This Time, DCC Leaves CMU as D1 Champ
February 25, 2017
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
MOUNT PLEASANT – Last year, the Michigan High School Athletic Association held its Team Wrestling Finals at Central Michigan University's McGuirk Arena for the first time.
The Detroit Catholic Central wrestling team did not have a good first trip to CMU, losing in the Division 1 Semifinals with a team that ended up with five individual champions a week later at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
So the Shamrocks went to work in the offseason with a chip on their shoulders, and came back this year motivated.
That motivation took them all the way through the two-day tournament and winning the school's 12th team title, as the Shamrocks beat Davison, the team that knocked them out in the Semifinals last year, 35-22.
"We were frustrated last year," Detroit Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock said. "There was a ton of motivation. We weren't happy last year. We entered as the three seed and thought we earned the one seed by beating Hartland (the eventual champions) by 16 points. But we didn't wrestle to the best of our ability against Davison, and fell short."
That wasn't the case Saturday at McGuirk, as the Shamrocks flexed their muscles against Davison throughout their lineup, including getting wins from all five of their returning individual champions.
Nicholas Jenkins scored a decision at 285 pounds, Ben Kamali won 13-7 at 112, Kevon Davenport pinned at 130 pounds, Cam Amine won by technical fall at 140 and Tyler Morland ended the dual at 171 with a pin in 30 seconds.
"Anytime you lose in the Quarterfinals or Semifinals, that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth for sure," said Morland, a senior. "We have a lot of leaders on this team, more than our seniors, and we were motivated for this year."
Davison coach Roy Hall saw that motivation up close.
His team, which lost to Detroit Catholic Central earlier this winter 32-22, was hoping to find those 10 elusive points Saturday. But the strength of the Shamrocks’ lineup was too much.
"They are so well coached," said Hall, whose team ended its year with a 26-4 record. "But I am very proud of our guys; they wrestled hard. We didn't wrestle bad, that's just a very talented team."
The Cardinals took the early lead when their returning individual champion, senior 189-pounder Brenden McRill, won by technical fall.
Davison also got big wins from Andrew Chambal at 103 and 2015 individual champ (and 2016 runner-up) A.J. Facundo at 125, but in the end, Detroit Catholic Central won eight of the 14 matches wrestled and scored more bonus points throughout the dual.
"This is absolutely remarkable," said Hancock, whose team ended its season with a 31-1 record. "We went undefeated in the state of Michigan. Our only loss was to (Lakewood) St. Ed's out of Ohio. Everybody did their job today, and we represent DCC with pride."
The Shamrocks earned their way to the championship match by knocking off last year's champion, Hartland, in their Semifinal match. Davison beat a game Macomb Dakota team in their Semifinal, 37-21.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central wrestlers cheer on a teammate during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) DCC and Davison competitors lock up during the Shamrocks’ win. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Hudson Makes Big Stage Home Again in Division 4 Championship Repeat
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2023
KALAMAZOO – The Hudson wrestling team is never afraid of the big stage.
In fact, the Tigers thrive on it.
Hudson claimed its second-straight Division 4 team championship Saturday at Wings Event Center with an impressive 58-12 win over Bronson in the Final.
The Tigers have won 10 team titles in head coach Scott Marry's 35 years of leading the program.
Marry said aside from a lot of hard work, it's a simple formula for the small school and community in southern Michigan.
"We love each other – I love my kids, and they love me," Marry said. "I love my coaching staff, and when you wrestle out of the environment like that, it settles in and it's really powerful. Everyone calls it momentum, but it's really love."
The love and momentum were on full display Saturday in Kalamazoo, especially in the championship match against Bronson.
After falling behind 6-0 from a pin at 215 pounds, the Tigers ran off a string of nine straight wins. And among those nine straight wins, Hudson had seven pins.
Starting the streak was senior heavyweight Aidan Rackowski with a pin in 2 minutes, 44 seconds.
Pinning their opponents is a consistent theme for Hudson at the Finals.
During the Tigers’ 62-18 win over Iron Mountain in the Quarterfinal, 51-12 win over Martin/Climax-Scotts in the Semifinal and the championship victory over Bronson, Hudson had a total of 17 pins.
"We just work on a lot of subconscious brain work in the room," Marry said, "And visualization and creativity. And that manifests itself; it's powerful. Believe it or not, kids nowadays really do want to learn. They want to be loved, and they want to be taken care of."
The 17th and final pin of the weekend for Hudson came from senior Logan Sallows at 190 pounds.
Sallows a returning Individual Finals placer.
"We push hard at practice," said Sallows, who is the second-ranked 190-pounder in Division 4 by Michigan Grappler. "We always want to get better as a team, always. Everyone is family, and we continue to push ourselves until we hit our limits."
And those limits are high.
Although it ran up against one of, if not the best team in Division 4 year in and year out, Bronson coach Chad Butters was proud of his team's run this year.
The third-seeded Vikings defeated Manchester in the Quarterfinals 39-19, then second-seeded St. Louis in the Semifinals 38-29.
"We felt really good coming in here," said Butters, whose team ended with a 39-2 record. "I thought we wrestled really well against Manchester. Then against St. Louis, we showed a lot of toughness and grit.
"Against Hudson, we knew we would have to pull off some upsets; that just didn't happen," he added. "They overwhelmed us. They wrestled their match. They did what they do best."
Bronson got its wins in the Final from Matthew Blankenship at 215, Carson Norton at 157 and Jacob Britten at 175.
"I am so proud of my young men," Butters said. "I am proud of their heart. We just fell short."
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Nicholas Sorrow works toward a pin in his 113-pound match during the Division 4 Final. (Middle) Bronson’s Matthew Blankenship, right, and St. Louis’ Ramon Anguiano lock up at 285 in a Semifinal. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)