Haslem Seeks to Take Next Step, Elevate St. Clair Wrestling Again
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2025
For the first time in his career, Cristian Haslem is heading to the Division 2 Individual Wrestling Finals with teammates.
After being the lone member of the St. Clair wrestling team to qualify in each of the past two seasons, the 120-pound junior will be joined this Friday and Saturday at Ford Field by Zachary Drugach (113), Nathan Postma (157), Caleb Kuretich (175) and David Alley (190).
“I’m really excited,” Haslem said. “I just let them know to treat it like any other match, really. Just don’t make it bigger than it is.”
It’s the biggest contingent of Finals qualifiers for the Saints in program history, so it’s only fitting that Haslem is part of it. While the current version of the program is still less than 20 years old, Haslem already has cemented himself as one of its all-time greats.
His two runner-up finishes – at 106 as a freshman and 113 as a sophomore – are the highest any Saints wrestler has ever stood on the Finals podium, and his two all-state finishes tie him with Colton Pfaendtner for the most in school history. They’re also the only two St. Clair wrestlers to earn all-state honors.
Haslem set the freshman (46-2) and sophomore (49-1) records for wins, and at 132-3 over his career, he’s already moved to second all-time behind Pfaendtner (180).
So, as he looks to take the next step this weekend and become the first Finals champion in school history, he’s hoping to follow his own advice.
“I feel a lot more confident about this year,” Haslem said. “The last two years, I wasn’t used to the big stage. I feel like I just have to treat it like any other match.”
Haslem enters the weekend at 37-0 and seeded second at 120 pounds behind sophomore Devan Garcia of Battle Creek Harper Creek.
The two know each other well, as Garcia defeated Haslem in the 113-pound Final a year ago.
Haslem admits that a rematch Saturday night has long been on his mind, but he’s well aware there’s work to do in order to get there.
He opens the tournament Friday with Jack Hayes of Bay City John Glenn, and his potential opponents on the way to the Final include unbeaten Joshua Ledford of Zeeland East.
“I’ve definitely just been trying to think about the next match, and not thinking about that rematch,” Haslem said. “Otherwise, I know it will mess with my matches before it. But of course, I’m excited for that match.”
St. Clair coach Jake Scillian has watched Haslem remain focused all season, and while he knows being this close to the finish line will make that more difficult, he has faith in his star to remain in the moment.
“We just kind of take it one match at a time, one opponent at a time,” Scillian said. “I think this year is going to be the hardest, because I know he’s foaming at the mouth to get that title. But he knows that he’s really going to have to focus for each match.”
Getting so close two years in a row has driven Haslem to another level this season. He’s unbeaten on the mat, with wins over top-tier wrestlers such as Traverse City West’s Matthew Quigley – a runner-up at 113 in Division 1 a year ago – and Yale’s Landon Sopha, a three-time placer in Division 3.
Scillian said Haslem has put everything into his training, attending Team Donahoe sessions in Flint at least once per week to train with former Davison star and NCAA national champion Paul Donahoe. That’s on top of his St. Clair practices and attending every open mat session Scillian has held.
“After two heartbreaks, he definitely put it into overdrive this year,” Scillian said. “He wrestles 365 days a year. His parents hired a strength trainer; he’s been lifting like crazy.”
Haslem’s work is geared not only toward winning a title this weekend, but also securing a place on a collegiate roster. Of course, a win Saturday could go a long way in helping that.
“I think it would make a big difference for college coaches,” Haslem said. “I feel like it’d be helpful to show them I can compete on big stages and do what it takes to win.”
He’s already proven quite a bit. As a freshman, he surprised himself with his run, only to have to wrestle the Final with a broken finger suffered in the semis. Getting to the Final as a sophomore was more of an expectation, but he went down early against Garcia and couldn’t claw back.
He’s also helped elevate St. Clair wrestling. In trying to find better competition for Haslem to wrestle, Scillian has challenged his entire team to raise its level – and the Saints have responded.
“It’s kind of cool to see the trajectory of both of them,” Scillian said. “Cristian came in and he’s this super-talented kid, so the issue was, ‘What do we do with a kid that’s at a higher level?’ We’ve always tried to raise the ceiling, and have everyone else raise theirs, too. We kind of used Cristian as a catalyst for that. … I have a ton of respect for the Haslems for keeping Cristian here. He could have gone to any school. It kind of shows that our program is on the right trajectory, and it can happen to anyone who puts the work in. You don’t have to be from a certain school to win.”
Haslem is happy to be that catalyst and have his teammates joining him in the Grand March. Now he’s ready to take the next step and elevate himself, and the program, again.
“It would be awesome,” Haslem said. “I think it would just help bring a lot of kids out, and just put our school on the map for wrestling.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) St. Clair’s Cristian Haslem, right, has his hand raised in victory after a match this season. (Middle) Haslem, left, wraps up and lifts an opponent off the mat. (Photos courtesy of the St. Clair wrestling program.)
Lawrence's Schuman Sets Example for Well-Rounded Success
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
December 14, 2022
LAWRENCE — If redshirting was a thing in high school, at least two coaches at Lawrence would stick that label on senior John Schuman.
“We don’t want to lose this kid ever,” said Derek Gribler, the Tigers’ first-year varsity football and baseball coach.
“If we could put a red shirt on this kid every year, we would.”
Athletic director John Guillean, who also coaches varsity basketball, agreed.
“He is what we strive to have all our student-athletes achieve: high GPAs, multi-sport athletes, good, overall well-rounded human beings,” Guillean said.
Schuman has participated in five of the seven boys sports Lawrence sponsors.
As a freshman and sophomore, Schuman played football, wrestled, ran track and played baseball.
He had wrestled since he was 4, and went from the 119-pound weight class as a freshman to 145 the following year. That sophomore season he qualified for his Individual Regional. But as a junior, he traded wrestling for basketball.
“My older brother wrestled at Lawrence, so I would come to practices,” he said. “I quit for a couple years (in middle school) because I liked basketball, too. It was hard to do both. Obviously, in high school, I still struggled with choosing,” he added, laughing.
Guillean is thrilled Schuman made the switch.
“He’s 6-(foot-)4, he’s super athletic, defensively he’s a hawk, offensively he can put the ball in the bucket. But really, aside from his skills, just that positive attitude and that positive outlook, not just in a game, but in life in general, is invaluable,” the coach said.
Last season, Schuman earned honorable mention all-league honors in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference, averaging 9.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Lawrence left the BCS for the Southwest 10 Conference this year, joining Bangor, Bloomingdale, Hartford, Decatur, Comstock, Marcellus, Mendon, Centreville, White Pigeon and Cassopolis. Schuman and senior Tim Coombs will co-captain the Tigers, with Guillean rotating in a third captain.
At a school of fewer than 200 students, Schuman will help lead a varsity team with just nine – joined by seniors Andy Bowen and Gabe Gonzalez, juniors Christian Smith, Noel Saldana, Ben McCaw and Zander Payment, and sophomore Jose Hernandez, who will see time with the junior varsity as well using the fifth-quarter rule.
“I attribute a lot of (last year’s successful transition) to my coach, helping me get ready because it wasn’t so pretty,” the senior said. “But we got into it, got going, and my teammates helped me out a lot.”
Great anticipation
Gribler is one coach already looking ahead to spring sports after seeing what Schuman did during football season.
In spite of missing 2½ games with an injury, the wide receiver caught 50 receptions for 870 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“I just like the ability to run free, get to hit people, let out some anger,” Schuman laughed.
Gribler said the senior is “an insane athlete.
“On top of his athletic ability, how smart he is in the classroom (3.88 GPA), he helped mold the culture we wanted this year for football. He got our underclassmen the way we wanted them. He was a big asset in many ways.”
Schuman earned all-conference honors for his on-field performance in football as well.
“I would say that my main sport is football,” the senior said. “That’s the one I like the most, spend the most time on.”
In the spring, Schuman competed in both track and baseball, earning all-conference honors in both.
“Doing both is tough,” he said. “I have to say my coaches make it a lot easier for me. They help me a lot and give me the ability to do both, so I really appreciate that.
“Throughout the week you’re traveling every day, it seems like. Baseball twice a week and track, but it’s worth it.”
Schuman’s commitment is so strong that he made a special effort not to let his teammates down last spring.
“He qualified for state in the long jump and did his jumps up in Grand Rapids, then he drove all the way to Kalamazoo to play in the District baseball game,” Guillean said. “That speaks volumes about who this kid is. He did his jumps at 9 a.m. (but did not advance) and made it back to Kalamazoo for a 12:15 game.”
Big shoes to fill
As the youngest of four children of Mark and Gretchen Schuman, the senior was following a family tradition in sports.
Oldest brother Matthew played football, basketball and baseball as well as competed in pole vault and wrestling.
Middle bother Christopher competed in football, wrestling and baseball.
Sister Stephanie played basketball, volleyball and softball.
“I like to say they blazed a pretty good trail for me at this high school,” Schuman said.
As for feeling pressure to live up to his siblings, “I used to when I was younger, but now I feel like I’ve made my own way and done enough things to be proud of that I’m happy with it.”
His own way led him to achieve something none of the others did.
He was named the Tigers’ Male Athlete of the Year, just the third junior to earn the boys honor over the last 25 years.
“I was very honored to win that as a junior,” Schuman said. “There were good athletes in the grade above me. I guess hard work pays off.”
Guillean said while Schuman is “darn good at every sport here,” an athlete does not have to be a “top dog” in every sport.
“Learn how to take a back seat,” he said. “Learn how to be a role player. That will make you a better teammate and a well-rounded human being.
“Johnny has that work ethic, in the classroom, on the field, on the court, on the track. It doesn’t go unnoticed and, obviously, he’s reaping the benefits now.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Lawrence’s John Schuman has participated in five varsity sports during his first 3½ years of high school. (Middle) Lawrence athletic director John Guillean. (Below) Lawrence football and baseball coach Derek Gribler. (Action photos courtesy of John Schuman; head shots by Pam Shebest.)