Teammates, Gracious Opponents As Well
March 2, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
AUBURN HILLS — It was a surreal scene at the edge of the mat when Austin Eicher and Jacob Gorial met for the 130-pound title in the MHSAA Division 1 wrestling tournament Saturday at The Palace.
Coaches can often get quite animated when their wrestlers are going for a championship. But the coaches in Eicher's and Gorial's corners sat quietly in their chairs, occasionally smiling as they took in the action as passive observers. One coach even got up to grab a cup of water while the match was in progress.
None of the four coaches watching matside was taking sides, not when both competing wrestlers wore the blue and gold of Hartland High School.
"We're both teammates," Gorial said. "It would've been unfair."
In only the sixth MHSAA championship match involving teammates, Eicher won a 5-0 decision over Gorial.
Eicher, a junior who finished 52-1, was the 119-pound runner-up last season. The teammates never met this season, with Eicher winning the District and Regional finals over Gorial by injury default.
"It was definitely different," Eicher said. "He's one of my best friends. We both wanted it. We've been working hard this whole year. It was both of our goals to win the state championship. I took something away from him, but I wasn't going to let him take it away from me.
"Once we're out there, we're just wrestling. We know we're friends before the match when we're warming up, but once we're wrestling, it's go time."
Gorial, a sophomore who finished 56-5, credited Eicher for making him a better wrestler in practice.
"I'm glad Austin won," Gorial said. "He worked hard. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now."
Click for full results, and read below for recaps of each championship match and comments from all the winners.
285
Champion: Robert Coe, Detroit Catholic Central, Sr. (45-4)
Decision, 3-0, over Parker Tillman, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Jr. (41-4)
Coe had a tougher battle this year against Tillman, but still prevailed to win the championship. Coe pinned Tillman at the 2:16 mark in a first-round match in last year's MHSAA Final.
Coe used an escape to break a 0-0 stalemate with less than 30 seconds remaining in the match.
"I was a little nervous at the beginning of the match," Coe said. "He came out really strong. He's bigger than I remember. I pinned him last year here. He got better this year."
103
Champion: Benny Gomez, Holt, Soph. (47-0)
Fall, 1:25, over Michael Volyanyuk, Farmington Hills Harrison, Soph. (45-8)
Gomez got his only pin in four matches at The Palace in the championship, but he was nonetheless dominant with two majority decisions and a 9-3 victory before the final.
He finished fourth at 103 pounds last year.
"It's still kind of hard to believe," Gomez said. "I had a lot of close matches this year, in and out of state. I grew and basically just competed all summer, no breaks, and pushed myself to get to this level."
112
Champion: Lincoln Olson, Davison, Soph. (46-2)
Decision, 10-4, over Kyle Gillies, Westland John Glenn, Sr. (55-1)
Olson held up two fingers toward the Davison cheering section after adding this year's 112 title to the 103-pound crown he won as a freshman.
He did so by handing Gillies his only loss in 56 matches this season. Olson also beat Gillies in the quarterfinals last year.
"Last season, I kind of shocked the world," Olson said. "No one knew me. Not much was expected of me. This year, they knew who I am. A lot of kids were content just getting beat by a few points."
119
Champion: Shayne Wireman, Holt, Sr. (46-0)
Decision, 6-3, over Mitch Rogaliner, Temperance Bedford, Sr. (48-3)
Wireman's victory gave him a 2-2 career record against Rogaliner in a rivalry that always seems to take place on a big stage.
Wireman beat Rogaliner 2-1 in the 103-pound final in 2011 before Rogaliner got revenge with a third-period pin in the 112-pound semifinals last year.
"It's always a fun match against him," Wireman said. "We're 2-2 against each other. We've dominated this weight class. We know each other very well."
Wireman will wrestle at Eastern Michigan, while Rogaliner is heading to Michigan State. "So we'll probably meet each other again," Wireman said.
125
Champion: Zach Henderson, Hudsonville, Sr. (40-7)
Decision, 6-4, over Martin Rodriquez, Holt, Jr. (17-1)
Henderson won three of his four matches at The Palace by two points or fewer to pull the upset.
Rodriquez beat Henderson by seven points in the Regional final to take an unbeaten record to The Palace.
"My brother looked on (Michigan) Grappler and said I wasn't favored to win at all," Henderson said. "I didn't think anything of it. He told me midway through. I'd already won twice. People were just speaking
wisdom and God's word to me. That gave me confidence."
135
Champion: Ken Bade, Detroit Catholic Central, Sr. (40-7)
Decision, 4-3 OT, over Matt Miller, Davison, Jr. (29-7)
A point awarded for stalling sent this match to overtime, and another awarded for grabbing head gear decided the title winner.
It was a strange ending for Bade's third MHSAA championship. He won at 125 in 2011 and 130 in 2012.
"There's no way you can prepare for that, except coach telling us throughout the year that you have to stay composed, you have to keep your cool," Bade said. "I stayed composed and was ready to go and went back on the line."
140
Champion: Malik Amine, Detroit Catholic Central, Jr. (40-6)
Decision, 11-6, over Eric Rybarz, New Baltimore Anchor Bay, Sr. (54-3)
Amine lost 9-6 to Alex Pantaleo of Canton in last year's 135-pound final, a loss that fueled the Catholic Central junior for the past 12 months.
"I used it as a driving force to have it affect my head in practice when I didn't want to do any more sprints or didn't want to do more shots," Amine said. "I had to push myself to be better."
Amine was fifth at 112 pounds in 2011.
145
Champion: Travis Mann, Westland John Glenn, Sr. (32-3)
Decision, 10-4, over Andrew Napieraj, Birmingham Brother Rice, Sr. (50-3)
Most high school wrestlers don't drop a weight class the following season, but Mann did so successfully.
Mann was fourth at 152 pounds last year before winning the 145 title on Saturday. Two of Mann's three losses were to Livonia Franklin's Jordan Atienza, the 152-pound runner-up.
"It's the greatest feeling ever," Mann said. "I've been training for this since I was 4 years old. I finally got it my senior year."
152
Champion: Nick Vandermeer, Clarkston, Sr. (44-5)
Fall, 4:17, over Jordan Atienza, Livonia Franklin, Jr. (58-1)
Vandermeer averted disaster and turned it into a championship, rolling out of a near-pin to record a pin of his own against the previously-unbeaten Atienza.
"I almost felt myself getting pinned," Vandermeer said. "I was warned he throws with his upper body. I didn't expect to be rolling. I had to get out, but I was able to re-roll him and catch him pretty much."
Vandermeer joined his brother, Matt, as MHSAA champions. Matt was the 171-pound champion in 2011.
160
Champion: Jordan Cooks, Davison, Jr. (43-1)
Decision, 8-5, over Logan Marcicki, Detroit Catholic Central, Jr. (35-6)
Cooks beat Marcicki for the second straight week to repeat as 160-pound champion.
Cooks scored a 5-3 decision over Marcicki in the team championship match, one that Catholic Central ultimately won.
"It feels amazing," Cooks said. "It feels a lot better than the first one. It means a lot, being my second one."
171
Champion: Drew Garcia, Detroit Catholic Central, Jr. (52-0)
Decision, 8-2, over Mitchel Thomas, Hartland, Sr. (59-2)
Garcia won Catholic Central's fourth and final individual championship of the day, repeating as the 171-pound winner.
Garcia brought big-time experience to The Palace, having also finished as the 152-pound runner-up in 2011. Thomas gave Garcia one of his tougher matches in a perfect junior campaign.
"He was good," Garcia said. "I wrestled him early in the year. He was one of the only kids who didn't gas in the third period, so I knew I'd have to wrestle a full six minutes. He's a tough kid."
189
Champion: Shwan Shadaia, Rochester, Jr. (54-1)
Decision, 4-3, over Chris Calvano, Clarkston, Sr. (40-5)
Shadaia became only the second Rochester wrestler to win an MHSAA title when he broke a 3-3 tie with an escape in the final seconds. Calvano had tied the match moments earlier.
"We drill these kinds of situations in practice all the time – 20 seconds, 15 seconds to win the state championship," Shadaia said. "That's what I took it as - another practice."
Rochester's only other champion was Shane Camera, a Class A winner in 1987 and 1989.
215
Champion: Brandon Sunday, Temperance Bedford, Sr. (51-1)
Decision, 5-4 OT, over Jordon Brandon, Westland John Glenn, Jr. (55-5)
Sunday stayed alive when Brandon was penalized for stalling with 10 seconds left in the third period, tying the match at 3-3. Sunday won by getting an escape with 20 seconds left in the final overtime
period.
"It was crazy," Sunday said. "I just wrestled that kid in the team Regionals and individual Regionals. It was close every single time, two or less points. Definitely, he's my toughest opponent this year.
He's only a junior. He wrestles like he's in college."
Sunday was the 189-pound runner-up last year.
PHOTO: Hartland's Austin Eicher (right) works to take down teammate, and for this match opponent, Jacob Gorial during Saturday's Division 1 Individual Finals. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Freeman Caps Career with 4th Title
March 4, 2017
By Nick Hankins
Special for Second Half
AUBURN HILLS – Ben Freeman stamped his name in Michigan high school wrestling history Saturday with an impressive and technical display of skills that fans across the state have become accustomed to from the talented Walled Lake Central senior.
Freeman became just the 22nd wrestler in state history to win four MHSAA individual championships when he beat Colin Takata of Birmingham Groves by technical fall, 24-7, in the second period of the 140-pound championship match at the Individual Finals on Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Freeman ended his senior season with a 34-0 record and a career mark of 163-1.
“I feel great, and I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” Freeman said. “This is crazy. There is really nothing like it. I wrestle all across the country and this (The Palace) is my favorite arena to wrestle in.”
This was a special year for the Freeman family.
Not only did he win his fourth title, but he got to watch his younger brother Nick win an MHSAA title at 135 pounds. And all in front of their father, Al Freeman, who is their coach.
But this night belonged to Ben Freeman.
“This is so much relief winning my fourth state title,” Freeman said. “I never thought I could do it. I pictured it a lot, but never thought I could do it.”
103
Champion: T.J. Daugherty, Walled Lake Central, Fr. (42-5)
Decision, 4-3, over Nick Alayan, Macomb Dakota, Soph. (51-6)
It was sweet revenge for Daugherty, who beat old nemesis Nick Alayan of Macomb Dakota to win the 103-pound championship.
Daugherty beat Alayan 4-3 this time after falling to him two weeks ago.
“My game plan coming in was to wrestle on my feet,” Daugherty said. “He beat me at Regionals 6-0 with a cradle so I had to wrestle on my feet. It feels really good to be a state champion.”
112
Champion: Benyamin Kamali, Detroit Catholic Central, Jr. (41-3)
Fall 3:31, over Bryce Brust, Battle Creek Lakeview, Soph. (44-7)
Kamali left little doubt he would be walking off The Palace floor with another championship.
He earned his second straight by pinning Brust in 3 minutes, 31 seconds.
“I came into the tournament with the mindset of dominating, and I dominated this match; it feels good,” Kamali said.
And like he did in his match, so did the Shamrocks, as for the second year Kamali was one of five individual champions for Detroit Catholic Central.
“Catholic Central’s program is based around domination: go out there and break your opponent,” Kamali said. “We are a family, I would do anything for anyone on our team. It feels great to be a part of something that is bigger than yourself.”
119
Champion: Rayvon Foley, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Sr. (54-3)
Decision, 8-3, over Mikey Mars, Westland John Glenn, Jr. (56-4)
Sometimes underdogs get their due at The Palace, and that is exactly what Ann Arbor Pioneer senior Foley accomplished at 119 pounds.
He beat two-time reigning champion Mikey Mars of Westland John Glenn, 8-3, in their 119-pound final.
“I feel good; I just beat a two-time state champion,” Foley said. “I have lost to that kid so many times in my life, it felt good to beat him. He is a tough kid. My game plan coming into this match was to wrestle on my feet and score points. I had to win this match on my feet, and I did that.”
125
Champion: A.J. Facundo, Davison, Jr. (39-5)
Decision, SV-1 2-1, over Donte Rivera-Garcia, Southgate Anderson, Sr. (49-2)
Facundo learned how it felt to win a Finals match two years ago when he won the Division 1 112-pound title.
Last year he took second at 119.
On Saturday, he capped off another impressive season with another championship, beating Southgate Anderson’s Rivera-Garcia 2-1 in sudden victory.
“I have worked my tail off all year,” Facundo said. “I have been doing two practices a day to prepare for this moment. I came in with the mindset of I am a fierce competitor. My focus coming in was to attack, attack, attack. I pushed the pace to win this match. (Davison coach Roy Hall) does a great job preparing us to be champions.”
130
Champion: Kevon Davenport, Detroit Catholic Central, Soph. (43-3)
Decision, 4-3, over Xavier Graham, Brownstown Woodhaven, Sr. (55-2)
Davenport has a reputation of being solid on his feet, and that came in handy when winning his second straight championship with a 4-3 win over Brownstown Woodhaven’s Graham.
The win avenged Davenport’s loss to Graham two weeks ago at Regionals.
“I would like to thank God, my father and my coaches for preparing me for this tournament,” Davenport said. “I felt if I attacked on my feet and got to my low level single legs that I could win this match.”
135
Champion: Nick Freeman, Walled Lake Central, Jr. (35-1)
Decision, 5-2, over Anthony Gibson, Westland John Glenn, Jr. (53-5)
“All the hard work and hours I have put it, they are starting to pay off,” Freeman said.
Wrestling in older brother Ben Freeman’s footsteps may be daunting, but Nick Freeman wants to make a name for himself and got a great start Saturday night.
“That’s what I’m working towards,” Nick Freeman said. “Every time I have come here I have fallen short. But I kept working on the little things, and now they have paid off.”
145
Champion: Cameron Amine, Detroit Catholic Central Soph. (45-3)
Decision, 9-3, over Danny Pfeffer, Fraser, Sr. (57-1)
There are a lot of motivated wrestlers in the practice room at Detroit Catholic Central. None may be more motivated than Amine, who won his second title with an impressive 9-3 win over previously-undefeated Pfeffer.
With the starting weight set at 145 pounds, Amine was the first of the five individual champions for the Shamrocks on Saturday.
“It feels great to get that second state championship in,” Amine said. “People say you always have a target on your back once you won one, but I use that as motivation to keep going and keep pushing myself everyday in the practice room to be the best. This caps off a great season and offseason. I was a double All-American this summer; this shows all my hard work has paid off.”
152
Champion: Nathan Atienza, Livonia Franklin, Sr. (58-1)
Decision, 4-3, over Kameron Bush, Grandville, Sr. (39-2)
In a battle of returning champions, Franklin’s Atienza beat Grandville’s Bush in an exciting match that drew a lot of the eyes at The Palace to their mat.
“This is my second state title; it is very exciting,” Atienza said. “I was anxious coming into this match as he was a state champ last year. I pushed myself hard all year; I was motivated.
“Kam is a tough opponent. I knew deep down inside my head I had it. I have worked for this my entire life, and nobody was going to take this away from me.”
160
Champion: Kolin Leyrer, Holt, Sr. (41-2)
Decision, 6-4, over William Marano, Dearborn Edsel Ford, Jr. (50-4)
Leyrer ran off the mat and jumped into Holt coach Rocky Shaft’s arms.
It was a great time to experience a huge accomplishment with your uncle.
“This is the most amazing thing I have ever felt in my life,” Leyrer said. “With Rocky being my uncle, this championship just means that much more. He knows how much I wanted this for me and him.”
171
Champion: Tyler Morland, Detroit Catholic Central, Sr. (37-0)
Technical Fall, 17-2 (4:40), over Matthew Heaps, Portage Northern, Sr. (51-1)
Morland left little doubt he would leave his high school wrestling career in impressive fashion.
He ended his senior season with a perfect 37-0 record and second straight championship at this weight.
“I came into the tournament wanting to dominate,” Morland said. “I could have wrestled better in my Quarterfinals match, but this was just the way I wanted to end my career by dominating in the Finals.”
“It is a lot of fun competing at this tournament. This is the biggest stage; it doesn’t get any better than this. There is nothing better than to compete in front of your friends and family.”
189
Champion: Brenden McRill, Davison, Sr. (41-2)
Decision, SV-1 3-1, over Ryan Vasbinder, Grandville, Sr. (21-3)
It may not have been as impressive as his win at the Team Finals a week ago, but McRill’s 3-1 sudden victory win over Vasbinder may have been a little sweeter.
Last week, McRill beat Vasbinder 14-6 with seven takedowns.
“This feels great to come away with a second state championship,” McRill said. “Ryan is a tough kid, and I knew he was going to have a game plan after last week. My mindset was the same as last weekend – to come out and score a lot of points. I wanted to score more than I did today, but I am going to keep working to be the best. I am very happy with the way I performed this weekend.”
215
Champion: Ben Cushman, Flushing, Jr. (56-0)
Decision, 11-6, over Drake Morley, Grand Haven, Sr. (29-5)
Cushman became his school's first individual champion since 2000, beating Morley to finish his junior season with a 56-0 record.
“I came out with the game plan to wrestle on my feet and I did that; I took him down five times,” Cushman said. “I just feel so great for Flushing and our county."
285
Champion: Nicholas Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central, Sr. (46-1)
Decision, 3-2, over Austin Emerson, Temperance Bedford, Jr. (49-2)
Jenkins makes very few mistakes.
The Detroit Catholic Central senior heavyweight makes his matches a strategic battle every time, and he usually comes out on top, just like he did Saturday night when he won his second straight title.
“This feels great to be able to come in here and have the confidence and work on my offense and work on my shots and hit a peak out in the Finals,” Jenkins said. “It feels great to be able to be at that level. “
It’s been a good two weeks for Jenkins. His team also won a title last week at Central Michigan University.
“The team state championship was great, probably the best because you get to enjoy it with all of your friends and family and the rest of the community,” Jenkins said. “But there are not a lot of things that top winning two individual state championships.”
PHOTO: Walled Lake Central’s Ben Freeman wrestles Colin Takata of Birmingham Groves on the way to a fourth MHSAA individual title Saturday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)