White Pigeon Emerging as D4 Hopeful
January 10, 2017
Ten years removed from a Regional Finals appearance, the White Pigeon wrestling program has awakened from its hibernation.
The Chiefs’ 18-7 overall record isn’t particularly astonishing. But given that several losses were to bigger schools outside of the state of Michigan, including three to Indiana squads this past weekend, it’s a solid mark so far.
A victory over third-ranked (in Division 4) Decatur earlier this year opened White Pigeon’s eyes as to how good it could be this winter.
“The kids’ resiliency and perseverance,” 14th-year head coach Jay Sosinski said when asked what has stood out to him this season. “It doesn’t matter to them who they’re going up against. Big or small, good or bad, they go out there and wrestle hard and give it their best. That’s all I’ve ever asked of any of my teams. They do it probably better than any team I’ve had before on a consistent basis.”
To put that statement in context, Sosinski hypes his team as often as most people stick to their New Year’s resolutions.
There’s no denying that confidence has trickled down to the individual wrestlers, four of whom are among the top-10 ranked athletes in their respective weight classes in Division 4 by MichiganGrappler.com.
Ranked No. 3 at 130 pounds, sophomore Kyle Black is 22-2 on the year and eyeing a return trip to the MHSAA Finals. He’ll likely drop down to 125 to do so. Classmate Evan Atherton is ranked No. 10 at 130 but has since moved to 125.
“It makes us feel good,” Atherton, who is 20-3, said of the high praise from Sosinski, “because they used to talk about how there used to only be three kids on the team. “I’m pretty excited about it. It pushes me harder.”
Junior Nate Weber is 21-4 and ranked No. 6 at 135. He, too, will probably move down a class by the end of the year in order to try to get back to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Meanwhile, senior Hunter Rummler, ranked No. 7 at 171, just eclipsed the 100-victory mark for his career over the weekend and is pushing toward his first Individual Finals appearance.
Especially for the young men in the lower weights, stiffer competition is rarely found outside their own practices this year.
“We do a lot of live wrestling in the room, and it sure helps to have those guys around with all the variety it brings,” Weber said. “Me, Evan and Kyle all wrestle different styles. We see all these different techniques, and it sets us up to wrestle all these other teams.”
Black had just one word to describe practice sessions: “Intense.”
The other word that came up frequently was inspiration. The source? Sosinski.
“I would never have guessed that is the answer they would have given,” Sosinski said with a laugh. “As a wrestler myself and growing up in the sport, when people get beat, either as an individual or a team, I know how that feels. They beat themselves up and are upset. Me being upset with them or screaming and yelling at them doesn’t make them feel any better.
“I believe it probably makes them feel worse and can have a negative effect. My goal is to help them reach their goals. I’m happiest when I see them reach their goals and their potential. If being more soft-spoken and more of a fatherly type figure and voice does that, and it has worked so far, that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
With only two seniors on the varsity roster, the Chiefs are undefeated in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference. Rummler, who said reaching the century mark “hasn’t really hit me yet,” knows the strength of the team is in the lower and middle weights, which includes stalwarts Hunter Jourdan, Sebastian Castro and Carlos Castro, and feels a responsibility to hold up his end of the bargain.
For Rummler, a gifted running back and sprinter, most of the battle is mental — a fight he admits struggling with last season. Sosinski believes the senior is primed for a noteworthy finish to his career.
“He is confident,” Sosinski said. “I believe he has high goals and expectations of himself. He is confident he will meet those goals. Sometimes you need that swag, I guess. If I had to take a guess at (what’s different this year), just from knowing him for four years, it’s just his mentality.”
The same can be said for the rest of the wrestlers on the team, many of whom have sacrificed for the betterment of the squad.
“They want to be good as a team, and that’s first and foremost,” Sosinski said. “They have their own individual goals in their head, but they’re finding a way to do both.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) White Pigeon’s Kyle Black works to gain control during a match against Berrien Springs. (Middle) Evan Atherton, here working from the top, also powers the Chiefs’ strong lower weights. (Photos courtesy of Wes Morgan.)
Performance: Eaton Rapids' Austin O'Hearon
February 16, 2018
Austin O’Hearon
Eaton Rapids senior – Wrestling
O’Hearon, the reigning Division 2 individual champion at 145 pounds, led Eaton Rapids to a Team District championship on Feb. 7 as the Greyhounds won their matches by a combined score of 147-3. He then went on to win his Individual District title at 160 pounds Saturday to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The Greyhounds standout claimed the Individual District title with a 6-4 championship match victory over DeWitt’s Sam York – O’Hearon is ranked No. 2 and York No. 3 at their weight in Division 2 by Michigan Grappler. O’Hearon also won their rematch this past Wednesday as No. 5 Eaton Rapids upset No. 2 DeWitt 31-26 to win a Team Regional title and advance to next weekend’s Quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. The Greyhounds are coached by Joe Ray Barry, a three-time MHSAA champion at Mason from 1997-99.
O’Hearon will bring a 176-17 career record into this weekend’s Individual Regional at Vicksburg, and he ranks third in Eaton Rapids’ illustrious history in both career victories and career takedowns with 369. He finished seventh in Division 2 at 112 pounds as a freshman and then seventh at 125 as a sophomore before claiming the title last winter at 145. He’s 41-1 this season with his only loss to Portland’s Owen Guilford after bumping up to 171 pounds; O’Hearon then handed Guilford his only loss this season in a rematch earlier this month. O’Hearon has opportunities to continue wrestling at the college level, but has planned on enlisting in the U.S. Navy – following his grandfather (Army) and father (Marines), who both also served – and would like to train to become part of the SEALs special operations force.
Coach Joe Ray Barry said: “His work ethic over the four years is what separates him from his competition – early morning workouts and late night runs. He’s in the corner for his team day in and day out, constantly pushing them to work harder than they do. He’s leading by example and stays focused.”
Performance Point: “(The season) has come along how I wanted it to,” O’Hearon said. “Everything’s falling into place. … It’s just because I work hard. There’s no substitute for hard work. I’ve just always believed that the harder I work, then success has to come with it. If you work hard at something for long enough, you’re bound to reach your goals. For me, one of the spots I lacked was strength. So my (physical education teacher) was talking to me one day, said I could come up (before school) Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and lift with him. So I was like, ‘Yeah sure, I’ll try it.’ I just liked it. It was nice. It woke me up in the morning. I noticed wrestling I was just getting a lot stronger, and so it just all fell into play how I wanted it to.”
Back to the Finals: “We knew going in (to Wednesday’s Regional) that we could win it. We were crunching the numbers, and everywhere that we crunched it looked good. We had some things that happened … but probably the biggest thing of the night was our heavyweight getting a pin against the kid he had lost to at Districts. After he got that pin, I knew that we were going to go to team states. … Everything as a team has fallen together. At the beginning of the season we were kinda distant; now it’s more team-based. We’re all trying to be better for the team. We’ve grown as a team. We’re real close right now. It’s just making everything go smooth and easy.”
We are E.R.: “My freshman year, I knew all the seniors, I knew all the juniors. I pretty much knew everybody. There were kids I’d wrestled with in the youth (programs), so we were already like family. And that’s what I think makes Eaton Rapids better than most teams, because we’re all real close and homegrown and we’re all pretty much family. We all wrestled together in the youth programs, and now we’re wrestling high school together.”
Thanks Coach Barry: “He’s just always pushed me to be the best that I can be. He helps me with technique. He still rolls around with me up at practice every once in a while. He’s getting old now and it’s hard, because he doesn’t like the beatings … (but) yeah, I love wrestling with him. He’s still quick. He’s still strong. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
My time to lead: Just the younger kids, I try to keep them motivated, show them it is possible to win a state title and to have your team be successful. You just have to stay positive. I just try to motivate the younger guys to stick with the program, because this is what a program is built on: our seniors helping out our younger guys. I remember when I was a freshman, the seniors would always help me out … so that’s just how I try to be this year.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Eaton Rapids' Austin O’Hearon (left) works for a takedown this season. (Middle) O’Hearon’s arm is raised after he earns last season’s Division 2 title at 145 pounds. (Top photo and head shot courtesy of Eaton Rapids’ wrestling program; middle photo by HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)