Delta County's Best Prep for Ford Field
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2019
GLADSTONE – Two weeks have passed since the team season ended for Upper Peninsula wrestling teams.
Although, that doesn't mean it's over for all U.P. wrestlers.
Seven grapplers will represent Delta County at the MHSAA Individual Finals this Friday and Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit after placing among the top four in their respective weight classes in Regional meets.
All of them got together for practice last week at Gladstone Middle School.
"This is going to help me a lot," said Bark River-Harris freshman Avery Corrigan, who placed fourth at 103 pounds in a Division 4 Regional at Charlevoix. "I have people here my size who I've wrestled before. It feels great to be going to the state tournament. I felt confident going into the Regional and saw kids I hadn't seen before. It's going to be challenging, but I just have to stay confident. You just give it your all and treat it like any other tournament."
It was teammate vs. teammate for a Division 3 Regional championship at Kalkaska as Gladstone freshman Michael Brazeau pinned junior Lane Matzke 4 minutes, 49 seconds into the 103-pound final.
"We practice together," said Brazeau. "It was hard to make a move. It was a lot less intense than other matches because we knew what was coming. I didn't really care who won.
“It's looking very tough for 103 right now, but everybody's beatable. It feels like it's going to be pretty nerve-wracking, yet it's going to be exciting to go down there."
Matzke had similar thoughts about the Regional title bout.
"I didn't really care who won either,” he added. “The semifinal was the one that really mattered. We started laughing when we found out we were both in the finals.
“I went to the state tournament in my freshman year. It gets the butterflies out knowing I've been there before. I can't wait to get back there."
Junior teammate Cole Hansen (152) also captured a Regional title.
“It's quite an atmosphere down there,” Hansen said of the Finals. “I was pretty nervous when I went down there last year, but I'm more excited about going this year. My goal is to go down there and take first. I have to stay focused, get the right food in my body and drink a lot of water. I have to try to stay in good position. Last year I got out of position. This has been a good year so far."
This will be the first visit to the Finals for Gladstone senior Nick Dawson (130), who took fourth in the Regional at his weight.
"It feels real good to be going," he said. "This will be a great experience. It's going to be hard. It will also be exciting. I went down there to watch last year and there were a lot of mats, which motivated me to go down there this year."
Escanaba junior Hunter Larson (135) goes to the Motor City with the most MHSAA tournament experience among those in this group. He earned a third place in a Division 2 Regional at Gaylord last weekend and took sixth at 135 pounds at last year’s Finals.
"I started slowly in the Regional, then I got energized and my wrestling improved," said Larson, who won the Regional the past two years. "I'm a little disappointed I didn't get my third Regional. It will be a little longer road this time, but now I'll just have to trust in my ability.
“It definitely makes me less nervous after being (in Detroit) before. Everybody is pretty good once you get this far. I'm pretty excited about going back there."
Escanaba sophomore Collin Arnt (112) plans to take an offensive stance in Detroit.
"I have to wrestle aggressive," he said. "Hopefully, this will be a good experience. This was definitely one of my goals for this year. This is a real tough division. There will be some tough wrestlers. My goal is to place in the top eight."
PHOTO: Escanaba’s Hunter Larson wrestles this season at Marquette. (Photo courtesy of the Larson family.)
D4 Preview: Hamdan Headlines Pursuit
February 28, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Division 4 features some of the most intriguing storylines heading into this weekend’s Individual Wrestling Finals at Ford Field – including some that could continue past this weekend.
Hudson senior Jordan Hamdan is hoping to become either the 25th or 26th four-time Finals champion – Detroit Catholic Central’s Kevon Davenport is attempting the same in Division 1 – while Mendon’s Skyler Crespo is competing for his third straight title and three others are wrestling to win their second. Crespo is a junior, and with another championship this weekend would be among a possible few looking to join that four-time club in 2020.
Below, we look at 10 contenders to watch in Division 4, plus list everyone who finished at least as a runner-up in 2018 and all of the top seeds heading into this weekend. Surely we still missed a few who will end up rising to the top of the podium Saturday – but come back to Second Half early Sunday as we’ll interview and report on all 56 champions.
The “Grand March” on Friday begins at 11 a.m., with five rounds wrestled throughout the day including the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Wrestling picks back up with consolation rounds at 9 a.m. Saturday, and concludes with the championship matches that afternoon at 3 p.m.
Follow all matches on a subscription basis live on MHSAA.tv, and click here for results at MHSAA.com.
112 Ben Modert, Bronson junior (48-2) – Last season’s champion at 103 is seeded first at 112 with losses this season to only Clinton 119 top seed AJ Baxter and Division 3 qualifier Kanon Atwell of Lake Odessa Lakewood. Modert also took fifth at 103 as a freshman.
119 Robbie Altland, Hart senior (45-1) – Altland was the Division 3 runner-up at 103 last season and earned the top seed in this bracket as he makes a run at his first title. He took third at 103 as a sophomore and seventh as a freshman, both in Division 4 before his team moved for last winter.
125 Noah Comar, Clinton senior (50-1) – Comar is 213-8 over his career and has made the championship match all of his first three seasons, winning 112 as a sophomore and falling at 112 as a freshman and 125 last winter. He’s seeded first this weekend with his only defeat to unbeaten Hartland Division 1 favorite Kyle Kantola.
130 Jamison Ward, Carson City-Crystal junior (46-1) – The top seed at this weight is seeking his first title after taking fourth at 119 last season and finishing runner-up at 103 as a freshman. Ward’s only loss this winter came to Division 3 qualifier Mark Langewicz of Algonac.
135 Jordan Hamdan, Hudson senior (44-0) – The top seed at 135 enters the weekend a combined 203-8 over his career with his previous championships at 130 last season, 119 as a sophomore and 112 as a freshman. He is one of only two wrestlers to defeat Mendon reigning champ Skyler Crespo this season, and he hasn’t lost a high school match in more than two years.
145 Austin Wolford, New Lothrop senior (34-3) – The top seed at 145 will look to add to last season’s title at 140, fourth place at 135 as a sophomore and fifth at 130 as a freshman. His only losses were to top seeds Avry Mutschler of Lowell (Division 2), Christian Killion of Dundee (D3) and Richmond D3 qualifier Hayden Bastian. Wolford owns the other win over Crespo this winter.
140 Skyler Crespo, Mendon junior (47-2) – As noted, the top seed at 140 has lost only to reigning champions Hamdan and Wolford this winter, and both by close decisions. Crespo is the reigning champ at 135 and also claimed the 125 title as a freshman, and brings a 154-4 career record into this weekend.
189 Kyle Cassiday, Beaverton senior (48-1) – Last season’s champion at this weight does not enter as the top seed – he lost 1-0 to Napoleon’s Ethan Weatherspoon (see below) earlier this winter – but is lined up to meet Weatherspoon for a rematch. Cassiday is a combined 104-2 over the last two seasons.
189 Ethan Weatherspoon, Napoleon senior (49-0) – Last season’s Division 3 champion at this weight already owns a win over the reigning Division 4 champion Cassiday (above). Weatherspoon also finished eighth at 171 as a sophomore and seventh at 160 as a freshman.
215 Tim Rizor, Leroy Pine River junior (43-2) – Rizor went from seventh at 171 as a freshman to runner-up at 189 last season, and he’s the top seed at 215 with a 110-22 career record entering the weekend.
Other 2018 runners-up: 119 AJ Baxter, Clinton sophomore (46-7, 103 in 2018); 119 Jesse Brumm, Vermontville Maple Valley sophomore (43-3, 112 in 2018); 135 Matthew Grant, Onaway junior (31-5, 135 in 2018); 171 Justin Carnahan, New Lothrop junior (32-5, 171 in 2018).
Additional No. 1 seeds: 103 Brayton Mears, Union City freshman (32-4); 152 Jorge Sereno, Hudson senior (35-11); 160 Braydon Randolph, Clinton sophomore (43-1); 171 Brock Nelson, Leroy Pine River junior (45-2); 285 River Fox, Schoolcraft senior (50-2).
PHOTO: Jordan Hamdan (right) wrestles Clinton's George Ames during the Division 4 Team Final on Saturday at Wings Event Center. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)