Dundee's Dominance Reaches Next Level with 8th-Straight Title Run
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 22, 2025
KALAMAZOO -- Total Domination.
Those are only words to describe the Dundee wrestling team's march through the MHSAA’s Division 3 Team Wrestling Tournament this year.
Dundee won its eighth-straight championship with a 74-0 win over Yale on Saturday at Wings Events Center.
During the entire MHSAA Tournament, the Vikings wrestled seven teams, outscoring them by a combined 537-13. They lost only three individual matches through the whole tournament.
"It is pretty exciting to do this," senior 175 -pounder Kole Katschor said. "We go to the practice room every day to work hard, and it shows. This is pretty cool to see, but we work hard."
Dundee earned its way to the Final by defeating Ogemaw Heights 75-6 in the Quarterfinals and Allegan 72-0 in the Semifinals.
This after downing Milan 82-0 and Ida 76-4 at Districts and Livonia Clarenceville 77-3 and Hazel Park 81-0 at Regionals.
"Our team work ethic makes us," Dundee junior Blake Cosby said. "We go in and out of our practice room every day, and we train harder than anyone else out here. That separates us from everyone else."
With that kind of leadership, it's easy to see why the Vikings have such a strong program from top to bottom.
"Throughout the state tournament, especially at Districts and Regionals, we are able to give our starters some time off," Dundee co-coach Nate Hall said. "They don't have to make weight on Wednesday, we slide up guys and we are able to give some of our starters some rest and some other guys opportunities. We are happy to put those guys in those situations so they are prepared later on."
Katschor, a two-time returning Individual Finals champion, and Cosby, also a returning champ, led a Vikings team this year that has eight wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes.
In the championship match, Dundee won every bout by at least bonus points, including six pins and six technical fall victories.
Katschor and Cosby both won their matches by first-period falls.
"Their kids are very dedicated and put a lot of time in during the whole year," said Yale coach Rob Majcher, whose team finished a successful year with a 32-3 record. "Our kids saw where they need to be. I'm very happy with where we are at. A lot of kids have bought into the program. This was definitely a magical season for them."
And it looks like the magic will continue for Dundee.
The Vikings have three returning champions and a total of 14 wrestlers who qualified for next weekend's Individual Finals.
And the Vikings graduate only one senior, Katschor.
"We lose a good one,:" Cosby said of his teammate. “But our junior class is a stud class."
"From ‘our Finals’ lineup we only lose one senior," said Hall, whose team ended the year with a 23-0 record. "We lose a total of four seniors this year, and their dedication and character is to be sought after. Our junior class, we are junior heavy, and that class may be the toughest class we have had at Dundee."
Click for this weekend’s Division 3 meet summaries.
PHOTOS (Top) Dundee's Braden Broderick (top) takes control of his match at 132 pounds Saturday. (Middle) The Vikings' Mason Katschor (left) gets ahold of Mackey McClelland's foot during their bout at 113. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Title IX at 50: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 11, 2022
This March, for the first time, 14 championships and 112 medals total will be awarded to the highest achievers from a girls-only division at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals – the latest of history-making steps over the last 30 years of girls competing on the high school mat in Michigan.
There have been many heroes along the way, as participation has grown to see more than 400 girls wrestle at MHSAA member schools during the 2019-20 season, the last not interrupted by COVID-19 (and 283 took the mat last year despite reduced participation across the sport after a late start due to the coronavirus.)
About 900 athletes open the annual Individual Finals with a “grand march” to kick off the now two-day event. First among Michigan girls to join the parade was a pioneer from a now-closed high school who, by competing at Joe Louis Arena on March 11, 1999, took a major first step toward cultivating the opportunities of today.
Saginaw Buena Vista’s Cynthia Harrold, then a senior, brought a 29-7 record into the Finals and competed in Division 3 at 103 pounds. She lost both of her matches, but not without plenty of deserved fanfare for her accomplishments in making the journey. Many matches are wrestled simultaneously at the Finals, especially during the early rounds, and so many photographers swarmed to capture her matches that the adjacent mats needed to be shut down to accommodate the media crowd.
According to a Detroit Free Press report published that Thursday highlighting the start of the tournament, Harrold had won 98 matches over her four-year high school career. She also played softball and ran track, and previously was a cheerleader before turning her winter sports focus completely toward wrestling.
She was set to join the grand march that day in Detroit with 895 other wrestlers, all boys. The following year, three girls qualified for the Individual Finals. Martin’s Amy Berridge in 2004, Goodrich’s CC Weber in 2009 and Clawson’s Katlyn Pizzo in 2017 would become the first to place at the state championship wrestling tournaments, bringing additional spotlight to girls achieving at the high school level.
With interest continuing to grow, the Michigan Wrestling Association (the sport’s high school coaches association) began sponsoring a Girls Wrestling Finals in 2019 – with momentum from that event leading to the creation of the MHSAA girls individual championship division at Ford Field to debut this season.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
(Photo courtesy of the Detroit News.)