Repeat Reaffirms Clinton's Spot Among Annual Contenders
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 30, 2021
KALAMAZOO – The Clinton wrestling program took its place at the top of Division 4 a year ago, claiming the first Finals title in school history.
On Tuesday, it emphatically announced that it’s here to stay.
Clinton rolled through its competition throughout the day, topped off with a 55-9 win against New Lothrop at Wings Event Center, to claim its second-straight Division 4 title.
“I think now people know that we’re the real deal,” Clinton co-coach Jeff Rolland said. “We solidified what we did last year. We’ve got a lot of young kids – there's only four guys in our lineup every day that aren’t going to be here next year. We did this without three all-staters in our lineup from last year. We have a lot of depth. We have more coming. I think people know that we’re for real now. It’s not a one-year deal or whatever.”
Clinton was dominant throughout the postseason, and closed it out the same way, winning 76-6 in the Quarterfinal against Ravenna and 59-9 in the Semifinal against Leslie. That’s despite what Rolland said was a performance in the Semifinal that was less than the team’s best. But Clinton has reached the point where it can win even when it’s not at the top of its game.
“Since my freshman year we were chasing it and we fell short, then we fell short again my sophomore year,” senior Landis Gillman said. “My junior year we really picked it up, and we got into the mindset that we wanted it. We became a family. We’ve just been striving and pushing ourselves to the limits to reach this point.”
And in case there was any doubt remaining about the program’s status, Clinton has won its titles against the two programs that had dominated the division for more than a decade prior – Hudson (2020) and New Lothrop.
“Last year was big because we had to go through both,” Rolland said. “New Lothrop, if they’re not the most storied program in the state, I don’t know who is. We’ve got nothing but respect for that team, those guys. It makes it special when you beat a team like that, for sure.”
It was Gillman who started Clinton off with a bang in the Finals, as he bumped up to 140 pounds and won by major decision against New Lothrop’s Andrew Krupp in a matchup of wrestlers ranked in the top three.
Clinton won the first six matches of the dual, five by major decision – by Gillman, Kent McCombs (145), AJ Baxter (152), Spencer Konz (160) and Logan Badge (189) – and one with a first-period pin from Brayden Randolph (171).
“Landis had a day today,” Rolland said. “He went through some kids today. That was big. He’s up a weight class. He’s very, very good as you saw. But a major starting out, I think our kids fed off that. I’m so proud of that kid. He’s a senior, he spent two years on the bench, waited his turn, and now he’s got his shot.”
New Lothrop picked up its two wins in the dual at 215 and 285, as Grayson Orr won a 4-3 decision, followed by a second-period fall from Isiah Pasik.
Clinton closed the dual out with six straight wins, however, as Connor Younts (103) and Ethan Younts (135) each won by pin, Nik Shadley (125) won by technical fall, and Coy Perry (112) and Zak Shadley (130) won by decision. Connor Busz (119) won by forfeit.
“We did what we needed to do; we wrestled those kids hard,” New Lothrop coach Jeff Campbell said. “They sent a kid out at every weight that was a very talented wrestler, a very experienced wrestler who was well-coached, and we had to compete hard against them, and every single kid did. We just didn’t have as much ammunition as they did today. But I was really, really proud of our effort. We made plenty of mistakes, but we definitely made every point get earned, and that’s all we can try to do.”
The championship match appearance was the first since 2018 for the Hornets, who had made five straight starting in 2014 and have won 15 team titles.
“It’s an expectation – from the youth level up, we try to put ourselves in a position to do well,” Campbell said. “I think it’s great for our younger guys, and those younger guys that got to step onto the mat. It’s another one of those years when we lose a good crop of seniors. I told them out here, ‘You seniors, your legacy isn’t whether or not you win or lose this last match or you win or lose a state title yourself. It’s what did you teach the kids along the way? Even when you didn’t know they were watching, what were you doing? How hard were you working? Were you cutting weight the right way? Did you compete in these matches when you were the underdog fearless and wrestle hard?’ They showed that today.”
New Lothrop defeated Bark River-Harris 54-20 in the Quarterfinal, and received a bye in the Semifinal, as both Hudson and Schoolcraft were disqualified for putting in a wrestler at an ineligible weight in their Quarterfinal.
Gillman, McCombs, Baxter, Randolph, Badge, Connor Younts, Perry, Busz and Zak Shadley each picked up three wins on the day for Clinton.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clinton’s Landis Gillman wrestles New Lothrop’s Andrew Krupp during Tuesday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Clinton celebrates its repeat championship. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
DCC Locks Up D1 Repeat In Rematch, Delivering Hartland's Lone Loss
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 24, 2024
KALAMAZOO – Darius Marines and his Detroit Catholic Central teammates don’t take winning MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals titles for granted.
But make no mistake about it, they do not hope to be hoisting the championship trophy when it’s all said and done. They expect it.
“It’s the standard,” Marines said with a laugh. “No, really, it’s the standard. Our coaches expect nothing less of us, and we expect nothing less of each other. We push each other every day in the room, and this is just what we do. It’s Catholic Central.”
Marines and the Shamrocks claimed their second straight Division 1 title Saturday, defeating Hartland 41-12 in a rematch of the 2023 Final at Wings Event Center. It was the 10th title for Catholic Central since 2010, and 17th in program history.
“I don’t count them, right. I don’t look at it that way,” said CC coach Mitch Hancock, who has been at the helm for each of those 10 titles since 2010. “You’re so in the trenches of daily work. When you get older and wiser you sit back and try to process it all, try to take it in those moments – my kids are all here. It’s nice. It doesn’t get old. But our athletes are the ones that make it happen. Our coaching staff is the ones that make it happen. Our coaching staff is the best in the state. They’re led by (assistant) Anthony Biondo, and he’s the best, bar none.”
Catholic Central finished the season 27-2, with both of its losses coming against nationally-ranked, out-of-state teams – St. Edward (Ohio) and Lake Highland Prep (Fla.).
Hancock prides himself on scheduling the toughest competition possible, which is why Catholic Central’s dominant lineup doesn’t come into the postseason with records that would typically match that dominance.
Marines, a three-time Individual Finals champion, is the only unbeaten regular for the Shamrocks.
“Look at a Lee Krueger, he’s got five losses,” Hancock said. “Look at a Conner Bercume, he’s got three losses. We test and try our kids. You can’t hide in the state of Michigan, wrestle no one and then expect to come in here and be ready to wrestle. There’s one standard here, and it’s Detroit Catholic Central.”
Saturday’s loss was the first of the season for Hartland (33-1), which did pick up dual wins against Division 2 champion Lowell and Division 4 champion Hudson during the season. But Eagles coach Kyle Summerfield knows the bar is currently higher in Division 1.
“We run a good program,” Summerfield said. “Just, there’s a juggernaut in front of us, and we have to keep chasing and doing the right things. They’re a great program. Mitch is a good coach, the rest of his staff is good. But, we’re a good program, and we’re going to continue to chase. We’re going to continue to try and close that gap because, yeah, there is one goal, and ultimately it is the big trophy.”
Summerfield said his team fully believed heading into the Final that it could come out victorious. Wrestlers wore shirts that said “The New Standard” on the back – and yes, CC’s wrestlers and fans noticed – and through eight matches, Hartland was nearly even with the reigning champ.
Catholic Central led 14-12 after Hartland’s James Butzier picked up an 8-4 decision at 175 pounds, but the Eagles would get no closer, as the Shamrocks claimed the final six matches, including a pair of pins and a technical fall.
“They have the strength of their lineup in the middle,” Hancock said. “We won 10 of 14 matches against a nationally-ranked Hartland team.”
Bercume (215) and Wyatt Lees (113) each had a pin for the Shamrocks, while Mack Mosovic (120) finished the dual with a tech fall. Mason Stewart (144), Marines (165) and Krueger (190) all won by major decision, while Simon Dominguez (126), Caden Krueger (157), Benny Eziuka (285) and Ryan Totten (106) won decisions.
Bohdan Abbey (133), Dallas Korponic (138) and Colin Jewell (150) joined Butzier in winning by decision for Hartland.
PHOTOS (Top) DCC’s Benny Eziuka, top, locks up with Hartland’s Jacob Pretzel at 285 pounds in Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Hartland’s Dallas Korponic, top, wrestles DCC’s Michael Cannon at 138 pounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)