Trombley Aims to Make More Mat History
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2018
Typically, distractions in sports are seen as a bad thing.
For Lake Fenton senior wrestler Jarrett Trombley, however, setting the goal of breaking the state’s single-season takedown record was the perfect distraction to keep his mind off chasing a fourth straight MHSAA individual title.
“It’s something else to think about other than state,” he said. “It was just a goal I had, and I just went out there and wrestled every single match the best I could, tried to get as many takedowns as I could, and tried to be as dominant as I can be. I was just taking it match by match, and that has taken a little bit away from the whole four-time state title thing.”
The “four-time state title thing” is now next on Trombley’s to-do list, as the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals begin Friday at Ford Field in Detroit. Trombley, who wrestles at 130 pounds, will look to become the 23rd wrestler in state history to accomplish the feat. He and Dundee’s Brandon Whitman, also in Division 3, both will attempt to finish the achievement.
“The message this week, and we’re going over it now, is to work hard and do your job,” Lake Fenton coach Vance Corcoran said. “Everyone has trained their whole lives for this. It’s been a long season, and you’ve done your job in this room; now it’s time to do your job on the mat. Dominate and attack, and do what he’s done all season.”
Trombley has certainly been dominant while attacking all season, averaging more than 10 takedowns per match on his way to a 55-0 record through the Regional tournament. His 565 takedowns is well beyond the previous MHSAA record of 526 set by Jake Bohn of East Kentwood in 2007-08, which has stood as the National Federation record as well. He has also surpassed the 559 set by Karson Hill of Trenton High School in Missouri in 2007-08, the previous high according to another national record book maintained by wrestlingusa.com.
It may have served as a distraction, but it’s also helped make Trombley a better wrestler and a better conditioned athlete, as it’s forced him to work on things within a match and stay on the mat longer than he would with a quick pin. He does, he said, work for the pin eventually to get as many team points as possible.
“All of the takedowns helped me get in better shape and have better conditioning,” said Trombley, who is ranked 10th in the country at 132 pounds by FloWrestling. “It’s helped me in my matches.”
Now, though, Corcoran said it’s time to focus solely on winning, and doing so as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
“Coming up to the state meet, if he gets the chance to put a guy on his back, he isn’t going to let him up,” Corcoran said.
Trombley – who has won Division 3 titles at 112, 119 and 130 pounds – doesn’t need reminders that even three-time champions can be vulnerable when going for their fourth. To win his second title in 2016, Trombley defeated Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Devin Schroder – denying the three-time champ Schroder a fourth title.
“It keeps my mind in focus every day in the practice room,” Trombley said. “It can just as easily happen to me. There’s a state champ on my bracket this year, and a few others that are really good.”
The win against Schroder, who is now wrestling at Purdue University, was big for Trombley beyond simply winning his second MHSAA Finals title.
“Before that I hadn’t really wrestled any stellar competition in high school, per se,” Trombley said. “He was the talk of the state for two or three years, so I had to be confident going into that match, and I was confident. After I did win, it kind of changed things. I didn’t know he was nationally ranked until I had beat him. I was nationally ranked after that, so I just kind of worked even harder. I kind of proved to myself that I can beat anyone if I work hard.”
As colleges began courting Trombley, one started to stick out -- North Carolina State. He signed with the Wolfpack this past November.
“The coaching staff just made me feel welcome, and I felt like I could live there,” said Trombley, who has an older brother who lives in North Carolina. “They were just a really friendly coaching staff and they have some really nice credentials. It’s a program on the up rise, and I felt like I could succeed there.”
Trombley believes his wrestling style will translate well to the college level. For now, though, he’s focused on finishing up his high school career the right way, and so is everyone around him.
“Jarrett is just one of those kids that he never quits,” Corcoran said. “His work ethic is through the roof; he’s focused and he’s determined. He’s from a great wrestling family, he’s super grounded, and if you hear anyone say anything about Jarrett as a four-timer, his mom is right there to say, ‘You have to win one more.’
“He understands that nothing is given to you, that you have to earn it.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. 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: Lake Fenton's Jarrett Trombley works toward his third MHSAA championship during last season's title match at 130 pounds. (Middle) Trombley's arm is raised after his second Finals title, in 2016. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Hesperia Stars Guiding Whitehall's Title Drive
February 6, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Whitehall wrestling already had a solid infrastructure in place.
The Vikings have been the dominant wrestling program in the Muskegon area since George W. Bush was President, recently winning their 13th consecutive Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city wrestling championship.
On the state level, Whitehall also has been a fixture at the Division 3 Team Finals in recent years – losing to powerhouse Dundee in the Semifinals both last year and 2016, and bowing to Lake Fenton in the 2017 Quarterfinals.
Could this be the year Whitehall breaks through with an MHSAA championship?
The Vikings hope that the hiring of young, first-year co-coaches and brothers Justin Zeerip and Collin Zeerip – legends from nearby Hesperia who went on to wrestle at the University of Michigan – is exactly what the program needs to take that final step.
“Honestly, it’s been an amazing experience being coached by them,” said Whitehall senior Allen Powers (189 pounds), who has a 32-3 record on the season. “It gives us a bunch of extra confidence knowing that they were just Division I college wrestlers – and they’re not afraid to get on the mat and show it to us.”
Whitehall, which has a 24-2 dual record and is ranked No. 3 in Division 3, starts its drive to the Team Finals on Thursday at the District tournament at Shelby. If the Vikings prevail Thursday, they would host Team Regionals on Feb. 13. A win there would put them back in the Finals at Wings Event Center on Feb. 22-23, with a chance to prove they have closed the gap on Dundee and Richmond – which between them have won the past nine Division 3 titles.
Last year’s loss to Dundee was particularly one-sided, 67-3, a pummeling which has motivated Whitehall to improve throughout the offseason and so far this winter. The Vikings’ only losses have come to Rockford and Hartland, both Division 1 schools.
“It’s been awesome watching these kids grow – both in technique and in their confidence,” said Justin Zeerip, the oldest of the three Zeerip brothers (Justin, Brandon and Collin), all of whom wrestled at Michigan. “My brother and I just want to bring that college wrestling atmosphere into the room. We’ve set high goals; we want to be wrestling on that final day. “
Suffice to say: when the Zeerips talk, the Vikings listen.
After all, Justin Zeerip, 30, brings instant credibility as a four-time Division 4 individual champion at Hesperia who graduated with a 260-0 record and 203 pins. He went on to win 100 matches during a five-year career at Michigan and now teaches middle school math at Hesperia.
Collin Zeerip, meanwhile, is 26 and was a three-time individual champion at Hesperia, graduating with 238 victories. He won 38 matches at Michigan before returning home to help run the family business, Heritage Farm Markets in Fremont.
While all three of his boys wrestled at Michigan, Justin and Collin’s father, Craig Zeerip, was a four-year wrestler at Ohio State. Craig Zeerip is now the head wrestling coach at Fremont.
“Our family has always loved the month of February,” said Justin Zeerip, who as a senior at Hesperia in 2007 became at that time the fourth wrestler in state history to finish a four-year career unbeaten and the 13th to win four Finals titles. “There’s a whole different feel. I’m really enjoying it as a coach as well.”
Whitehall’s strong wrestling foundation began in the 1980s under Rick Champion and Craig Christensen, who are still coaching in the program. Cliff Sandee coached the Vikings for the past 11 years – a tenure which was highlighted by 11 city titles, nine Districts, five Regionals and four Final Four appearances – before leaving to take an assistant principal position at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer last August.
That departure opened the door for the Zeerips, who inherited a young, but well-rounded team with just three seniors – Sam Baustert (112), Trenton Blanchard (160) and Powers – in the normal 14-wrestler lineup.
The strength is in the upper weights, starting with freshman Ira Jenkins (152) with a sparkling first-year record of 27-6. Trenton Blanchard is 29-4, junior Kayleb Vennema (171) is 34-2 and junior Jarrean Sargeant (285) is 28-8.
The impressive records continue when the match swings to the lowest weights, with freshman Aiden Weiler (103) at 29-6 and Baustert at 29-4.
“I know they are going to be really good the next few years with all of our young guys, but I really don’t see any reason we can’t win state this year,” said Baustert, an all-state track and cross country performer who will run at Grand Valley State. “The new coaches have given us all a whole new sense of hope. We all have learned a few moves that we haven’t done before.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Whitehall senior Sam Baustert works toward a pin. (Middle) Trenton Blanchard is another Vikings senior standout this winter. (Below) Whitehall co-head coaches Collin Zeerip, left, and Justin Zeerip, right, flank Baustert after an invitational victory earlier this season. (Photos courtesy of the Whitehall wrestling program.)