Performance: Walled Lake Central's Ben Freeman
March 10, 2017
Ben Freeman
Walled Lake Central senior – Wrestling
Freeman joined one of the elite groups of individual champions in any MHSAA sport Saturday when he defeated Birmingham Groves’ Colin Takata by technical fall, 24-7, to win the Division 1 championship at 140 pounds – and become the 22nd wrestler in MHSAA history to finish his career with four Individual Finals titles. In doing so, Freeman also capped a 34-0 season and 167-0 career in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
His previous three championships came at 103 pounds in 2014, followed by a 125-pound title and then the win at 135 last winter. He won every event he entered over four seasons but one; as a freshman he was injured in a semifinal victory at a tournament and was unable to take the mat for the championship match. As a senior he had 28 wins by either tech fall or fall despite getting a slow start to this season after a broken ankle kept him off the mat until January. Although he had only a few close calls at the high school level, he’s taken his losses in national competition – but had plenty of success there as well, earning multiple All-America honors while winning a USA Wrestling folkstyle national title, finishing USA Wrestling freestyle and FloNationals runner-up and third at USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Nationals.
Freeman was coached during high school by his father, Al Freeman (who wrestled collegiately at University of Nebraska), and also watched closely the match right before his at The Palace of Auburn Hills last weekend as his junior brother Nick won his first title, at 135 pounds. Ben carries a 3.6 grade-point average and will continue his academic and wrestling careers at University of Michigan.
Coach (and Dad) Al Freeman said: “He works hard at it of course, like all serious athletes do. He might get an edge because he’s always been a student of the sport. His matches are live practicing for him, where he attempts to execute techniques and strategies to score as many points as possible. He has won many matches where he came off the mat very disappointed in himself because this or that technique didn’t work well enough. I think that he is one of the best. But I think there are many others whose records aren’t as stellar who are also up there with the best. Mis-timed injuries, illness, etc. can derail any of us no matter how good we are. Ben’s experienced this at some national tournaments. In fact, at this year’s state tournament he got sick the day before. Luckily being the last weight class on Thursday gave him just enough time to recover enough to perform. You need both a lot of preparation and a little luck at the top level.”
Performance Point: "During the season, I couldn't really think about all of that (four-title talk)," Ben Freeman said. "If I started thinking about that stuff, I thought I might psych myself out. So I tried to take each tournament one at a time, not look too far ahead. I definitely thought about (missing out on a fourth title). Obviously that crosses your mind. It happens to a lot of people who are dominant for three years, and the fourth year they lose to someone no one thought they would. I tried to keep that in mind and not underestimate anyone so that wouldn't happen."
No. 22: "It doesn't even seem real. I look up to all of those guys; I can't picture myself being part of that group (of four-time winners). Right after ... there were just so many emotions. I didn't even know what to think. Now that it's a week later, it's setting in. I'm sure the more time that goes by, and just realizing it, it's going to set in more."
Brotherly love: "It was super cool. I'm really proud of him. I know he deserves it. I know he could've won as a freshman, could've won last year too, but things don't always work out. I'm happy he finally got over that hump. I'm sure it's a lot of relief off his chest, and it makes it easier for him to (win again) next year."
Coach Dad: "Sometimes it was tough, especially when I was little, and obviously it's really tough for him to change hats and go between being Coach and being Dad. Obviously it's two different roles, but we've worked it out pretty good. I know at practice I have to treat him like Coach, and at home he's my dad. It's tough, but there are a lot of positives to it too. He's just around all the time. If I ever have any questions, I can ask him ... and get a lot quicker responses."
State of wrestling: "My favorite part is everyone (in Michigan) kinda knows each other. I've met a lot of great people all over the state, just practicing and going to tournaments with them. All the wrestlers I've found are really great people. I'm not sure if it's because they're like me, or just great people in general, but I've made a lot of close friendships through it, all over Michigan."
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Walled Lake Central's Ben Freeman on Saturday has his arm raised for the fourth time at an MHSAA Individual Finals. (Middle) Freeman attempts to pin Groves' Colin Takata during their championship match. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Dundee Ties Program Best with 4th-Straight Finals Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 30, 2021
KALAMAZOO – The Dundee wrestling team found itself in an unfamiliar position Tuesday evening: behind.
The Vikings were dominant all season. They feature eight wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their weight class, and lost just once – against Division 1 Finals champion Davison.
But thanks to wins from Whitehall’s Max Brown and Marco Moore, which sandwiched a long technology delay, Dundee had to spend nearly 30 minutes of the Division 3 Final trailing on the scoreboard.
It didn’t take nearly as long for the Swiderski brothers – Casey and Tyler – to erase the deficit, though, as they re-established a Dundee lead that was never relinquished in a 55-17 victory at Wings Event Center.
“I was saying it myself, ‘Here we are. We’re behind after two matches. Here we go,’” Dundee coach Tim Roberts said. “The guys responded and came back well. (Whitehall) was wrestling well. I give them a lot of credit; their guys came to compete. It was their first time in the Finals ever, and I think they made a good showing of themselves in how hard they competed and how they started that dual. I think they have a lot to be proud of, too.”
It’s the fourth straight title for the Vikings, and their 13th overall. It’s the second time Dundee has won four straight titles, as the program did as well from 1995-98 in Division 4 and Class C-D (1995). The program has entrenched itself as the best in Division 3 by advancing to the Finals each year since 2007, winning in eight of those 14 years.
"I’m just very grateful to be part of a program that’s done this well,” senior Stoney Buell said. “It puts a little more gratefulness on this year with COVID. I’m just beyond blessed for this opportunity and to be able to do it with a great bunch of guys.”
Dundee had a bye in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, and defeated its longtime rival Richmond 72-6 in the Semifinals. It was the culmination of an entire season spent as a heavy favorite, but the team never lost focus.
“Our whole mentality and in practice, it’s all about having fun,” junior Casey Swiderski said. “It’s not about coming here and winning team state, it’s about putting points on the board, everybody does their job and then you win 55-17 in the Finals. That’s how it works.”
The season-long dominance didn’t mean it wasn’t a stress-free season for Roberts, as he spent the entire year trying to make sure his team was healthy above all else.
“We know we have a good team, we know we had a lot of talent on it, but we need them to keep their minds in the right place moving forward and still fighting for something,” Roberts said. “That was a lot of work building goals for these to keep chasing. The way they handled it, and the way they kept fighting all year, I’m really proud of them and the way they came through in a situation that was weird. They handled it really well.”
Whitehall kept things interesting for a while, though. Brown’s victory came in overtime against top-ranked Austin Fietz at 140 pounds and was followed by Moore’s decision at 145. Casey Swiderski won by technical fall at 152, followed by a major decision from his brother Tyler at 160. Dominick Lomazzo (171) and Buell (189) each won by fall to stretch Dundee’s lead to 21-6, but Whitehall pulled back to within four after Shane Cook (215) won by forfeit and Ira Jenkins (285) won by technical fall.
Dundee closed the match with six straight victories to clinch the title, getting pins from Kade Kulce (103), Braeden Davis (112), Kaden Chinavere (119), Logan Sander (125) and Aiden Davis (135). Trey Parker won by major decision at 130.
“We just told our guys to go out there and compete and give their best effort,” Whitehall co-coach Justin Zeerip said. “At the end of the day, if they gave their best effort, I knew they could be happy with themselves. We just wanted to go out there and wrestle them hard. That was a really big match for Max, that kid’s been ranked No. 1 all year, so for Max to go out there and win it in overtime, I thought he looked really, really good today.”
Brown, Cook and Jenkins each won three matches on the day for Whitehall, which defeated Hart 41-23 in the Quarterfinals and Alma 37-29 in the Semifinals.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the kids,” Zeerip said. “Our first two matches today, they wrestled really, really hard. Even in the Finals. Dundee, they have such a historical program, and even though we didn’t win the match, I was really happy with our kids’ effort and how hard they fought out there.”
PHOTO: (Top) Dundee celebrates its fourth-straight Division 3 title. (Middle) Whitehall's Max Brown works to gain control during his match at 140 pounds. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)