St. Johns' Hall Joins Champion Elite
March 1, 2014
By Jeff Chaney
Special to Second Half
AUBURN HILLS, MI – It's a moment Zac Hall said he will never forget.
Hall joined elite company by winning his fourth MHSAA individual wrestling championship, when he beat Greenville's Alec Ward 12-2 in the 140-pound title match in Division 2 at the Finals on Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The St. Johns senior became just the 18th Michigan wrestler to win four MHSAA Finals titles, and when the referee raised his hand after his victory, the large crowd at The Palace rose to their feet and applauded loudly in appreciation.
“That is the most amazing feeling in the world. I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life,” Hall said. “I don't know how many people are here, thousands, and they were all clapping for me. That is the most awesome feeling.”
This marks the third straight year a wrestler has won his fourth title. Last year Fowlerville heavyweight Adam Coon accomplished it, and two years ago it was Hall's former St. Johns teammate Taylor Massa.
“All that hard work and time you put in in the (practice room), it pays off,” Hall said. “When your buddies want you to hang out, and instead you are in the room grinding, that all just paid off here.”
103
Champion: Dominic LaJoie, Gaylord, Fr. (50-1)
Decision, 11-7 over Dalton Roberts, Fowlerville, Sr. (46-6)
LaJoie is well on his way to becoming a four-time champion, as he built a large early lead over Roberts and held on for a 11-7 win.
LaJoie scored the match's first seven points, and then fought off a furious Roberts rally in the third period.
“I just came out and went as hard as I could,” LaJoie said. “This feels really awesome. I owe a lot to my dad (Jerry LaJoie), my coaches and my partners in the room. This is a great feeling.”
112
Champion: Lucas Hall, Lowell, Soph. (37-0)
Fall, 2:19 over Bryan LaVearn, Ortonville Brandon, Soph. (50-2)
Hall didn't listen to all the nay-sayers. He knew he had what it takes to win an MHSAA title and went out and proved that by pinning LaVearn in their 112-pound title match.
Hall used one of his signature moves, “the high flyer,” to pin LaVearn for the win.
“People have been trying to get into my head, posting stuff on Twitter and Facebook, but you can't let that get to you,” Hall said. “You just need to keep your head and keep looking forward. I know I had a bull’s eye on my back because I came in undefeated and ranked number one. You can't let all that get in your head; you just have to keep after it.”
119
Champion: Mason Smith, Clio, Jr. (55-0)
Decision, 3-1 over Jacob Chapman, Flint Kearsley, Jr. (35-6)
Returning champion Smith overcame a bit of familiarity to win his second straight title, as he beat Chapman for the title with a work-man-like 3-1 win.
“The hardest thing is we've wrestled six times, and we both know what both of us are going to do,” Smith said. “So you have to do what you can do.
“I started with a gameplan, and was not that comfortable with it, so I changed it. I said I would do whatever felt right – score more points.”
125
Champion: Nick Pipes, Warren Woods-Tower, Sr. (48-5)
Decision, 6-1 over Patrick Blommel, Stevensville Lakeshore, Sr. (38-6)
Pipes finally got his medal, and it was a big one.
The four-time Finals qualifier failed to place in the top eight in his first three trips to The Palace, but won a championship on his fourth try.
“I'll take not placing in my first three years to win it now,” Pipes said. “I knew coming in that I qualified three times before this and was always the underdog. But this year being ranked first, and everyone thought I was going to win it, that helped my confidence.”
130
Champion: Austin Thompson, Marysville, Jr. (52-1)
Decision, 8-7 UTB over Jaedin Sklapsky, Eaton Rapids, Jr. (49-2)
Thompson chose down in the ultimate tiebreaker and escaped Sklapsky for an 8-7 win.
“A year ago I wouldn't have chosen down,” said Thompson, who is in his first year at Marysville. “I wasn't very good on the mat, but I've made a lot of improvements on the mat since I've moved to Marysville.”
135
Champion: Austin Melton, DeWitt, Soph. (48-3)
Major Decision, 13-4 over Collin Lieber, Croswell-Lexington, Fr. (50-2)
The gameplan was simple Melton.
Score, and score early, and that is exactly what he did in winning the 135-pound championship.
A takedown and a near-fall in the first period turned a five-point early lead into a 13-3 win and a title.
“My coaches just told me to do what I've been doing every match, which is to take it to him,” Melton said. “To score as much points as possible, so that I can get up as much as you can.”
145
Champion: Steve Bleise, Chelsea, Sr. (49-0)
Decision, 12-5 over Mark Bozzo St. Johns, Sr. (38-8)
Last year Bleise was beaten in the Finals by a St. Johns wrestler, Logan Massa. But not this year.
Bleise had a phrase running through his head as he ran to the mat for the 145-pound title match against Bozzo.
“I told myself going out to the mat, I wasn't going to take second again,” Bleise said. “That really got my mindset going. I couldn't imagine coming off that mat not winning again.”
152
Champion: Logan Massa, St. Johns, Jr. (51-0)
Fall, 1:56 over Dillon Ellsworth, Lapeer East, Jr. (58-3)
Massa said it helps his psyche to have his brother on the side of the mat for his big matches.
And why not when your brother is a four-time undefeated champion, Taylor Massa.
It's helped two years in a row now, as Logan Massa won his second straight MHSAA championship with his brother in his corner.
“It's awesome to have him in my corner,” Logan Massa said. “It is really cool that (St. Johns coach Derek Phillips) lets me do it. It makes you feel more comfortable having him in my corner.”
160
Champion: Logan Ritchie, New Boston Huron, Jr. (57-2)
Decision, 2-1 over Tobias Barnes, Romulus Summit Academy, Sr. (56-2)
Ritchie kept the pressure on Barnes, and it paid off with a title.
Ritchie was awarded a penalty point late in the third period that allowed him to beat Barnes 2-1.
“I knew he liked to back up in space, and I just kept keeping the pressure on,” Ritchie said. “I know this time of the year they will call stalling. Maybe not in Districts, but they will down here.”
171
Champion: Max Dean, Lowell, Soph. (34-2)
Decision, 14-8 over Devon Pingel, North Branch, Soph. (55-2)
It was a battle of two super sophomores in the 171-pound title match, as Dean got the best of Pingel 14-8.
It was Dean's first MHSAA championship, while Pingel now has a runner-up finish to go with his title from 2013.
“I have a lot of respect for Devon Pingel,” Dean said. “He is always on the attack, and he is always coming. I got a little broken down last (period), but that is a credit to him. Fortunately, I built a little bit of a lead and was able to counter.”
Dean built a 8-2 lead and held on for the win.
189
Champion: Angus Arthur, St. Johns, Jr. (47-0)
Decision, 5-2 over Garett Stehley, Lowell, Sr. (31-2)
Two years ago, Arthur and Stehley were teammates on the Lowell wrestling team. Saturday they were opponents trying to win the 189-pound title.
And in a match that came down to the wire, Arthur hung on for a 3-2 win to win his second straight title.
Stehley was runner-up for the second straight year.
“It's the best feeling in the world,” Arthur said. “I know Garett is a hard wrestler, and this is his second year (he has taken second), so I knew he would come out strong. … I just kept on my attacks.”
215
Champion: Josh Colegrove, Lowell, Jr. (35-1)
Fall, 1:50 over Jacob Alarie, Bay City Western, Sr. (45-7)
Last year, Colegrove missed the Finals, recovering from surgery on an injured knee he suffered in football.
So when he won the title at 215 pounds with a pin over Alarie, he let out a huge yell and jumped into his coaches’ arms.
“This feels awesome; all my hard work to get back is paying off,” Colegrove said.
Colegrove also pointed to the sky in his celebration.
“My grandpa (Bill Colegrove) passed away a couple of years ago, after my freshman year,” Colegrove said. “I won this for him, because he was a big part of my life. He was always there for me.”
285
Champion: Chris Hendricks, Fruitport, Sr. (45-1)
Decision, 6-3 over Preston Pelham, Tecumseh, Sr. (55-2)
Fruitport has another heavyweight champion.
Hendricks accomplished that by beating Pelham 6-3 in a hard-fought battle of athletic 285-pounders.
From 1994-97, Matt Brink won three MHSAA titles for the school in the heavyweight division.
“All the work I put in, it's paying off now,” Hendricks said. “All the people that have come up to work with me, former champions, my coaches, my workout partners, I wouldn't have done this without all of them. I owe this all to them.”
PHOTO: (Top) St. Johns' Zac Hall was among flag bearers during the grand march before Saturday's MHSAA Individual Finals. (Middle) Hall's hand is raised as he finishes his fourth title. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Standard Bearer of a 4-Time Champ
March 2, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
AUBURN HILLS – Adam Coon attended the MHSAA Individual Finals for the first time as a seventh grader, the son of a successful coach who knew what it took to grow a champion.
And Adam hoped to become one too. But he really wanted to know what it took to become the wrestler who carried the American flag during the athletes’ Grand March before the matches began.
“I told him the guys up there are the best in the state. So you’re probably going to have to be a four-timer,” Fowlerville coach Dan Coon recalled. “You better show yourself that you’re a four-timer and worthy to carry the American flag.”
Adam Coon did carry the flag into The Palace of Auburn Hills before Saturday’s Individual Finals. And only a few minutes later, he became just the 17th MHSAA wrestler to finish his high school career with a championship won every season.
Coon pinned Eaton Rapids senior Trent Hurd in 1:13 to win the championship at 285 pounds and finish this winter 55-0. He pinned every opponent he faced this season, and ended with a career record of 211-3 – with a 194-match winning streak dating to his freshman year that ranks as seventh-longest in MHSAA history.
All four of Coon’s championships came at either 285 or 215 pounds, making him also the first of that elite group to win his four at the heaviest weights.
Carrying in the flag was “a dream comes true.” But winning the titles was pretty great too.
“Since I got that first one, I was going to see if I could get the fourth,” Coon said. “I just got the opportunity, and I took advantage of it. Praise God, I got the fourth.”
Dan Coon has been the one to keep Adam grounded, especially with pressure mounting this season. Before they took the mat Saturday, Dad reminded son of something he’d heard: “The sun will always rise tomorrow. Just a whole lot brighter when you win.”
Adam’s other childhood dream had been to get a lot closer to seeing what that bright sun looks like. He’ll study aerospace engineering while wrestling at the University of Michigan, and has been set on designing a spacecraft to accommodate taller astronauts since finding out as a child that he’d probably end up too sizable to make the trip.
Dan is looking forward to watching what his son will accomplish next, be it on the mat or beyond while using the lessons he learned during these championship runs.
“Is he going to stop wrestling? No. It will never leave him now,” Dan Coon said. “He’s always going to be a wrestler.”
Eaton Rapids’ Hurd finished 43-12. Click for full results, and read below for recaps of each championship match and comments from all the winners.
103
Champion: Joe Garcia, Adrian, Jr. (31-1)
Fall, 2:53, over Ian Parker, St. Johns, Fr. (48-3)
Garcia was the MHSAA runner-up in 2011. He then came in fifth at his weight in 2012 – but didn’t get that longed-for chance to return to the championship match and come away with a win.
Until Saturday. An offseason of increased preparation and conditioning and a switch in strategy from that freshman Final gave him the edge to win his first MHSAA title.
“It lets me know my hard work paid off,” Garcia said. “My freshman year, I was more focused on defense. And this year, I focused more on the attack. I didn’t stop moving.”
112
Champion: Mason Smith, Clio, Soph. (55-4)
Fall, 3:30, over Zeth Dean, Lowell, Fr. (40-6)
Smith felt pretty good about his chances of coming into his first season, 2011-12, and winning an MHSAA championship. And he nearly got that opportunity, before finishing fourth at 103 pounds.
Now, thanks to some push by his coaches, he feels set up to make a run at finishing with three titles instead.
“Last year, I was really lazy. I didn’t want to do anything. I thought I’d just win,” Smith said. “My coach came at me pretty hard, all of them. None of them let me just sit around and do nothing like I did last year.
“(Now,) I’m going to come back hard and go for it.”
119
Champion: Bailey Jack, Lowell, Jr. (39-8)
Decision, 6-4, over Dean Somers, Lapeer West, Sr. (46-2)
Only 56 wrestlers in Michigan can say they finished the season with an Individual Finals win. And Jack will take it, especially coming off the disappointment of his Red Arrows losing to St. Johns in the Team Final a week ago.
Jack offered praise for Somers, a runner-up in 2012 – “He’s tough everywhere. You don’t make it to the Finals being a sissy,” – and thankful for the jumpstart he received to prepare for next winter.
“It’s a great bounce-back, morally, for me,” Jack said. “Now I can go into the offseason working just as hard as I did this year.”
125
Champion: Zac Hall, St. Johns, Jr. (48-0)
Technical Fall, 23-8, over JacQuan Moore, St. Clair Shores Lakeshore, Sr. (44-4)
Over the course of just a few minutes Saturday, Zac Hall put himself on the cusp of making some incredible history next season.
Not only will Hall be shooting to become the 18th wrestler to win four MHSAA championships. He’ll also try to become perhaps only the second (more research to come) to win four individual titles and wrestle for four team champions as well.
Hall had previously won his individual titles at 112 and 103. Davison’s Brent Metcalf won individual titles from 2002-05 and was on team champions as well all four seasons.
“One kid’s ever done it, so that’s a pretty incredible class to be put with,” Hall said. “(But) you get here at the Palace, anything can happen. … You’ve just got to be smart, keep your head.
“I had three matches where I thought I was going to pin the kid. Kids fight at another level when you get here. They don’t get easier.”
130
Champion: Jacob Schmitt, St. Johns, Sr. (51-0)
Fall, 0:47, Christian Schoenherr, Bay City Western, Soph. (42-8)
Schmitt admitted his final high school season flew by this winter. He’ll continue to wrestle at the college level – for Northwestern – but first has finished a legacy that stacks up with the best.
He capped the weekend with his third MHSAA individual title – he also won 103 in 2010 and 125 last season – to go with four team championships. Schmitt also was runner-up at 112 as a sophomore.
“It went quick this year, but I’m happy with the way I went out. With a pin in the first period, I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “I would say (this season) started out rough for us, with those losses. (St. Johns finished 22-4). But we kept it together as a team, pulled through at the end, great teammates pushing each other all the time.”
135
Champion: Logan Massa, St. Johns, Soph. (42-2)
Fall, 2:45, over Steve Bleise, Chelsea, Jr. (45-1)
Massa knew something about competing in an MHSAA Final – he finished runner-up at 119 last season. But the coach in his corner knew a little bit more.
Brother Taylor Massa returned to The Palace to sit in Logan’s corner, a year after the former finished his high school career as the 16th to win four MHSAA titles.
“He’s knows the environment real well. He helps me out a lot,” Logan said.
“I wasn’t going to let (last year) happen again. I trained harder, and I was just going to train as hard as I could until I got it.”
140
Champion: Kyle Simaz, Allegan, Jr. (61-1)
Major Decision, 22-13, over Adam Nichols, Lapeer West, Sr. (50-5)
“We got one folks; good deal,” a relieved Simaz said after capping his third MHSAA Finals appearance with his first win.
Simaz had finished runner-up at 130 pounds last season and at 119 in 2011. And not long into Saturday’s championship match, Nichols nearly pinned him.
But by staying on his feet – Simaz’s strength – he turned the tide of the match quickly in his favor.
“I was really disappointed to start the match off like that. That’s a bad note. But luckily we came though that and pulled off a victory,” Simaz said.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to get one of these, so I’m very relieved. I feel like a lot of stuff came off my shoulders.”
145
Champion: Ben Whitford, St. Johns, Sr. (37-0)
Technical Fall, 22-7, over Casey Burandt, Niles, Sr. (31-2)
Whitford also celebrated winning a fourth state-level championship Saturday. He clinched his second MHSAA title to go with his championship last season at 140 and two he won while living in Illinois as a freshman and sophomore.
He keeps up with some friends he wrestled with while in Illinois. But he’s definitely a Michigan guy now, and signed to join U-M next season.
“It’s a weird feeling that it’s all over,” Whitford said. “For the last two years, I don’t think I would’ve improved more, had better friends, or been able to do the things we’ve done without the guys around me. And I’m just proud to be back in St. Johns.”
152
Champion: Josh Pennell, St. Johns, Sr. (40-0)
Fall, 1:44, over Fritzel Findeisen, Niles, Sr. (49-6)
Pennell has been a significant part of St. Johns’ program through all four team championships, and finished third individually the last two seasons after placing second at 119 as a freshman.
But the Michigan State recruit felt like it was inevitable that like many of his teammates, he’d get an individual title too. And in his final high school match, he made that hope come true.
“It’s long overdue, I felt like. And what a better year than senior year,” Pennell said. “I wasn’t going to stop until I had a state title.
“I thought about (the last few years) a lot. I was able to come back and wrestle and win my match for third. Those were all very close matches, and all I thought about was winning it and winning those close matches.”
160
Champion: Devon Pingel, North Branch, Fr. (40-3)
Decision, 10-5, over Jordan Sullivan, Coopersville, Sr. (39-3)
Pingel explained that he’d wrestled on a similarly large stage before –prior to high school, when he won a tournament in Tulsa, Okla.
But he was excited about the opportunities that could come with finishing his first trip to The Palace with an MHSAA title as a freshman.
“I learned to push myself a lot harder,” Pingel said. “I wanted to be a four-time state champ. I got a start to it.”
171
Champion: Angus Arthur, St. Johns, Soph. (46-3)
Decision, 5-2, over Brett Dempsey, Mattawan, Sr. (55-1)
It’s fair to say Arthur, for one of the few times this season, was the underdog in his championship match. Dempsey finished third at 171 in 2012 and hadn't lost this winter.
But it’s been a fun two weeks for the Redwings, given their team title won in Battle Creek. And Arthur felt confidence in the preparation he’d received facing some of the toughest teams in the state this season.
“I felt like I was (the underdog). (But) I didn't really look at the record,” he said. “I knew I could win, and I just went out there.”
189
Champion: Payne Hayden, St. Johns, Sr. (45-1)
11-9, Decision, over Garett Stehley, Lowell, Jr. (30-1)
For once, Hayden said, he felt “great” at the end of an MHSAA Finals.
He’d had plenty of success before, making the Semifinals his first two seasons and finishing runner-up at 215 a year ago. But ending number one was an entirely different experience.
“Every year, I’ve had seven losses no matter what age. (But) I’ve always been right at the top of the podium,” Hayden said. “It feels good right now to finally get that chip off my shoulder.”
Hayden finished undefeated in Michigan this winter. His lone loss came to Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward’s Domenic Abounader, who he’ll wrestle with next season at U-M.
215
Champion: Brian Moran, Fowlerville, Sr. (56-0)
Decision, 11-5, over Taylor Kornoely, Lowell, Sr. (36-1)
The unfortunate circumstance of Saturday’s final Division 2 match was that one senior was going to finish his final season with a loss and just shy of winning his first MHSAA title.
Moran led 6-4 with a period remaining before pulling away. And the emotion of the moment wasn’t lost on the Gladiators’ standout, who lost to teammate Adam Coon at this weight in the 2010 championship match and finished fourth at his weight last season.
“Since I’ve been in fourth grade, I’ve put my heart and soul in this sport. And to leave this sport at that type of note, on top, it’s amazing," Moran said. "I’ve been striving for this my whole high school career. I don’t care if it’s a state title. I feel like I just won the Olympics."
PHOTO: Fowlerville senior Adam Coon has his arm raised after winning his fourth MHSAA title Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)