St. Johns' Massa: Master of the Mat
February 29, 2012
Taylor Massa enters his final high school wrestling competition today at The Palace of Auburn Hills the same way he started it -- without a loss.
Massa is one of 896 wrestlers who will compete this weekend. But he can become just the 16th in MHSAA history to graduate with four individual championships. And his 217 consecutive wins rank fifth on the all-time MHSAA list. With three wins this weekend, he’d move up to fourth.
“Taylor has absolute dedication to the sport. During the season he is on the mat seven days a week training,” St. Johns head coach Zane Ballard said. “Off the mat, he’s a normal teenager who likes wake-boarding and hanging out with his friends. He also is a very good student.”
The MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals begin at 2 p.m. today. They continue through the Semifinals early Friday evening and into the championship matches Saturday afternoon. Click for a full schedule, plus brackets and results as they are filed.
After claiming titles at 145 pounds as a freshman, 152 as a sophomore and 160 a year ago, Massa has his sights set on the 171-pound crown. He also led the Redwings to three straight team titles, the most recent last weekend at Battle Creek.
Massa was on the mat all of 3 minutes and 8 seconds in pinning three opponents at the Team Finals. He spent most of the rest perched just behind his coaches, helping instruct his teammates with the knowledge that has made him nationally recognized and earned him a scholarship to Michigan.
His leadership has continued to grow in step with his elite mat skills over the last four seasons. Ballard said Massa mediates conflicts between teammates on top of passing on advice.
“We all help each other, show each other what’s happening,” Massa said. “You can’t get good without your partners. I look to my partners for advice. We’re all really good at different things.
“I think a lot of kids come to me if they have questions. (But) you know, if I’m not doing something right, I’ll ask someone that’s doing it better than I am what I’m doing wrong.”
If he's done something wrong on the high school mat, it's been tough to tell.
Ironically, Massa’s first individual championship at the Palace in 2009 came at the expense of Greenville’s Jordan Thomas, 5-2, in a battle of freshmen. Since that season, Thomas has stayed a weight heavier than Massa, winning the title at 160 in 2010 and at 171 a year ago. Thomas goes for his third consecutive championship, at 189, this weekend. He and Massa will lead the Finals Grand March together as flag bearers on Saturday.
After this spring, Massa will join the Wolverines and study pre-med. He’d also like to make a push for the Olympics, and already has competed internationally.
But for all the accolades, Massa prefers to let his actions do the talking.
“He is a quiet and unassuming person,” Ballard said. “You would never know he wrestles unless the topic is brought up.”
MHSAA four-time champions
Mike Mills, Mt. Pleasant—98-112-132-138 (1976-79)
Gregory Elie, Escanaba—98-105-112-119 (1980-83)
Robert Mariucci, Iron Mountain—112-126-145-155 (1981-84)
Michael Murdoch, Montrose—119-132-145-145 (1983-86)
Larry Raether, Iron Mountain — 112-119-132-132 (1984-87)
Brandon Chesher, Adrian 112-125-134-145 (1993-96)
Jeremiah Tobias, Manchester — 125-130-135-145 (1997-00)
Nick Simmons, Williamston — 103-103-119-119 (1998-01)
Andy Simmons, Williamston — 112-130-135-140 (1999-02)
Roger Kish, Lapeer West — 160-171-189-189 (2000-03)
Joe Mendez, Lowell —103-112-130-135 (2002-05)
Brent Metcalf, Davison —130-140-145-145 (2002-05)
Justin Zeerip, Hesperia —125-145-152-160 (2004-05-06-07)
Mark Weber, Goodrich - 103-112-125-135 (2005-08)
Kyle Waldo, Rockford – 103-103-112-119 (2006-07-08-09)
(NOTE: Detroit Catholic Central’s Alex Mooradian also is competing for a fourth MHSAA title this weekend. Click to read more about his accomplishments.)
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Johns Taylor Massa and (middle) Greenville's Jordan Thomas. See more photos at High School Sports Scene. Report was compiled by the MHSAA's Rob Kaminski.
Davison Breaks DCC's Hold on Division 1 Supremacy
By
Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half
March 30, 2021
KALAMAZOO — Cameron Freeman tweaked his knee last weekend and admittedly was in a lot of pain the past couple of days.
The Davison junior still stepped in and gutted out perhaps the biggest win of the season for the Cardinals.
With his team up 26-21 with two matches remaining against four-time reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central, the junior 130-pounder went out on the mat and held off his opponent for a 3-2 victory, clinching the Division 1 title for Davison by an eventual 29-24 score.
It marked Davison’s first Finals win since 2006, as the Cardinals lost in the championship matches five times since then, including last year’s 34-23 defeat to Catholic Central.
“For him to go out there with his knee hurting is amazing. He stepped up for us,” said Davison coach Roy Hall. “He has a meniscus issue and I know he’s in a lot of pain. But he wanted to go out there and win for us.”
Freeman staved off DCC’s Anthony Walker in the third period. Walker recorded a takedown and was trying for a second takedown in the waning seconds before time expired.
“This is for the seniors,” said Freeman. “Earlier in the week, I was suffering from a knee injury. I came back and just did this for the seniors. This is the best team I’ve ever been on.”
The Cardinals now own nine Finals team titles and six runner-up trophies. Of those five championship match losses over the last eight years, four were to DCC.
“How sweet it is — it’s awesome for these kids,” added Hall. “We came close last year and maybe we could have won that match but came up short. I’m pretty accomplished as a coach, but these kids have never accomplished this before.”
Both teams won seven matches on the day. Davison recorded three decisions, two technical fall victories, one major decision and one pin to record the narrow five-point victory over the Shamrocks.
Catholic Central (21-2) had won 15 Finals team titles dating back to 1969 — eight during the previous decade — and finished in the runner-up slot only twice before this year. The Shamrocks were trying to become just the second Division 1 school to win five team titles in a row.
Previously, Davison captured five straight from 2002-2006.
Earlier this month, Davison won a match between the contenders 36-9.
“We lost 12 matches out of 14,” said Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock, referring to that first defeat. “So for our guys to come out today and respond and wrestle the way we did to put ourselves into position to win that dual – that’s a great team, and we took them right to the wire. This time we battled them and were right there with them. We split matches with them 7-7; they just scored more bonus points.
“This stings — look at the faces on our team. Anthony Walker feels a little dejected right now, but he’s got nothing to be ashamed of,” continued Hancock. “He was right there against a great opponent. Hats off to Davison and Roy Hall. They are a great team this year.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Davison celebrates its Division 1 championship Tuesday at Wings Event Center. (Middle) Davison and Detroit Catholic Central faced off for the second-straight season in the Final. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)