New Lothrop Ends Championship Wait
February 22, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Taylor Krupp wasn’t worried as he watched New Lothrop teammates fall by two, three and five-point decisions during Saturday’s MHSAA Division 4 Team Wrestling Final at Kellogg Arena.
He was just waiting for his turn to shine.
Similarly, his team had been waiting for Saturday's opportunity. The Hornets watched Hudson build on an MHSAA-record five-season championship streak over the last three years, but never got to take on the Tigers in a Final, having fallen in three straight Semifinals that all came down to their final matches.
Finally Saturday, the Hornets and Krupp advanced to a championship face-off with the Tigers. And Krupp’s pin at 160 pounds keyed a comeback 33-22 win that gave New Lothrop is first MHSAA title since 2004.
“We always wanted to wrestle Hudson. The last five years they’ve been on top of the mountain, and it’s always been a goal,” Krupp said. “We wrestled Hesperia, wrestled Carson City … but we always wanted to wrestle Hudson. We finally got to wrestle, and we’re glad with how it turned out.”
Hudson last season tied Davison’s record of five straight MHSAA team titles won from 2002-06 and entered Saturday afternoon with a third straight senior class that had never finished lower than first in Finals competition.
New Lothrop, meanwhile, carried a banner during Saturday’s pre-Finals “Grand March” that displayed the years of all 12 Hornets team titles – 11 on the left side and only 2004 on the right, looking almost like it was added there in anticipation of more soon to come.
That date finally will have company.
Hudson built a 22-10 lead with only five matches left, but it was not enough to carry the Tigers through the Hornets' strongest weights. Senior Josh Wendling at 152 pounds started a run of five straight New Lothrop wins to finish the match.
New Lothrop’s closing run was not without some well-calculated strategy on the part of coach Jeff Campbell. He could’ve left undefeated Krupp wrestling at 171 like he had in the Semifinal and will next weekend at the Individual Finals, and gotten some sure wins – but didn’t feel that lineup would add up to enough points to overtake the Tigers.
Instead, he wrestled Krupp at 160, followed with sophomore Caleb Symons at 171 and then continued with 189-pounder Cody Symons. Krupp got the pin, Caleb Symons – with only about 25 matches to his credit this season – got a major decision to put the Hornets ahead, and Cody Symons followed with another pin to guarantee the championship.
“The job Caleb Symons has been doing in practice, we decided this was the way we wanted to go a couple weeks ago. He’s really earned the chance to go and gave us the confidence to do that,” Campbell said. “He’s kinda been our secret weapon.”
Total, New Lothrop won at eight weights. Freshman Connor Krupp (103), junior Dalton Birchmeier (125), sophomore Steven Garza II (135) and senior Owen Wilson (215) also added points into the Hornets’ team total.
But some losses also were wins. New Lothrop freshman Erik Birchmeier did fall to reigning MHSAA Individual Finals champion JD Waters by major decision – but avoided a pin. Senior Aaron Bauman fell to Hudson two-time individual champion Cole Weaver, but only 4-1. Sophomore Cole Hersch fell to 2013 individual runner-up Isaac Dusseau, but only 3-1.
“Hudson obviously is a great team, but if you wrestle your game, anything can happen. And that was a perfect example,” Krupp said. “Me, Cody, (we) didn’t win us the match. What won us the match were the guys who stayed off their backs and didn’t give up bonus points.”
Nine of the Division 4 Final’s matches pitted Individual Finals qualifiers. Three matches remained scoreless after the first round.
Seniors Weaver, Waters and Dusseau all wrestled in their fourth team championship matches for Hudson, all also part of the lineup during their freshman season of 2011.
“I’m always proud of them, win, lose or draw. These boys have tasted victory; now they’ve tasted defeat,” Hudson coach Scott Marry said. “That builds character for later on. They’re going to have to pick themselves up and they’re going to have to act like classy young men now.
“You can’t always win. Now it’s the other side of the fence. It’s OK.”
Hudson, top-ranked entering the postseason and top seeded going into this weekend, finished 35-5 and will have 14 participants at next weekend’s Individual Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
New Lothrop, ranked No. 2 and the second seed, finished 31-1 with its only loss by five to Lowell – which beat St. Johns to win Division 2 on Saturday.
The Hornets have 13 Individual Finals qualifiers and have made the MHSAA Team Quarterfinals all 13 seasons under Campbell.
“Jeff Campbell is the classiest guy I’ve ever met,” Marry said. “If there’s anybody in the state who I would want to have the state title if it wasn’t my kids, I’d want it to be Jeff Campbell. I’m so happy for him and his program.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Taylor Krupp has his hand raised in victory after a pin in his 160-pound match during Saturday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Hudson coach Scott Marry (left) and New Lothrop coach Jeff Campbell shake hands after the Hornets' victory. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D2 Preview: Parade of Possibilities
February 27, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If seeds hold up this weekend, 11 schools will have representation atop the podium at the Division 2 Individual Wrestling Finals at Ford Field.
That wouldn’t be unprecedented; in fact, last season’s Division 2 championship matches produced winners from 13 schools. Gaylord celebrated two champions in 2018; St. Johns, Lowell and Holly are seeded to do the same Saturday.
Below, we look at 10 contenders to watch in Division 2, plus list everyone who finished at least as a runner-up in 2018 and all of the top seeds heading into this weekend. Surely we still missed a few who will end up rising to the top of the podium Saturday – but come back to Second Half early Sunday as we’ll interview and report on all 56 champions.
The “Grand March” on Friday begins at 11 a.m., with five rounds wrestled throughout the day including the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Wrestling picks back up with consolation rounds at 9 a.m. Saturday, and concludes with the championship matches that afternoon at 3 p.m.
Follow all matches on a subscription basis live on MHSAA.tv, and click here for results at MHSAA.com.
112 Sean Spidle, Flint Powers Catholic junior (33-0) – Last season’s Division 3 champion at 112 pounds also won 103 as a freshman. He’s the top seed at 112 in his new division as he goes for a third championship.
119: Vincent Perez, Tecumseh senior (49-0) – The top seed at 119 hasn’t lost since falling in last year’s 112 championship match to Gaylord’s Chayse LaJoie (see below), avenging that defeat at last weekend’s Team Quarterfinals with a 5-4 win. Perez also took third at 103 as a sophomore.
125: Chayse LaJoie, Gaylord junior (45-1) – The top seed at 125 is wrestling for his third Finals championship after winning 103 as a freshman and 112 last season. His only defeat this winter came last weekend to Tecumseh’s Perez in a rematch of last year’s title bout.
125: Chaise Mayer, Warren Woods Tower senior (40-3) – After finishing runner-up at 103 as a freshman and 112 as a sophomore, Mayer took third last year after entering as the top seed at 125. He’s back at that weight and on the opposite side of the bracket from LaJoie. Mayer’s losses this winter all came to wrestlers holding top seeds this weekend.
140: Avry Mutschler, Lowell senior (33-2) – After finishing runner-up at 135 last season, Mutschler enters as the favorite at 140 with his only in-state loss to reigning Division 1 champ Derek Gilcher from Detroit Catholic Central. Mutschler also finished fourth at 130 as a freshman and third at 140 as a sophomore.
145: Caleb Fish, Eaton Rapids junior (40-1) – Fish missed a first championship last season falling 6-4 to St. Johns’ James Whitaker (below) in the final at 140. Fish is the top seed at 145 this time, and his only loss was to Whitaker after also beating him this winter. Fish also took fifth at 135 as a freshman.
152: Austin Boone, Lowell junior (27-4) – The two-time champ is looking to add to titles won at 135 two years ago and 145 last winter. He’s the top seed at this weight with his two in-state losses to reigning Division 1 champs Kevon Davenport of Detroit Catholic Central (3-2) and Alex Facundo of Davison (3-1, sudden victory).
152: James Whitaker, St. Johns senior (31-2) – Although Boone is on top of this bracket, Whitaker has a path to meet him in the championship match. He won 140 last season and finished fourth at 135 as a sophomore, and his only in-state loss this season was to Eaton Rapids’ Fish.
160: Alec Rees, Sparta senior (37-1) – The top seed at 160 won 152 last season, finished runner-up at 145 as a sophomore and fifth at 140 as a freshman. He has just two losses over the last three seasons.
171: Ryan Ringler, Cedar Springs senior (44-0) – The top seed at 171 is the reigning champion at this weight and a combined 97-1 over the last two seasons. He’s 199-8 for his career and also finished third at this weight as both a freshman and sophomore.
Other 2018 runners-up: 112 Nicholas Korhorn, Lowell (23-9, 103 in 2018); 125 Caleb Teague, Goodrich senior (42-7, 119 in 2018); 135 Matthew Tomsett, Madison Heights Lamphere senior (49-2, 130 in 2018); 189 Cade Dallwitz, Holly senior (51-1, 171 in 2018); 285 Joel Radvansky, Warren Woods-Tower senior (40-4, 215 in 2018).
Additional No. 1 seeds: 103 Jacob Brya, St. Johns freshman (38-2); 130 Kaleob Whitford, St. Johns senior (38-2), 135 Jacob Gonzales, Holly freshman (48-1); 189 Cade Dallwitz, Holly senior (51-1); 215 Taye Ghadiali, Warren Fitzgerald senior (41-0); 285 Donovan King, Farmington senior (47-2).
Also undefeated: 140 Nick Matusko, Chelsea junior (42-0); 140 Owen Zablocki, New Boston Huron senior (32-0); 145 Jacob Lanzini, Trenton senior (51-0).
PHOTO: Gaylord’s Chayse LaJoie, left, and Tecumseh’s Vincent Perez locked up during last weekend’s Team Quarterfinals; both are top seeds heading into this weekend’s Individual Finals. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)