D4 Preview: Contenders Pursue Hudson
February 19, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Hudson is seeking this weekend to become the first team in MHSAA history to win six straight wrestling team championships. And that’s the expectation, as the Tigers enter the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals seeded first in Division 4 and ranked No. 1 in the state poll.
But the teams ranked 2-5 also are headed to Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena – and each would love to be the one to end this history-making streak.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 4, listed by seed. Their Quarterfinal matches begin at 1 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 9:30 Saturday morning and the championship match at 4 p.m. All matches this weekend will be streamed live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV. For results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page. Rankings below are from MichiganGrappler.com.
#1 HUDSON
Record/rank: 33-4, No. 1
League finish: Second in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Coach: Scott Marry, 26th season (690-145)
Championship history: Five MHSAA championships (most recent 2013).
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Zach Lopinski (29-16) fr., 112 Roddy Hamdan (39-11) jr., 112 Tyler Roberts (38-15) jr., 119 Isaac Dusseau (31-11) sr., 130 Mason Lopinski (34-13) soph., 135 Carlos Randall (13-11) sr., 140 Cole Weaver (50-0) sr., 145 JD Waters (43-9) sr., 152 Kyle Johnson (41-9) soph., 160 Clayton Brockway (29-22) jr., 160 Brian Sumber (17-14) sr., 171 Tylor Grames (16-16) fr., 189 Mitch Ely (28-21) jr., 215 Jacob Morgan (31-16) sr.
Outlook: Hudson last season became the second in MHSAA history to win five straight Finals team championships, tying the Davison teams from 2002-06 for the longest streak – and are heavily favored to extend it this weekend. Hamden, Weaver (two straight) and Waters are reigning individual champions and Dusseau was a runner-up last season, and all but one of the expected starters have qualified for next week’s Individual Finals. And yet, only six of the team’s 14 qualifiers are seniors.
#2 NEW LOTHROP
Record/rank: 28-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference
Coach: Jeff Campbell, 13th season (336-64)
Championship history: 12 MHSAA championships (most recent 2004), four runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Connor Krupp (35-12) fr., 119 Cole Hersch (44-7) soph., 125 Dalton Birchmeier (38-10) jr., 130 Gabe Bennett (47-3) jr., 135 Trevor Copes (40-12) jr., 140 Steven Garza II (22-0) soph., 145 Aaron Bauman (46-4) sr., 160 Josh Wendling (49-4) sr., 171 Taylor Krupp (50-0) sr., 189 Cody Symons (43-4) sr., 215 Dakota Clark (29-12) sr., 215 Owen Wilson (32-9) sr., 285 David Robertson (37-12) jr.
Outlook: New Lothrop has reached the Quarterfinals all 13 seasons under Campbell and missed its first championship berth since 2007 by only two points in the final match of last season's Semifinal. Wendling was an individual champion in 2013 and Taylor Krupp a runner-up, and all but two of the probable starters this weekend have qualified for the Individual Finals – with Wilson able to sub in at the heavier weights. New Lothrop’s lone loss this winter was to Division 2 top seed Lowell by five points.
#3 LAWTON
Record/rank: 29-0, No. 5
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Coach: Troy Johnson, first season (29-0)
Championship history: Four MHSAA championships (most recent 1990), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Jacob Chapman (25-8) fr., 112 Julian Torres (45-0) jr., 130 Kyle Barkovich (45-2) jr., 135 Cole Menck 45-3) jr., 140 Travis Smith (40-10) sr., 152 Chris O’Donnell (44-3) jr., 171 Brody Conner (47-0) jr. Outlook: Lawton is back at the Quarterfinals for the first time since 1997, and Johnson has led the Blue Devils through a tough run as former coach and program-builder Bryan Sosinski died earlier this year after a battle with brain cancer. Johnson was part of three MHSAA championship teams before graduating in 1987 and served as Sosinski’s assistant before taking over the program. Torres, Barkovich, Menck and Conner all were Individual Finals placers last season.
#4 CARSON CITY-CRYSTAL
Record/rank: 25-2, No. 3
League finish: First in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Kacy Datema, fourth season (82-30)
Championship history: MHSAA runners-up in 2000 and 2001.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Taylor Barkley (34-10) soph., 112 Alex Baker (32-4) jr., 119 Dallas O’Green (40-3) soph., 145 Darren Decker (42-1) jr., 152 Dillen Decker (37-2) jr.,
Outlook: Carson City-Crystal returned to the Quarterfinals last season for the first time in a decade and is led by three returning Individual Finals placers in O’Green and both Deckers. Still, the Eagles are young and could be contending for at least the next few seasons; only two starters are seniors including Garner Cusack, another Finals placer in 2013.
#5 HESPERIA
Record/rank: 26-3, No. 4
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association
Coach: John Dingledine, first season (26-3)
Championship history: MHSAA champion 2008, five runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Corey Agens (36-8) sr., 103 Davian Gowens (18-3) soph., 125 Zack Yates (41-0) sr., 125 Logan Eaves (34-13) soph., 135 Trenton Roesly (45-3) jr., 140 Chase Siersema (39-3) sr., 145 David Jacobs (33-11) sr., 160 Mark Workman (22-2) soph.
Outlook: Hesperia has finished MHSAA runner-up three times in five seasons, including last winter, and hopes to take the final step under Dingledine. He took over for longtime coach Doug Baird this fall and inherited a reigning individual champion in Yates and a last season runner-up in Siersema. Half of this weekend’s probable lineup competed in last season’s 32-24 championship match loss to Hudson.
#6 SPRINGPORT
Record/rank: 24-4, unranked
League finish: First in Big 8 Conference
Coach: Dave Pratt, ninth season (235-66)
Championship history: Class D runner-up 1984.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Walter Betz (31-10) sr., 135 Nick Cooper (36-9) fr., 140 Brandon Tanner (39-12) sr., 145 Zeth Caudill (32-3) soph., 152 Andrew Grady (29-15) sr., 189 Jacob Cooper (40-2) jr., 215 Adam Lammers (35-11) jr.
Outlook: Although Springport is returning to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2008, it has had plenty of local success with eight league and nine District titles in nine seasons under Pratt. The Spartans defeated an impressive slate to return to Battle Creek, including No. 6 Schoolcraft, Constantine and last season Quarterfinalist Bronson. Cooper is the reigning individual champ at 160 pounds.
#7 NORWAY
Record/rank: 19-0, unranked
League finish: First in Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference
Coach: Nick Burklund, fifth season (62-26)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Zac DeCremer (40-2) soph., 140 Cole Gonzalez (41-4) jr., 171 Taylor Bonetti (37-7) jr.
Outlook: The Knights continue to shine after making the Quarterfinals last season for the first time. They’ve gone a combined 45-2 over the last two seasons. Norway will hope to make a splash despite entering as the seventh seed, but could be back for more in 2015 with only four starters graduating.
#8 CLINTON
Record/rank: 21-12, unranked
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Jeff Rolland, first season (21-12)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: None.
Outlook: Clinton sent 10 qualifiers to its individual Regional last weekend, but amazingly has advanced to the team Quarterfinal without a single Individual Finals qualifier. Junior Zech Johnston, 33-10 and wrestling at 119 pounds, leads the team in wins but was stuck in one of the toughest brackets in Division 4. It’s an impressive feat led by Rolland, a Clinton grad who previously coached Onsted to three straight District titles from 2009-11.
PHOTO: New Lothrop senior Aaron Bauman has his hand raised in victory after a match against Lowell this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Inaugural Wayne County Championships Builds On Girls Wrestling's Rapid Growth
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
January 16, 2025
WAYNE — Dave Kobel said he is a dreamer, but even this was something he probably couldn’t have envisioned.
Three years ago when Kobel took over as head coach of the Wayne Memorial wrestling program, Kobel said female participation was limited – to say the least.
“We had one for half the season, and then she quit,” Kobel said. “And then we had another girl join up for the second half of the season.”
Fast forward to last Saturday, and it was quite a statement of growth for girls wrestling not just for the Wayne Memorial program, but an entire county.
Kobel and Wayne Memorial hosted the first Wayne County Women’s Wrestling Championships, an event solely for girls that featured 77 participants representing 20 schools.
Even though there were some registered wrestlers who backed out and some weight classes had only four wrestlers, it still was a great seed planted for the future and an example of just how much wrestling has caught on with girls in the area.
The idea was born among Kobel and other coaches in the area last winter as a platform to give the girls a major event in preparation for league and MHSAA Tournament rounds coming up next month.
“It’s something to compete for,” Kobel said as his team was rolling up mats and closing up the gym after the event. “It feels like there are stakes when it’s the county tournament or the (state) Regional tournament. There are some other really big and high-quality wrestling tournaments, but we wanted something where Wayne County schools could fight for a title.”
So the wrestlers descended upon Wayne Memorial, where there were championships decided in all 14 weight classes, and with a majority of classes having six competitors.
“I felt glad to be here and to get the opportunity,” said Wayne Memorial junior Guadalupe Chaparro, who finished first at 190 pounds. “I feel like the atmosphere was different than a usual tournament. I felt like there was more caring and everyone was more spirited.”
Arguably the most high-profile final came at 155 pounds, where a pair of wrestlers who competed at the MHSAA Finals last year – Marissa Richmond of Plymouth and Brooklyn Sage of Southgate Anderson – battled for the title, with Richmond prevailing.
A team champion also was crowned, with Allen Park accumulating 116 points to best second-place Wayne Memorial (81) and third-place Plymouth (78).
Other individual winners were Tierra Taylor of Gibraltar Carlson at 100 pounds, Catherine Warlick of Dearborn Heights Annapolis at 105, Alyssa Campbell of Allen Park at 110, Trinity Munoz of Detroit Voyageur College Prep at 115, Melody Carr of Southgate Anderson at 120, Kerrington Fields-McCurdy of Livonia Stevenson at 125, Brynna Alwell of Allen Park at 130, Adeline Tuccini of Allen Park at 135, Nanda Kibi of Plymouth at 140, Rihanna Venegas of Riverview Gabriel Richard at 145, Blessing Bongi of Westland John Glenn at 170 and Mya Brandenburg of Allen Park at 235 pounds.
The big winner was the sport of girls wrestling and its skyrocketing popularity.
Chaparro said she didn’t start wrestling until last year as a sophomore when a friend encouraged her to try out for the team, and she loved the sport immediately.
“The hardest part to learn was the discipline that came with wrestling,” she said. “It’s made me a better wrestler and made me better at school. A lot of things.”
Each winner received a trophy, while all participants received medals.
Of course, Kobel and other coaches hope for bigger things next year and beyond when conducting the event – namely more wrestlers and brackets that can be filled a little more completely.
But you have to start somewhere, and no doubt it was a successful first event for girls wrestlers in the community and the sport as a whole.
Kobel isn’t sure if other counties will replicate it and host girls-only county wrestling championships. (Macomb County hosts one but welcomes schools from other counties to participate.). But he hopes the Wayne County event served as an example.
“I’d love to see other counties follow suit,” Kobel said.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) A pair of wrestlers compete during Saturday’s Wayne County Women’s Wrestling Championships at Wayne Memorial. (Middle) Participants representing 20 schools stand for a photo. (Below) The Allen Park girls wrestling team poses with the championship trophy after winning the team title. (Photos by Devin Markowsky, The Picture People LLC.)