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.)

New Lothrop Runs D4 Title Streak to 3

February 27, 2016

By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half

MOUNT PLEASANT – To say the wrestling teams from New Lothrop and Hudson high schools have had a monopoly on the championship in Division 4 lately may be a bit of an understatement.

After all, those two teams have won the past seven titles in D4; New Lothrop claimed the past two, and Hudson the previous five dating back to 2009. And Hudson has appeared in all seven title matches, losing to New Lothrop the past two years.

So it was no surprise when New Lothrop and Hudson, the top and third-seeded teams, respectively, at this year's MHSAA Team Finals, made their way through their Quarterfinal and Semifinal opponents to another championship matchup at Central Michigan University's McGuirk Arena on Saturday.

And for the third straight year, New Lothrop took home the champion’s trophy, beating Hudson 35-27.

"For the last decade, they have been the standard," Campbell said of Hudson. "We have been chasing them, and we kind of caught them the last few years. And their lineup is loaded with freshmen, so that tells me that they are going to be back."

But this day was New Lothrop's, as the Hornets took a 28-6 lead by winning six of the first eight weight classes wrestled.

The match started at 135 pounds, and New Lothrop (24-5) got pins at 152 pounds by Steven Garza, Brandon Henige at 171 and Erik Birchmeier at 189 to help build their big lead. 

"We knew where we started, we were going to have to build a big lead," Campbell said. "The strength of their lineup is down low, they have some real good wrestlers down low."

That's exactly what happened, as Hudson (18-15) got bonus-point wins in three of the final five weight classes wrestled.

"Jeff's team did exactly as planned," Hudson coach Scott Marry said. "A lot of matches could have gone either way, and I'm not disappointed. Our kids wrestled hard; they just came out on top."

New Lothrop beat a stingy Springport team 38-30 in its Semifinal to open the day. The Hornets won seven of the first nine matches wrestled in the Semifinal, and then held on for the win.

New Lothrop needed a win from Cole Hersch at 145 pounds, the final weight, to secure the win. Hersch beat Taylor Whitmore by major decision, 11-1, for the victory.

Hudson had a much easier time in its Semifinal, beating surprise Leroy Pine River 55-18. The Tigers won 11 of the 14 matches for the victory. Pine River, a seven seed, had impressed Friday by advancing with a Quarterfinal win over second-seeded Decatur.

Click for full results.

The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.

PHOTOS: (Top) New Lothrop and Hudson have combined to win the last seven Division 4 championships. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)