D2 Preview: Red Arrows Target Record
February 22, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three wrestling teams in MHSAA history have won five straight Finals championships.
This weekend, Lowell will attempt to become the first to push its winning streak to six.
There are plenty of upset-minded opponents in the way, however, at Kalamazoo’s Wings Event Center. Five of this weekend’s eight quarterfinalists are seeking their first team title in this sport – with last season’s runner-up Gaylord among the hopefuls.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 2, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at 6:45 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at noon Saturday and the championship match that afternoon at 3:45 p.m. All matches this weekend will be viewable live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.tv. For Friday’s schedule and results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page.
#1 Lowell
Record/rank: 19-3, No. 1
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference White
Coach: R.J. Boudro, fifth season (105-14)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2018), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Ramsy Mutschler (25-8) fr., 112 Nicholas Korhorn (22-8) jr., 125 Zeth Strejc (28-6) soph., 130 Dawson Jankowski (28-6) jr., 135 Jeff Leach (22-9) sr., 135 William Link (36-6) fr., 140 Avry Mutschler (30-2) sr., 145 Doak Dean (34-4) soph., 145 James Fotis (14-3) jr., 152 Austin Boone (26-4) jr., 160 Jacob Lee (27-12) soph., 171 Derek Mohr (20-13) soph., 285 Tyler Deloof (31-5) jr.
Outlook: As noted above, Lowell has a chance to make more history, and has given up just 21 points over four District and Regional matches on the way back to Kalamazoo. Boone is a two-time Individual Finals champion, and Korhorn and Mutschler were runners-up last season. Jankowski, Strejc, Dean, Fotis and Deloof also were placers, and the Red Arrows still will have only three expected senior starters this weekend.
#2 Goodrich
Record/rank: 30-5, No. 3
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference
Coach: Kenneth Sirignano, 10th season (record N/A)
Championship history: Two MHSAA championships (most recent 2009), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Cameron Macklem (40-10) fr., 125 Carson Richards (41-9) fr., 125 Caleb Teague (39-7) sr., 140 Dominic Edwards (32-5) sr., 160 Juwan Vines (30-6) jr., 171 James Penfold (40-3) sr., 215 Honour Kline (46-1) sr.
Outlook: Goodrich is back at the Quarterfinals for the third time in Division 2 in four seasons, and jumped up four seeds from last year. A crew of talented freshman has joined an otherwise upperclassmen-filled lineup that includes seven seniors. Teague was a Finals runner-up last season, while Vines, Kline and senior Blake Coffell also were placers.
#3 DeWitt
Record/rank: 16-5, No. 4
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Blue
Coach: Brian Byars, 19th season (449-196)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Matt Foddrill (26-14) jr., 145 Tyler Brandt (32-12) jr., 152 Quenten Hall (29-4) sr., 171 Jacob Brandt (33-11) jr., 189 Chandler Murton (31-7) soph.
Outlook: DeWitt is back at the Quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons and second time ever, seeking to advance to Saturday for the first time. The Panthers made it to Kalamazoo with a 30-20 Regional Final victory over No. 2 Eaton Rapids after winning a league that included Division 1 No. 10 Holt and formerly-ranked Grand Ledge. Brandt, Hall and Murton were all Finals placers last season.
#4 Gaylord
Record/rank: 27-1, No. 5
League finish: First in Big North Conference
Coach: Jerry LaJoie, 25th season (696-134-2)
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2018.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Gabe Thompson (33-14) fr., 119 Will Sides (31-14) jr., 125 Chayse LaJoie (44-0) jr., 130 John Sosa (33-9) jr., 160 Jacob McKnight (37-4) jr., 171 Quinn Schultz (11-4) soph., 189 Cade Foster (21-6) sr., 215 Aurilius Krumholz (37-10) jr.
Outlook: Gaylord emerged as a third seed last season to make an MHSAA championship match for the first time, and the Blue Devils are seeded to return to at least the Semifinals after edging No. 9 St. Johns 36-33 in the Regional Final to reach Kalamazoo. Chayse LaJoie is a two-time individual champion, and McKnight and Foster also were Finals placers in 2018.
#5 Tecumseh
Record/rank: 28-5, No. 8
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference White
Coach: A.J. Marry, fourth season (90-34)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Joshua Hilton (46-2) sr., 119 Vincent Perez (48-0) sr., 125 Kellen Patton (45-2) sr., 130 Victor Coscarelli (33-14) jr., 135 Lucas Petty (19-21), jr., 189 Clayton Boatright (40-10) sr.
Outlook: Make it eight Quarterfinals in nine seasons for Tecumseh, which moved up three seeds from the eighth spot a year ago. The Indians have one of the most veteran lineups in Kalamazoo this weekend in any division, with all seniors and juniors expected to jump on the mat Friday. Eight starters are back from the team that faced Lowell in last season’s Quarterfinal. Perez was a Finals runner-up in 2018.
#6 Warren Woods-Tower
Record/rank: 20-6, No. 6
League finish: Third in Macomb Area Conference Red
Co-coaches: Greg Mayer and Russell Correll, 19th seasons (372-244)
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2017.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Josh Howey (31-10) fr., 119 Joe Haynes (30-7) soph., 125 Chaise Mayer (39-3) sr., 160 Omari Embree (33-4) fr., 215 CJ Sheir (35-11) sr., 285 Joel Radvansky (39-4) sr.
Outlook: Tower reached the Semifinals last season after finishing runner-up in 2017, and the Titans are looking to make another run after emerging from a MAC Red that included Division 1 contender Macomb Dakota. Radvansky was a Finals runner-up last season, while Chaise Mayer was a runner-up in both 2016 and 2017 and took third at his weight a year ago. Haynes, sophomore Dru Wilson and senior David Stepanian also were placers in 2018.
#7 Niles
Record/rank: 22-4, No. 7
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West
Coach: Todd Hesson, 12th season (257-86)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Jamison Zimmerman (33-6) jr., 130 Bryce Brust (18-3) sr., 135 Javond Ball (33-8) jr., 140 Kade Wagley (36-8) jr., 152 Robert Buckland (34-11) sr., 160 Cole Simpson (33-11) sr., 171 Cade Best (33-7) sr., 285 Brian Soto (30-4) sr.
Outlook: Niles fell short of the Quarterfinals a year ago but has advanced for the fifth time in seven seasons. Eight seniors anchor the lineup, six holding down the weights from 152-285. Zimmerman took fifth last season at 103 and is one of eight on the team with at least 29 wins.
#8 Cedar Springs
Record/rank: 20-9, unranked
League finish: Second in O-K White
Coach: Nicholas Emery, seventh season (131-84)
Championship history: Class B champion 1995, runner-up 1978.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Trevor Marsman (37-9) soph., 135 Aaron Smith (38-11) sr., 145 Lucas Pienton (34-3) sr., 171 Ryan Ringler (43-0) sr., 189 Sage Serbenta (41-1) jr.
Outlook: A 37-36 win over No. 10 Allendale in the Regional Final vaulted Cedar Springs to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 1996. The Red Hawks will be plenty familiar with Friday’s opponent; Lowell is from the same league. Ringler is the reigning individual champion at 171, and Pienton and Serbenta also were Finals placers last season.
PHOTO: Gaylord’s Rico Brown (top), here competing at Grand Ledge this winter, will try to help his team win its first MHSAA wrestling title. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Dundee Ends Richmond Streak in D3
February 23, 2013
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – A few minutes after winning the MHSAA Division 3 championship on Saturday, some members of the Dundee wrestling team picked up Sean Keilitz and put him on their shoulders.
Was Keilitz an unlikely hero? Certainly. A junior, he came into his match at 119 pounds with an 18-16 record, including a loss earlier in the day in the Semifinals and another Friday in the Quarterfinals.
Keilitz, however, was deserving of being hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates. He scored a key 12-8 decision in the 119-pound match – the second-to-last match of the meet – as Dundee defeated three-time defending MHSAA champion Richmond 35-26 at Kellogg Arena.
Dundee (23-2) had finished runner-up four of the last five years since winning the title in 2007. Two of those runner-up finishes came against Richmond.
“Winning state is always great, I can tell you,” Dundee coach Tim Roberts said. “I’ve done it a few times, and it doesn’t get old and it doesn’t get any less great. But to beat a team the quality of that team and as well as they wrestled against us, that was a great win.
“Winning at 119 was huge. Their kid is a state qualifier, and our kid – I wasn’t able to enter him in the District because he wasn’t healthy. That was two kids just battling right there, and Sean stepped up and won that match.”
Richmond, which held a 19-4 lead after five matches (the meet started at 130 pounds), had a 26-25 lead after freshman Aaron Kilburn won a 10-2 major decision at 103. But Richmond would not win again.
Dundee freshman Zach Blevins stepped in and won with a major decision, giving the Vikings a 29-26 lead and setting the stage for the match between Keilitz and Richmond freshman Graham Barton.
“I knew I had to win,” said Blevins, who had a 5-0 lead after the first period and nearly picked up a pin late in that period en route to a 15-2 victory. “I was really nervous, but I knew we would be able to finish it out.”
Keilitz and Barton had a closer battle. Keilitz had a 7-4 lead going into the third period, but Barton, who came into the match with a 21-21 record, cut it to 9-8 before Keilitz scored the last three points.
“It’s just unreal,” Keilitz said. “I was looking up at the scoreboard, and I honestly wasn’t even nervous for once in my life. I was just so pumped up. It was so exciting.
“It was scary, but I was so pumped up that I wasn’t even worried about it. I just went out there and did my job.”
The victory left Dundee with a 32-26 lead going into the final match. All Dundee junior Brendan O’Connor had to do was avoid a pin to secure the MHSAA title. However, a pin would have tied the match and caused it to be decided by the sixth tie-breaking criteria.
But O’Connor was never in danger of being pinned and went on to post a 14-8 decision.
Richmond (26-5) won four of the first five matches to build the 19-4 lead. Alex Muzljakovich (130) and Nate Henke (145) each won by fall, while defending individual MHSAA champion Devin Skatzka won by major decision at 152 to improve to 48-2. Senior Austin Cattera (135) also won by decision for the Blue Devils.
The lone victory in the first five matches for Dundee was by junior Doug Rojem, whose major decision at 140 improved his season record to 46-1.
Dundee junior Todd Olson grabbed some momentum for the Vikings with a first-period fall at 160 to improve to 46-3.
“I had to get it going,” Olson said. “I really wanted to wrestle Richmond in the Finals because they’ve beat us so many times. Really, there is no better feeling – no better feeling – this is the best I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
Tye Thompson’s decision at 171 cut Richmond’s lead to 19-13, and junior Teddy Warren followed with a first-period fall at 189 to make it a 19-19 match and improve his record to 46-2. After Jack McKiernan won by decision over Dundee senior Jay Sroufe to improve to 48-5, Richmond had a 22-19 lead with five matches remaining.
Dundee senior John Marogen took the mat on a mission at 285 and registered a first-period pin to give the Vikings a 25-22 lead. Marogen had won seven consecutive matches in the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals, dating back to the 2010 Finals when he won a majority decision against Richmond.
“This is just amazing,” Marogen said. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I knew I had to go out and get a pin.”
Marogen used the word “scared” twice; one while talking about his feelings when Dundee was down by 15 and again when he described his feelings as the meet went into its final matches.
“I was really scared,” he said of when the team was down, “and I was scared (late in the meet), but those kids are tough. I’m really proud of them.”
Marogen wasn’t the only one who was scared when Richmond threatened to win its fourth consecutive MHSAA title.
“It was kind of scary at first, I’m not going to lie,” Keilitz said, “but once we got those pins, we got rolling.”
Nine of the 14 Dundee wrestlers who had a match in the Final wrestled in last year’s as well against Richmond. Keilitz is the only one who lost last year and won this year. Meanwhile, Blevins, Rojem, Olson and Marogen each went 3-0 this year in the Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final.
“This is amazing,” Sroufe said. “We’ve been working for it for four years, and it feels awesome. It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me right now.
“I knew our team was going to push it to the end, and I knew we could beat them.”