with Ballard on Saturday after one final podium appearance – and the placing of one last medal around the neck of four-time undefeated champion Taylor Massa.
Did you ever imagine you’d have almost your entire line-up at the Individual Finals?
I never envisioned it in the past. But this year, I knew it was possible to do it. This is one of those tournaments, it’s so tough. It’s grueling. … To pull that all together to get nine guys to the Finals, that’s unimaginable. Everything has to go right.
How has coaching changed for you in the last four years, as opposed to first four of five at St. Johns?
It’s like an almost entirely different job. I’ve grown as much or more as any of the wrestlers have. Before four years ago, we had a middle school program but they came in pretty fresh wrestlers. The last four years, kids have been coming in with the capabilities to win a state championship right off the bat.
Is it more fun to coach now, or just different?
Winning’s fun. But it’s different. You’ve got to train them. You’ve got to keep them focused. You have to create workouts for them to keep their attention. They might think they have an easy weekend, and you have to keep them focused. And there’s a lot that plays into it behind the scenes than just the training part.
How do you guys improve on this? How do you keep them coming back for more?
It’s cliché, but we’ll take it one year at a time. We’ll come back next year and have a great showing and do whatever we can to get back. It’s not going to be for lack of training, because if I know these guys, probably most of them will work out tomorrow. They’re ready to go.
Clinton Joins Elite Group of Mat Champs
March 19, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Team wrestling has become the most difficult MHSAA sport for new contenders to break into the championship elite.
From 2010-19, 10 schools combined to win the 40 Finals championships over four divisions. Divisions 2, 3 and 4 all saw a decade’s worth of titles split between just two teams.
In Division 4, Hudson or New Lothrop had won actually the last 11 Finals championships before this season. Those two teams arrived at Wings Event Center last month again as the top two seeds, respectively, in Division 4.
And that might have made the victory march by third seed Clinton – the MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for February – even more memorable, if that’s possible.
Clinton defeated New Lothrop 32-26 in its Semifinal on Feb. 29 and came back a few hours later to defeat the Tigers 36-27 to clinch its first Finals championship in the sport – and first MHSAA Finals championship in any boys sport in school history.
The Redskins finished this season 31-5 in dual matches.
“These 28 kids get that forever, no matter what happens in their lifetime,” said Clinton co-coach Jeff Rolland, who finished his seventh season and second running the program with Casey Randolph. “(It’s) something they get to have together as a group.”
Clinton had been building to this. The Redskins advanced to Wings with their fifth Regional title over the last seven seasons. They reached the cusp of school history a year ago, wrestling in the title-deciding match for the first time before finishing Division 4 runners-up with a 45-19 loss to the Tigers.
This time, Clinton brought 13 Individual Finals qualifiers to Kalamazoo – and they went on to fare well again the following weekend at Ford Field. Nine of the 13 reached the podium with top-eight places at their weights in Detroit.
Sophomore Logan Badge won his second individual championship and finished a 37-0 run with the title at 189. Junior Brayden Randolph (171) and sophomore Kent McCombs (145) were individual runners-up at their weights, Randolph for the second-straight season. Freshman Connor Busz (third at 103), sophomore Chase Packard (eighth at 112), sophomore George Ames (third at 135), junior Spencer Konz (third at 160), junior Jack Voll (sixth at 215) and junior Will Felts (sixth at 285) also placed.
Clinton had entered the 2019 Team Finals weekend as the top seed in Division 4 on the way to finishing runner-up, and actually finished No. 1 in Division 4 in the final Michigan Grappler rankings this winter before ending up with the third seed.
“I guess that’s the key – you want to be the number three seed in Division 4. Hudson did it last year (and won),” Rolland said. “Bottom line, the top four teams (in Division 4) were even. I think all of the coaches said that. (The three seed) might have helped our kids refocus.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2019-20
January: Caro girls basketball - Report
December: Hartland girls basketball - Report
November: Bridgman girls cross country - Report
October: Allegan boys tennis - Report
September: Ishpeming Westwood girls tennis - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Clinton teammates and coaches congratulate Connor Busz after his win at 103 pounds against Hudson on Feb. 29 that clinched the Division 4 team championship. (Middle) The Redskins celebrate their first Finals title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)