D1 Preview: History on the Brink
March 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
When 135-pound matches are wrestled at The Palace of Auburn Hills this weekend, many eyes will be watching Davison’s Lincoln Olson.
Olson – along with Richmond’s Devin Skatzka in Division 3 – will compete for his fourth MHSAA championship, hoping to join only 19 other Michigan wrestlers who have ended all four years of high school with a title.
See below for 10 contenders to watch this weekend at the Division 1 Individual Finals, plus others who enter the tournament undefeated or coming off runner-up finishes in 2014. Follow all the matches beginning with Thursday's first round on a subscription basis live on MHSAA.TV, and click here for results at MHSAA.com.
Those listed below are only a handful of numerous contenders for this weekend’s 14 Division 1 championships – in this division alone, seven athletes not listed below have lost only once this season. Come back to Second Half at the end of this weekend, when we’ll have post-match thoughts from all 14 title winners.
112: Max Johnson, Davison junior (42-7) – Last season’s champion at this weight may not have as sparkling a record as some contenders, but he entered last season’s Finals with an identical W-L on his way to winning the title.
112: Carl Antrassian, Monroe junior (54-2) – He’s a favorite at his new weight after falling to Ben Freeman (see below) in last season’s championship match at 103 and after leading his team to the MHSAA Quarterfinals last weekend.
125: Camden Bertucci, Grand Haven senior (40-0) – After just missing the Finals last season, Bertucci can add a title to his runner-up finish at 103 as a freshman and third place at 112 as a sophomore.
125: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central sophomore (40-0) – Last season’s champion at 103 has only one loss during his high school career and won all of his 2014 Finals matches by technical falls.
130: Trevor Zdebski, Detroit Catholic Central senior (42-5) – His high school career so far has included a championship last season at 119 pounds, a third place at 103 as a freshman and two team titles.
135: Lincoln Olson, Davison senior (48-0) – As noted above, Olson is poised to enter an elite group; in addition, he carries a 185-3 record into his final weekend before moving on to Oklahoma State University.
145: Logan Parks, Southgate Anderson senior (53-0) – After finishing third in what arguably was the toughest bracket at last season’s Finals – 140 – Parks can cap this season with a title and the last two with a combined 111-2 record.
152: Jacob Gorial, Hartland senior (54-0) – Recall the 2013 Finals, when Gorial had the difficulty of facing and falling to teammate Austin Eicher in the 130-pound championship match; he can add a first title to a seventh place as a freshman, the second as a sophomore and a fourth place last winter.
160: Myles Amine, Detroit Catholic Central senior (43-0) – Another of the latest Shamrocks stars can graduate as a back-to-back champion after winning at 140 pounds last season and finishing third at 130 as a sophomore.
285: Brian Darios, East Lansing senior (5-2) – Yes, that record is correct; Darios has battled through multiple injuries this season, but remains a favorite to finish on top after falling in an ultimate tie-breaker in last season’s championship match.
Other 2014 runners-up: Oxford junior Alex Hrisopoulos (125, 48-3, 112 in 2014), Lapeer senior Dillon Ellsworth (145, 49-2, 152 in Division 2 in 2014 for Lapeer East), Lapeer junior Devon Pingel (171, 43-3, 171 in Division 2 in 2014 for North Branch).
Also undefeated: West Bloomfield senior Matt Gudenau (140, 45-0), Dearborn Heights Crestwood junior Ali Wahab (285, 56-0), Lapeer junior Dan Perry (285, 57-0).
More of note: Saline freshman Daniel Poupore (103, 36-2), Grand Blanc senior Noah Gonser (119, 52-3), Holt senior Benny Gomez (119, 30-2), Hartland sophomore Reese Hughes (130, 49-5), Utica Eisenhower senior Connor McDill (140, 38-2), Detroit Catholic Central senior Nick Giese (189, 42-4), Brighton junior Lucas Ready (215, 48-2).
PHOTO: Davison's Lincoln Olson competes during his team's MHSAA Semifinal last weekend against eventual champion Brighton. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Rising Cadillac Dreaming Bigger Entering 5th Season Back on Varsity Mat
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
December 20, 2024
When Luke Phillips was a seventh grader, Cadillac High School did not have a wrestling team.
Cadillac Middle School didn’t either. Phillips, now a senior at Cadillac, started wrestling in a community youth program started by his father, Chad, and Eli Hoffert, Paul Hanus and Mark Cronkhite.
The youth program grew from 34 to 93 participants after its inception in 2016. Today there is not yet an official middle school team, but there sure is a high school team. Hoffert is now the head coach of Vikings, and he’s assisted by Hanus and Chad Phillips. Cronkhite was also on the Vikings’ coaching staff two seasons.
Cadillac returned to the mats with Hoffert at the helm five years ago — after last offering the sport in 2007. And now the Vikings are rolling along after capturing the school’s first District team wresting championship last season.
“It was a big year for us,” said Hoffert, a former Vikings wrestler himself. “It’s amazing. I want to train these kids so they can be as good as they can be and be better than I ever was and break school records and keep progressing, not just obviously in wresting, but with life.”
The Vikings graduated key seniors last year but have strong underclassman this winter including key freshman. They are 10-0 heading into this weekend’s tournament at Sault Ste. Marie.
Luke Phillips and sophomore Payton Sampson have hopes and dreams of getting on the podium at this year’s Division 2 Individual Finals. They also have hopes of bringing their team along with them through District and Regional competitions.
Phillips already has made school history. He became the first Cadillac wrestler to place at the Individual Finals, finishing eighth last season at 165 pounds. He wants much more this time around. He’s currently wresting at 190 after bulking up for football purposes but is planning to get down to 175 soon.
“It’s really special to me,” he said of earning Cadillac’s first Finals placing. “Obviously, I couldn’t have done it by myself. It took a lot of extra time and hard work from my coaches and teammates and the community that supported me.”
Phillips, a team captain for the third-straight year, is shooting to top the 150-win career mark long before the championship meet in March and rack up 160 or more total career victories. He’s at 122 now.
“I want to go and win a state championship, and winning Regionals with the team would be nice as well,” Phillips said. “It’s what I’ve been working for since I was 5 when I started wrestling.”
The Vikings’ team bond is growing with each day, the captain and coach pointed out.
“We have a lot of hard-working guys, and we’re one tight-knit group,” Phillips said. “It has been really important to our success not just as our team but in the community and our social lives and we have each other at all times – we all want what is best for our team.”
Phillips won both his matches this week as Cadillac knocked off Division 2 No. 9 Cedar Springs 41-33 and Charlevoix 69-4. Last weekend, the Vikings captured first place in a tournament at Montague. Earlier this year, they won a tournament at East Kentwood.
Hoffert is striving to grow a winning culture while helping kids get better at wrestling and health and fitness.
“When it’s wrestling season, it’s all wrestling,” said Hoffert, whose first coaching job was an eight-year run at Lake City. “It consumes us, and that’s the way it’s got to be to be a top-level program.”
The Vikings have postseason success on their minds but hope to claim the Big North Conference title first. Perennial champion Gaylord could be an obstacle.
The Vikings’ locker room board reads “Beat Gaylord” at the top.
It’s something Hoffert and Phillips have yet to do.
“Gaylord has always had a solid program that has won the majority of Big North championships and a lot of District championships and even Regional championships,” Hoffert said. “They are the hammers in the north.”
Topping Gaylord for conference and District titles this year would please the senior captain.
“I want to go out with a bang,” Phillips said. “It means a lot.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) An official raises Luke Phillips' arm in victory after his match this season against Charlevoix. (Middle) Cadillac coach Eli Hoffert, left, stands with Phillips. (Below) The Vikings' Payton Sampson works toward a takedown in his match against the Rayders. (Photos by Kristi Hoffert.)