Be the Referee: Wrestling Tiebreakers

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

January 30, 2024

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen

A wrestling dual is tied after 14 matches. What happens? How is a winner determined?

There are 17 possible criteria used to break ties, starting with advancing the team penalized the fewest number of team points for flagrant misconduct or unsportsmanlike conduct.

The 17th and final tie-breaker, if needed, is a simple coin flip.

But how often are these steps actually used? A regular-season dual meet last week went to the seventh tie-break. And in the 2017 Division 3 Finals, Richmond beat Dundee for the state championship by going to the eighth step in the tie-breaker procedure. Richmond had scored more total first points and was crowned the winner.

Previous Editions

Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen

Dundee's Dominance Reaches Next Level with 8th-Straight Title Run

By Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com

February 22, 2025

KALAMAZOO -- Total Domination.

Those are only words to describe the Dundee wrestling team's march through the MHSAA’s Division 3 Team Wrestling Tournament this year.

Dundee won its eighth-straight championship with a 74-0 win over Yale on Saturday at Wings Events Center. 

During the entire MHSAA Tournament, the Vikings wrestled seven teams, outscoring them  by a combined 537-13. They lost only three individual matches through the whole tournament.

"It is pretty exciting to do this," senior 175 -pounder Kole Katschor said. "We go to the practice room every day to work hard, and it shows. This is pretty cool to see, but we work hard."

Dundee earned its way to the Final by defeating Ogemaw Heights 75-6 in the Quarterfinals and Allegan 72-0 in the Semifinals. 

This after downing Milan 82-0 and Ida 76-4 at Districts and Livonia Clarenceville 77-3 and Hazel Park 81-0 at Regionals. 

"Our team work ethic makes us," Dundee junior Blake Cosby said. "We go in and out of our practice room every day, and we train harder than anyone else out here. That separates us from everyone else."

With that kind of leadership, it's easy to see why the Vikings have such a strong program from top to bottom.

"Throughout the state tournament, especially at Districts and Regionals, we are able to give our starters some time off," Dundee co-coach Nate Hall said. "They don't have to make weight on Wednesday, we slide up guys and we are able to give some of our starters some rest and some other guys opportunities. We are happy to put those guys in those situations so they are prepared later on."

The Vikings' Mason Katschor (left) gets ahold of Mackey McClelland's foot during their bout at 113. Katschor, a two-time returning Individual Finals champion, and Cosby, also a returning champ, led a Vikings team this year that has eight wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. 

In the championship match, Dundee won every bout by at least bonus points, including six pins and six technical fall victories.

Katschor and Cosby both won their matches by first-period falls.

"Their kids are very dedicated and put a lot of time in during the whole year," said Yale coach Rob Majcher, whose team finished a successful year with a 32-3 record. "Our kids saw where they need to be. I'm very happy with where we are at. A lot of kids have bought into the program. This was definitely a magical season for them."  

And it looks like the magic will continue for Dundee.

The Vikings have three returning champions and a total of 14 wrestlers who qualified for next weekend's Individual Finals. 

And the Vikings graduate only one senior, Katschor. 

"We lose a good one,:" Cosby said of his teammate. “But our junior class is a stud class."

"From ‘our Finals’ lineup we only lose one senior," said Hall, whose team ended the year with a 23-0 record. "We lose a total of four seniors this year, and their dedication and character is to be sought after. Our junior class, we are junior heavy, and that class may be the toughest class we have had at Dundee."

Click for this weekend’s Division 3 meet summaries.

PHOTOS (Top) Dundee's Braden Broderick (top) takes control of his match at 132 pounds Saturday. (Middle) The Vikings' Mason Katschor (left) gets ahold of Mackey McClelland's foot during their bout at 113. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)