Midland's Spears Catches Up Quickly to Become Nationally-Recognized Finals Contender
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 22, 2026
Halle Spears may have had a later start when it comes to wrestling, but she’s starting to lap the field.
The Midland senior is a three-time placer at the MHSAA Individual Finals and ranked No. 3 in the country at her weight class, all despite not starting until her freshman year.
“It was good to start off with a good, athletic, foundational base,” said Midland wrestling coach Mike Donovan, who oversees the school’s program as a whole and coaches the boys in competition. “She had done other sports before, and that helped her a great deal. When she really kind of committed to finding high results in wrestling, it really took off. She kind of made eight seasons of work into her four here with all of her offseason work, lifting and practices. She caught up on the experience very fast.”
Spears was the Finals Girls Division runner-up at 190 pounds in 2025, and has packed in multiple seasons’ worth of experience at major tournaments since then.
During the offseason, she placed fourth at Fargo Nationals, won the Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, N.C., and placed fifth at the Midlands Championships, an open tournament in Evanston, Ill., that features some of the best collegiate competition in the country.
“I was just kind of looking for college tournaments and to go where I thought I could get good competition,” Spears said. “I could still get better wrestling here, but it would be so much more fun to wrestle somewhere with really, really good competition.”
It’s an incredibly quick rise from the volleyball player and former gymnast who took up wrestling after some convincing from her older brother Hunter, who also happens to be the Midland girls wrestling coach.
“At first, I did not want to do wrestling at all,” she said. “My main sport was volleyball, but my parents have this rule that you have to have two sports every year, so I was like, ‘I guess I’ll do wrestling since my brother is the coach.’ Then I ended up loving it so much.”
A big part of that love is getting to work with her brother. Hunter wrestled at Midland and graduated in 2019, and said his style was a very different one from how his sister wrestles. But as she’s grown in the sport, he’s adapted his own style to better prepare Halle.
“I think that the first year it was kind of frustrating because we were always siblings, and now he had a little more authority over me and he had to figure out how to coach me,” Halle said. “After that first year, it was so fun because we just got to hang out every day. It means so much to me, I love him so much and I’m grateful he has spent this time to figure out how I want to wrestle, and put in the time to learn it and adapt to it with me. I’m so grateful.”
Now, Spears is ranked No. 3 nationally at 190 pounds by FloWrestling. She’s 12-0 this high school season with nine pins, one technical fall and two major decisions. She’s ranked No. 2 at 235 pounds by Michigan Grappler, a ranking that should flip in the next update, as she recently defeated the No. 1 wrestler, AnnMarie Green of Clare, 12-3 at the Girls Wolfpack Challenge in Bay City.
“She’s constantly comparing herself to the people that are above her,” Hunter Spears said. “She’s chasing an image of Sabrina Nauss (three-time MHSAA champion from Brighton) that led Team Michigan to such great things. She’s super confident when she’s wrestling her peers right now, but she hasn’t let (the national success) get to her head in a way. She’s still fighting for something.”
That something, partially, is a title at the MHSAA Finals.
Spears placed fourth at 190 pounds as a freshman and sixth as a sophomore.
Her junior year ended in the Finals with a 4-2 loss against Kanata Richardson of Bloomfield Hills, who is currently ranked fifth nationally at 190.
“I don’t really think about it that much anymore,” Spears said. “At first, it didn’t really motivate me, it just made me really sad. After, I sort of just started to let it go. I don’t really think about it anymore. I just want to get better for myself.”
Winning it all at Ford Field on March 7 to become Midland’s first female Finals champion, and first in general since 1994, would mean a lot to Spears. But she also now sees it as another step on her bigger journey, which includes wrestling collegiately at Grand Valley State University.
“It would be really nice to have my name on the banner and have my name in the trivia that Donovan does every year,” she said. “But I think somewhere last year after I lost my state finals match, it started to matter a little less to me. Not because I didn’t want it, but because I realized there are so much bigger things to strive for. It would be great, and I would be so thankful to get a state title. But sometimes, I think there are bigger things, and I’d rather strive for a national championship.”
As she continues working toward that, she continues to set an example for those who come behind her, no matter when they start.
“Just to kind of show that opportunity does exist here to do the biggest things in the sport and be on top of that,” Donovan said. “It’s not a sport where, if you didn’t do it as a youth you’re completely lost in terms of any kind of top goals. If you put the time in and the dedication in, while it can be a bit delayed and growth isn’t always linear in our sport, but given that example, that roadmap, if you invest in yourself, that will do a lot for future Chemics wrestlers.”
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) Midland’s Halle Spears, in blue, wrestles during the Girls Wolfpack Challenge. (Middle) Halle takes a quick photo with her older brother and coach Hunter Spears. (Photos courtesy of the Spears family.)
MHSAA Girls Wrestling Celebrates Pair of 1st-Time Achievements
By
Brad Emons
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2025
DETROIT – Ford Field was buzzing again this weekend, and 24,000 fans saw history made multiple ways during the MHSAA Girls Wrestling Finals on Saturday.
Individually, Fowlerville senior Margaret Buurma became the first girl to win four Individual Finals titles.
Also for the first time, the MHSAA recognized a girls team champion based on the individual points and places scored by each school. Grand Haven, scoring 69.5 points, emerged as the winner followed by runner-up Lowell (59) and Fowlerville (57).
Buurma’s historic fourth title didn’t come easily as she held off Romeo junior Belicia Manuel in a battle of past Finals champions by 1-0 decision in the 145-pound title match.
“The way it went down – 1-0 – was a win just as well as 10-0,” said Buurma, who plans to continue her career collegiately. “It means so much to me. Just to be able to be a role model for younger girls in Michigan and have something for them to look forward to when they get older. It’s just amazing, and I couldn’t do it without my support system.”
Meanwhile, Plainwell’s Madison Nieuwenhuis (100), Westland John Glenn’s Nakayla Dawson (110) and Caledonia’s Maddie Hayden (170) earned three-peats. All are juniors and will try and match Buurma’s four-peat next season.
100
Champion: Madison Nieuwenhuis, Plainwell, Jr. (26-0)
Technical Fall (2:34) 17-1, over Veronica Tapia, Lowell, Jr. (31-2)
Nieuwenhuis quickly went on the offensive to record the pin and garner her third-consecutive MHSAA individual title to go along with an unbeaten season.
She suffered a bloody lip and needed an injury timeout, but nothing could stop her.
“I just tried getting better attacks than last time,” Nieuwenhuis said. “I’m pretty excited about it, and hopefully I can get one more next year. I think the season went really well, and I think I grew a lot.”
105
Champion: Tatianna Castillo, Lowell, Fr. (28-0)
Fall, 5:05, over Lillee Denson, St. Clair Shores Lakeview, Jr. (19-3)
Castillo made quite a debut, going undefeated. And for every pin this season, she received a Mamba candy from the Lowell coaching staff signifying that she has that “Mamba Mentality.”
Lowell is known for its boys champion powerhouse teams in Division 2, and Castillo has the distinction of becoming the school’s first girls individual champ.
“It was so emotional. I really didn’t know how to feel,” Castillo said. “I definitely had some tears after the matches. It’s so amazing.”
Castillo was not familiar with Denson as an opponent, so she didn’t alter her strategy.
“I just went in there and wrestled my way,” Castillo said.
110
Champion: Nakayla Dawson, Westland John Glenn, Jr. (12-0)
Fall, 1:55, over Shai Curtiss, Shepherd, Jr. (38-2)
Dawson, who has already wrestled nearly 100 male opponents during her prep career, also joined the three Individual Finals title club with a decisive victory via pin over Curtiss.
“I don’t worry about who I wrestled because if I look at rankings and look what they did and it might get into my head and I might not wrestle as good as I could,” Dawson said. “I really don’t worry about who I wrestle, and I just go out and wrestle.”
Dawson placed third in her weight class at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament, against a bracket filled with boys. Her overall record this season was 38-6, and she won all 12 matches versus females.
“I think it benefits me because of the strength. It just prepares me for all this and makes me better,” Dawson said.
115
Champion: Gracey Barry, Grand Haven, Sr. (33-1)
Decision, 4-3, over Kassie Sapp, Whitehall, Fr. (15-3)
In one of the most competitive matches of the day, the senior Barry was able to edge the freshman Sapp by a mere point.
Barry was a runner-up a year ago and also a Finals qualifier as a sophomore.
“I’ve seen that girl (Sapp) at Districts, I’ve seen her at Regionals,” Barry said. “Each time it’s gotten closer and closer. It was a tough match, and I’m just completely in shock right now. This has been my dream probably since I was 5 years old. My dad (Joe) has been my wrestling coach my whole life. He won three titles at Mason. My goal was just to get to the top of that podium, and I’m very proud.”
120
Champion: Cheyenne Frank, Oxford, Jr. (26-0)
Decision, 9-4, over Sky Langewicz, Sr., Algonac (15-4)
Frank jumped out to a 6-0 lead and went on to post a five-point decision for her first title and to cap an undefeated season.
Langewicz, the taller competitor, tried to use her leverage against Frank.
“I’ve wrestled two other times – well three times – one last year and then at Districts and Regionals this year,” Frank said. “I guess my game plan was to go in, like working all my stuff and hand fighting, and just stick to my stuff, perfect my stuff and find different ways to tie up. She is such a talented wrestler. It was definitely harder to use some of my stuff.”
As a sophomore, Frank finished as a runner-up, and she placed fifth as a freshman. On Saturday, she also recorded her 100th career win.
“It’s crazy, all my growth in wrestling … it’s really an incredible thing,” Frank said. “It makes me happy.”
125
Champion: Cecilia Williams, Mason, Jr. (10-0)
Fall, 1:55, over Lola Barkby, Sturgis, Sr. (22-2)
After finishing runner-up as a freshman, Williams missed the Finals during her sophomore season with both a knee problem and hip injury, but bounced back Saturday to record her first state crown.
Barkby came in as the reigning champion at 120.
“I feel a lot better, my body … no injuries at all, I’m all healed up,” Williams said. “I never wrestled her (Barkby). My biggest problem was the crowd and all these people, so I was just trying to wrestle myself. I was just trying to get to her legs … the Peterson (roll).”
130
Champion: Angellaya Burden, Mio, Soph. (25-2)
Fall, 3:04, over Brynn Bower, Grand Haven, Sr. (18-3)
Burden overcame an early 5-2 deficit to record the pin and earn her first championship. She also had pinned Bower in the first period at the Regional.
Burden, who was fourth a year ago at 125, became Mio’s first girls Finals champion.
“I just had to get off the bottom and score,” said Burden, who has been wrestling since the third grade.
135
Champion: Isabella Cepak, South Lyon East, Sr. (18-0)
Fall, 0:19, over Kennedi Wahmhoff, Mason, Sr. (31-2)
After finishing as a runner-up two times, Cepak got to the mountaintop with the fastest pin (19 seconds) in the girls Finals.
“That was the plan all along, to go for it right off the whistle,” Cepak said. “I had never faced her before.”
Going into her senior season, Cepak brought a new attitude and a new confidence.
“Just finally feeling like I wrestle to my full ability and didn’t hold myself back,” she said. “That’s how it feels to finally win, I guess, for this year.”
140
Champion: Nanda Kibi, Plymouth, Jr. (31-1)
Fall, 2:35, over Mackenna Webster, Bronson, Jr. (33-1)
After not qualifying last year as a sophomore following an eighth-place finish as a ninth-grader, Kibi was on a mission this season and proved it with a pin over Webster, who suffered her only setback this winter.
During the season, Kibi impressed with 27 pins among her 31 victories.
“I didn’t make it out last year, and it was just all year what I’ve been working through,” she said. “And, I went to Nationals and I said I can win a state championship, so I just had to put the work in all year.”
Webster had a solid resumè coming into the Finals.
“I’ve never wrestled her,” Kibi said. “At Fargo (N.D.) she placed one place ahead of me, and that’s all I knew about her. I just wrestled the way I normally do.”
145
Champion: Margaret Buurma, Fowlerville, Sr. (38-3)
Decision, 1-0, over Belicia Manuel, Romeo, Jr. (30-3)
The two finalists have had somewhat of a history. They trained a little bit together over the summer in a battle of reigning champions.
Buurma was able to get an early point Saturday and hold on for the victory.
“We wrestled a lot on the Team Michigan teams together,” Manuel said. “The first time I’ve really wrestled her was this year. I’ve always been a little bit smaller, but I’m really glad I had the opportunity to face amazing wrestlers throughout the entire weekend and to be able to push myself to my best extent.”
155
Champion: Kaili Manuel, Romeo, Soph. (41-0)
Fall, 4:29, over Maddison Ward, Niles, Sr. (30-1)
Waiting in the staging area while her sister Belicia was wrestling a close match for the 145 title, Kaili tried to stay focused and in the moment.
Kaili captured her second-straight title with a pin versus Ward, who suffered her only defeat of the year and was the reigning champion with a 64-1 record over the past two seasons.
“It fun along the process and watching my sister wrestle before me. … It’s kind of like a little bit of stress, but it’s fun overall,” said Kaili, who won at 145 last year. “Today, I was just looking to work moves and stuff. I was aiming for the pin, but it kind of like came to me. I’m happy, it’s exciting and it’s nice, too. I want another one, and I’m going for four. I was hoping to win with her (Belicia), but things happen. We’ll come back next year for it.”
170
Champion: Maddie Hayden, Caledonia, Jr. (22-1)
Decision, 5-0, over Raven Aldridge, Clinton, Sr. (33-5)
After winning the 155 titles both as a freshman and sophomore, Hayden put in a business-like effort to earn her third-straight crown.
It was the first meeting between the two.
“I had never seen her, but I knew of her just based (on) we wrestle a lot of the same (opponents),” Hayden said. “To be honest, my game plan was to get in, get out.”
Hayden got a late start to the season and bumped up a weight class. She didn’t wrestle until November after suffering a concussion in a tourney prior to the preseason.
“When you can’t work out, you can’t wrestle, but I’d like to be back at 155,” she said.
190
Champion: Kanata Richardson, Bloomfield Hills, Jr. (28-2)
Decision, 4-2, over Halle Spears, Midland, Jr. (27-3)
As a freshman, Richardson missed the MHSAA Tournament with both an MCL and ACL tear before finishing fourth as a sophomore a year ago.
Against Spears, she was able to stay on her feet and avoid any major takedowns.
“Last year at states and I beat her by one point in the quarterfinals,” Richardson said. “Then this year, in the Brighton tournament I lost to her. And I lost to her again at Regionals in triple overtime by one point. Today, I just had to prove it to myself and prove to everybody else that I’m the best, and that’s what I was going to do. I stuck with what I had. I trusted God’s plan and He just told me to keep that arm on that fireman’s (carry), and I did.”
235
Champion: Isabel Anaya, Holland West Ottawa (33-0)
Decision, 8-2, over Annmarie Green, Clare (16-1)
After placing fifth last year, third as a sophomore and seventh as a ninth-grader, Anaya made it to the top of the podium with a victory over Green, who suffered her only loss of the season.
“I wrestled her three or four other times, and I’ve only ever beaten her once,” Anaya said. “The other times she would get me into positions and I wouldn’t know what to do, and she’d just stick me. But this time she didn’t stick me.”
Anaya, who plans to wrestle in college but hasn’t decided where, said she changed her strategy against the top-seeded Green.
“I didn’t try things before that didn’t work,” Anaya said. “I practiced millions of different moves to figure out what would be the best to do today.”
PHOTOS (Top) Fowlerville’s Margaret Buurma, left, holds up four fingers after clinching her fourth Individual Finals championship Saturday. (Middle) Westland John Glenn’s Nakayla Dawson, top, works toward winning her third title. (Below) Grand Haven holds up its team championship trophy, the first awarded in MHSAA girls wrestling history. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)