Rivals to Be Push Each Other as Teammates

February 24, 2016

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
 

SAGINAW — The trash talk of an intense rivalry can wait.

For now, Matt Santos and K.J. Suitor wear the same colors, representing the same school, focusing on the same goal — winning individual MHSAA wrestling championships.

The Saginaw Swan Valley seniors also are helping each other attain that goal, providing the other with one of the best training partners available in the state.

When the MHSAA Division 3 Individual Wrestling Finals end March 5 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Santos and Suitor will no longer be teammates for the first time in six years.

The next stop for Santos will be Michigan State University, where he will wrestle for the Spartans.

Suitor will move on to University of Michigan to wrestle for the Wolverines.

While the irony of two teammates becoming rivals isn't lost on either wrestler, it's a storyline they've minimized during their final season together at Swan Valley.

"We'll have an occasional laugh about that," Suitor said.

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Santos said. "We've talked about it a little bit, but not too much. Right now it's all about business, talking about what's happening right now. It's about states and stuff like that. I'm sure we'll get to that more."

As wrestlers in the same college conference, there is the chance that Santos and Suitor could one day take the mat against each other. They are only one weight class apart, Santos wrestling at 135 pounds and Suitor at 130. Santos has always been significantly bigger than Suitor, but the weight gap has closed to within five pounds this season.

"We don't really talk about it too much," Suitor said. "It's definitely a possibility. We're getting pretty close in weight. We don't really focus on that. Right now, the primary goal is to finish out the year on the best note possible at the state championships. I can see us talking about it later down the road. We'd both give it our all. It wouldn't be anything less than what we've been doing."

What Santos and Suitor have been doing day in and day out in the Swan Valley wrestling room is prepare each other to succeed on the biggest stage.

While they've never wrestled against each other in a competitive match, their practice sessions can be tougher than some of their matches.

"Most of the time, we're just working on moves, but once in a while we do go live," Santos said. "It's a brawl; we go at it."

Suitor knows that he can't take a day off in practice with a partner like Santos awaiting him.

"Matt is an extremely hard worker," Suitor said. "As soon as you enter the room, you know you're going to go 100 percent. That's really good to know. He helped me get to the next level. We thrive off each other. It's great knowing I can walk in and I'm going to get the best partner in the state."

Santos was the 130-pound champion in Division 3 last year after taking second at 119 as a freshman and fourth at 125 as a sophomore. He is the No. 1-ranked wrestler in that weight class in all divisions, according to MichiganGrappler.com.

The only loss for Santos in a 48-1 season was a 3-2 decision against St. Johns senior Ian Parker, the No. 1-ranked wrestler in all divisions at 140 pounds and an Iowa State recruit. Santos is 190-10 in his career and is ranked 13th nationally at 132 pounds by InterMat.

"I always want the better matches with the better guys," Santos said. "That's what makes you better as a wrestler. Yeah, I want to go undefeated. At the same time, going into the state tournament I don't have the pressure to be undefeated. I have to go out there and wrestle now."

Suitor has been on the podium all three years, but has yet to grab the top spot. He was seventh at 103 as a freshman, second at 112 as a sophomore and fourth at 125 as a junior. He is ranked fourth overall in the state at 130 behind two Division 3 wrestlers, No. 1 Alex Martinez of Ida and No. 2 Kole Krauss of Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

Suitor's only loss this season was a 3-0 decision to third-ranked Dallas O'Green of Division 4 Carson City-Crystal in January. Suitor is 51-1 this season and 219-12 for his career. The 219 wins are a school record, and he’s just outside the top 30 for career victories in MHSAA history.

"It definitely sent a message," Suitor said of the loss. "It was like a blessing in disguise. It gives you something to go back and work on the drawing board to prep for future matches like that. It takes a load off going undefeated. It's a great opportunity, but it also just adds more stress than you need. You tend to wrestle more at ease. You're not afraid to make as many mistakes."

Swan Valley coach Darrell Burchfield guided both athletes through the recruiting process, starting it out by sending about 70 letters to Division I and II colleges on behalf of his wrestlers. He also asked them to come up with a list of schools which offer the degree programs they are interested in pursuing.

Suitor is going into finance with a goal of eventually working for a professional sports team, while Santos will major in physical therapy.

"They are very different," Burchfield said. "Both are excellent character kids. Both are hard workers. Both are strong goal-bound people. You don't get the success without that. Matt just has incredible discipline in everything he goes. He maps things out a little bit different than K.J. K.J. looks at things from the 10,000-foot view; these are the steps he needs to go and the steps he's going to take. Matt will map out this day and he'll do this. He has his meal plans down, what time he's going to bed."

Having each other as wrestling partners has helped Santos and Suitor shore up their weaknesses, Burchfield said.

"It's a huge help," Burchfield said. "Historically, K.J. had struggled with short, quick, strong guys a little bit and Matt had struggled with guys who had a lot of length. So, their body styles helped each other out this year. We've had a good room over the last several years, so they've had a lot of different people to work with. This year, they've drilled with each other every day."

The only time Swan Valley has produced two MHSAA individual champions was in 2009, when B.J. Suitor won at 112 pounds and Jake Jeske won at 145 in Division 3. B.J. Suitor, K.J.'s brother, was a three-time champion from 2007-09. He's the only Swan Valley wrestler to win multiple titles, an exclusive club Santos looks to join on March 5.

"My freshman year, the first time being in the Finals, it's scary," Santos said. "Now that I've been there for three years, been in the Finals and won, it takes a lot of the pressure off."

Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Matt Santos (left) and K.J. Suitor compete during last season’s MHSAA Individual Finals. (Middle) Santos claps after claiming the Division 3 championship at 130 pounds. (Below) Suitor wrestles his first-round match at 125. (Click for more photos from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Rivals Benefit by Combining Mat Forces

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

February 12, 2020

HARRIS – Most Bark River-Harris and Powers North Central athletic teams have been fierce rivals for decades.

The situation is much different in wrestling, however, as the two schools combined forces for the first time this winter through a co-op venture.

"A year ago, our numbers were really down," said BR-H coach Joe Racicot. "We were approached by the North Central AD (athletic director Randall McLeod) and he asked if we'd be interested in starting a co-op program. Both school boards and the MHSAA approved it. We're now 16 kids strong, but our numbers are still low enough to remain a Division 4 program. We have 10 kids who never stepped on a wrestling mat before this year."

Currently, four North Central athletes are part of the program: junior Daniel Dani at 125 pounds, freshman Drew Allgeyer (145) and Fabian and Owen Chartier.

"I think it's a great opportunity for other kids to see the sport at North Central," said Allgeyer. "This has been a great learning experience, although I've wrestled lot of the same kids I had seen in middle school. It's really fun to wrestle them again and see how much they've improved. I think going right from middle school into high school wrestling has eased the transition. Although, it's still a tough transition. Wrestling against juniors and seniors is the most challenging part."

Allgeyer captured the 145-pound title at Saturday's Mid-Peninsula Conference meet at Gladstone by pinning Iron Mountain sophomore Preston Roberts in five minutes, 33 seconds.

"Today was awesome, and wrestling in the U.P. Championships (Jan. 25 in Marquette) was a unique experience," Allgeyer said moments after receiving his award Saturday. "I'm thankful to have this opportunity."

Dani, runner-up by pin to Gladstone sophomore Hunter Solis in his M-PC debut, is also grateful for his opportunity to participate in high school wrestling.

"This is a great experience," he said. "Four of us came over here, and we've developed close friendships with the Bark River-Harris kids. This is something I've always wanted to try, and it's a huge learning experience. In other sports you can kind of walk on and figure it out right away. Wrestling is not like that. I came in pretty well-conditioned, but this is different in terms of conditioning other parts of the body. Staying on your diet and making weight is one of the most challenging parts."

BR-H sophomore Katie Viau (119) took third at Gladstone, six days after finishing 2-2 at the Michigan Wrestling Association girls state tournament at Adrian.

"It was amazing to see all the girls down there," she said. "That got me more excited about wrestling. I was real happy with it. I did better than I expected. I was pretty pumped. That was the highlight of my season.

"Competing with the boys helps me get better. They're generally stronger and more experienced, which helped prepare me for the state tournament."

Viau, who also plays basketball on the BR-H jayvee team, says she's happy with the new arrangement with North Central.

"This makes us better as a team," she added. "We're all real close, and this gives us more numbers. We have a lot more people than last year, and we've come together as a team.”

John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

PHOTO: Bark River-Harris’ Katie Viau attempts to escape a hold by Westwood’s Alana Nuorala (front) in a 119-pound match Saturday at Gladstone. (Photo by Justin St. Ours/Escanaba Daily Press.)