Finals Contender Anderson, State-Ranked Kent City Carrying High Expectations Into February
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
January 29, 2026
KENT CITY – The summer before his freshman year, Kent City’s Sammy Anderson admittedly was unsure of his potential as a wrestler.
That all changed, however, when the season began and a talented group of seniors altered the course of Anderson’s future on the mat.
“We went to a CMU camp in July and to be honest, I was not very confident in myself,” Anderson said. “From there, I didn’t know how my first high school season was going to go, but there were a ton of great seniors that really pushed me and motivated me to be the best I could be at this sport.
“Those seniors gave me a lot of confidence, and I just kept working hard throughout the season and I made it to state and found out that I could be good if I kept working hard at it.”
Kent City wrestling coach Chad Kik remembers those seniors showing Anderson the ropes and helping guide him through his first season.
“When he hit the high school scene he was in a good situation to learn,” Kik said. “We had a good handful of upperclassmen he got to work out with during those first two years in the room.
“He’s taken on their approach to wrestling, as well as learning lessons as far as work ethic and how to be a leader from them.”
Fast forward to Anderson’s senior year, as he has blossomed into one of the top wrestlers at 126 pounds in Division 3.
Earlier this month, Anderson reached a career milestone while competing at the Fruitport Legends Tournament.
Anderson went 5-0 on the day, winning his final match 10-6 against an opponent who had beaten him at Regionals last year, to earn a career milestone with his 150th win.
He became the 14th wrestler in school history to accomplish the feat and attributes his success to that group of seniors.
“It’s a pretty nice milestone to hit, and a bunch of the seniors from my freshman year really pushed me to be really good in the sport,” Anderson said. “I wanted to be like them, and wanted to get to 150 and maybe even surpass them.”
Anderson owns a 165-36 overall record, including 35-4 this winter as he eyes a return to the Individual Finals.
“He has a great demeanor for wrestling,” Kik said. “He never gets too high after a win, or too low after a loss. He keeps things in perspective. He’s very good at going back and analyzing the things he needs to work on or what went wrong. He’s able to move forward rather quickly, and he’s fun to watch.
“He’s constantly in motion, constantly on the attack and he wears down a lot of opponents, because he just comes at you.”
After his early success, Anderson failed to qualify for the Finals as a sophomore with a one-point loss in the blood round at Regionals.
While disappointing, he used that tough loss to refocus.
“I was trying to make state again and, unfortunately, took that loss, which happens,” Anderson said. “It just drove me and motivated me a lot more for my junior year, and I wanted to do well that year.
“Coach always preaches to keep moving forward and don't look back. Every tough match has a purpose, and take it as an opportunity to grow yourself, learn from it and do better next time.”
Anderson rebounded with a terrific campaign last winter and garnered fifth place at 120 pounds to achieve all-state status.
“He had that setback his sophomore year, but he came back strong and was focused on getting back to state,” Kik said. “He had an incredible state meet, and it’s been fun to watch him grow.
“This year he has a chance to be District and Regional champ and set himself up for a top-four seeding to hopefully make a run.”
Anderson has been the catalyst for a squad that is currently ranked No. 10 in Division 3.
The Eagles won the Kent City Kickoff Classic to open the season and claimed the top honor at last week’s Hopkins Invitational.
They also took third at the 20-team Kent County Classic, finishing behind only Rockford and Byron Center.
“I think we had high expectations coming into the season,” Kik said. “We returned quite a few from last year with some new additions that have been helping our team as well.
“We set goals of conference champs, District champs and then contending for a Regional championship. Those are our goals every year, and we thought coming in we had a good chance to put ourselves in position to try and achieve those goals.”
Kent City achieved one of them Wednesday night by clinching the Central States Athletic Association title with victories over Reed City and Central Montcalm to finish the league dual schedule with an unbeaten record.
The Eagles have four wrestlers with more than 30 wins so far, including Anderson, Dylan Russo (106), Sam Kik (113) and Adam Hunter (138).
Jayden Loomis-Sandison (144), Travis Pike (132), Hunter Gustinis (150), Victor Vasquez (157) and Jackson Carr (165) all have won 23 or more matches.
“At the beginning of the season there were some pretty high expectations,” Anderson said. “This is one of the best teams we've had in a minute, I think, and I think we can go far this season.
“I’ve been trying to be a leader and push the guys in the room that don’t have as much experience, and I think we can make a run in the postseason if we stay healthy and things can go our way.”
The Eagles will meet Grant in Team Districts next month with Newaygo and Fremont on the other side of the bracket.
“If we continue to grind and wrestle the way we have,” Chad Kik said, “then I think we have a chance to do well in the postseason.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kent City’s Sammy Anderson works to break his opponent’s grasp during a match this season. (Middle) The Eagles take a team photo after winning their Kent City Kickoff Classic. (Photos courtesy of the Kent City wrestling program.)
D3 Preview: Rivals Seeded to Meet Again
February 22, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Dundee and Richmond have met in six of the last eight Division 3 Team Finals, but none carried as much anticipation as this weekend’s possible rematch is building.
Richmond claimed last season’s MHSAA title on a tie-breaker after the teams tied 28-28. They're expected to see each other again Saturday at Wings Events Center – although undefeated Remus Chippewa Hills is among six other quarterfinalists that will try to break through instead.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 3, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at 4:30 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at noon Saturday and the championship match that afternoon at 3:30 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 Dundee
Record/rank: 14-3, No. 1
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Coach: Tim Roberts, 19th season (494-69-1)
Championship history: Nine MHSAA championships (most recent 2016), seven runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Austin Fietz (30-12) fr., 112 Tyler Swiderski (27-10) fr., 119 Jonathon White (29-10) jr., 125 Daniel Jaworski (22-11) sr., 130 Christian Killion (28-8) soph., 135 Stoney Buell (36-4) fr., 140 Grant Ott (27-8) jr., 145 McCallister McAvoy (30-10) jr., 152 Zachary Bellaire (36-7) sr., 160 Tylor Orrison (38-3) sr., 171 Jaxon Guinn (29-8) soph., 189 Kyle Reinhart (33-13) sr., 189 Kyle Motylinski (33-8) sr., 215 Brandon Whitman (40-0) sr.
Outlook: As noted above, Dundee led by six senior starters should be as motivated as ever. The team qualified all 14 wrestlers for the Individual Finals – headlined by three-time champ Whitman. Bellaire and Orrison also won MHSAA individual titles last season, and White and Killion placed. The Vikings gave up 11 points to No. 9 Ida in the District Final but shut out their other three postseason opponents.
#2 Richmond
Record/rank: 19-5, No. 2
League finish: First in Blue Water Area Conference
Co-coaches: Brandon Day, 14th season (428-93); Preston Treend, second season (46-7)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2017), five runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 JD Gross (22-8) soph., 112 Daniel McNichol (31-9) jr., 119 Josh Barton (24-13) soph., 135 Alec Ziza (24-9) sr., 140 Hayden Bastian (26-8) jr., 145 Ethan Wyatt (21-14) jr., 145 Alex Roberts (30-5) sr., 152 Eric Barr (16-4) jr., 160 David Kaltz (22-7) sr., 189 Luke Davis (35-8) soph., 215 Colton McKiernan (37-1) sr., 285 Tyler Marino (25-4) sr.
Outlook: This will make a decade of consecutive Quarterfinals appearances for the Blue Devils, who eliminated No. 6 Algonac in the District along the way. McKiernan and Marino were Individual Finals runners-up last season, and Roberts also placed. Those three are among five senior starters and nine upperclassmen total expected to take the mat.
#3 Remus Chippewa Hills
Record/rank: 23-0, No. 3
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association Gold
Coach: Nate Ethridge, 18th season (515-93)
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2016.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Carson Hayes (40-7) fr., 125 Bray Haynes (36-7) jr., 145 Austin Young (43-5) sr., 152 Jaycob Sharp (9-2) sr., 171 Robert Granberry (40-5) sr., 189 Chayton Wiggins (37-7) soph. 215 Jared Bean (33-8) sr., 215 Billy Koepf (37-3) sr., 285 Andrew Vinton (35-7) sr., 285 Colby Roosa (37-5) fr.
Outlook: After breaking through to the championship match for the first time in 2016, Chippewa Hills fell to Dundee by just six points in last year’s Semifinal. The Warriors haven’t lost again. Sharp was an Individual Finals runner-up as a sophomore and a placer last winter, along with Granberry. The tough part is two of this year’s 10 qualifiers likely won’t compete in a given match – Chippewa Hills has multiple at both 215 and 285. But nine expected starters have at least 30 wins, as do four subs.
#4 Whitehall
Record/rank: 30-3, No. 4
League finish: First in West Michigan Conference
Coach: Cliff Sandee, 11th season (261-39)
Championship history: Lower Peninsula Class C runner-up 1984.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 135 Tom Balakovitz (40-8) sr., 145 Trenton Blanchard (40-9) jr., 160 Derek McCollom (36-8) sr., 171 Kayleb Venema (46-4) soph., 189 Allen Powers (45-4) jr.
Outlook: Whitehall nearly broke into the Semifinals for the second season in a row last year, and a team with six senior starters is forecast to advance this time after coming in seeded fifth the last two Quarterfinals. Powers and junior Sam Baustert (112, 37-9) were individual placers a year ago, and senior past qualifier Josh Thommen (145, 15-6) also reportedly will return to the lineup this weekend after missing earlier rounds with an injury.
#5 Birch Run
Record/rank: 32-2, No. 5
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference East
Coach: Mike Miller, third season (88-11)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Christian Miller (40-14) soph., 119 Mac Breece (53-3) soph., 130 Kyle Parlberg (34-18) jr., 140 Mason Breece (52-3) sr., 152 Trenton Naragon (46-6) jr., 189 Brockton Cook (52-4) jr.
Outlook: This will be Birch Run’s fifth trip to the Semifinals over the last seven seasons after the Panthers missed a year ago. They gave up an average of just 16 points over their four District and Regional matches. Mason Breece, Mac Breece and Miller all placed at the Individual Finals last season and bolster an expected lineup with just three seniors but five 40-match winners.
#6 Dowagiac
Record/rank: 25-9, unranked
League finish: Second in Wolverine Conference
Coach: Colin Burandt, third season (52-25)
Championship history: Two MHSAA runner-up finishes (most recent 1998).
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Kody Walker (45-6) sr., 189 Justin Lyle (41-11) sr.
Outlook: Dowagiac will return to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2004 after upsetting No. 7 Lake Odessa Lakewood in the Regional Final. The Chieftains have more than doubled their number of wins from last season under Burandt, previously a Finals individual placer and later assistant coach at Niles. Walker is one of four seniors in the expected lineup and was a Finals placer in 2017.
#7 Alma
Record/rank: 32-9, No. 8
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central
Co-coaches: Randy Miniard, seventh season (153-85)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Nolan Rodriguez (39-9) fr., 119 Dametrius Castillo (33-6) fr., 130 Jarrett Ferman (41-11) soph., 152 Justin VanBlaricum (40-15) soph., 285 Greg Simmons (35-6) sr.
Outlook: A year after leading Alma to its first league title since 1992, Miniard has the Panthers at the MHSAA Quarterfinals for the first time in program history. Five seniors are joined by nine underclassmen, including five freshmen, in the expected starting lineup. Alejandro Rosas (140, 32-5) didn’t make the Individual Finals this season but was a placer in 2017.
#8 Comstock Park
Record/rank: 22-10, unranked
League finish: Third in Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue
Coach: Jim Olson, 30th season (457-225)
Championship history: Class C champion 1974, runner-up 1980.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Bailey Borgeld (41-7) jr., 130 Zion Taylor (42-8) jr., 135 Austin Sanders (32-13) jr., 140 Christian Maldonado (39-11) jr., 160 Nick Brill (27-14) sr., 215 Joe Nagle (48-0) sr.
Outlook: Comstock Park last made the Quarterfinals in 2015, in Division 2, and also has won three District titles over the last four seasons. Nagle and Borgeld also were Individual Finals qualifiers last year and help pace a lineup with seven 30-win wrestlers.
PHOTO: Dundee’s Christian Killion (left) and Richmond’s Alec Ziza locked up for a 1-0 decision win for Killion at 125 pounds during last season’s Division 3 Final. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)