Niles' Season History in the Making
February 1, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Before every match this season, coach Todd Hesson has reminded his Niles wrestlers of the opportunities before them.
Calling every face-off a chance to make history has been more than just encouragement. This season is looking good to go down as the best in the Vikings’ long history.
Niles has won a school-record 29 matches, with just one loss. Last weekend, for the first time, the Vikings repeated as Berrien County Invitational champions. They wrestle in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference tournament Saturday, and next week will attempt to win their District for the second straight season – which also would be a first.
“All of these kids have stuck together,” said Hesson, who was promoted to varsity coach in 2007-08. “When these seniors started, they took a beating. But we haven’t changed the competition. They've just weathered the storm.”
“We had 20 (wins) exactly, 20-16 (when they were freshmen). It was not a pretty record. But we saw a big jump (from them) as sophomores.”
And the rest, literally, is history.
The list of teams Niles has beaten this winter compares well with the best slates in the state – Division 1 No. 10 Battle Creek Lakeview, Division 2 No. 2 Lowell, No. 4 Allegan and formerly-ranked Mason, and Division 3 No. 3 Whitehall and No. 9 Saginaw Swan Valley. The lone loss came to Shelby, the No. 5 team in Division 3, 31-29.
Four seniors anchor the Niles lineup, including three MHSAA Finals qualifiers from last season. Total, four Vikings made the individual Finals a year ago – seniors Ryan Casey, Fritzel Findeisen and Casey Burandt and sophomore Brendon Meek.
Casey is 39-0 this season at 189 pounds and has tied the school career record with 76 pins. He’s ranked fourth in Division 2 at his weight class, with Burandt fourth at 145 pounds despite missing significant time with a broken hand and Findeisen sixth at 152. Senior Derek Scott is ranked seventh at 285 pounds and senior Nick Zimmerman is sixth at 119.
“They’re a tough group of kids. They work hard,” Hesson said. “Quite honestly, and I say it all the time, but I’m blessed with a good group of kids. They do what you ask.”
All four classes contribute to the Vikings' line-up, and the team bond grew strong over the summer during a week-long camp hosted by former University of Wisconsin All-American Jeff Jordan. Niles wrestlers entered Jordan’s Ohio facility and left only for morning runs and meals, even sleeping on the mats at night – although Hesson “cheated” a few times by sleeping in the team van.
Some of his wrestlers may not have been too excited about the camp at the time, but understand its worth after what they've accomplished this season. Hesson said they’ll return this summer.
And by then, the Vikings could surely be able to boast that this was their best season ever.
Banners hang in Niles wrestling room highlighting the team’s District and Regional championships. The Regional banner lists only two seasons – 1935 and 1960. Niles has never advanced to MHSAA Team Finals weekend since the team championship format was added in 1988.
An obstacle often has been powerful Stevensville Lakeshore, a Division 2 Quarterfinalist the last five seasons. But Niles, after beating Lakeshore by 7.5 points to win the 2012 Berrien County Invitational, repeated last weekend by finishing 62 points ahead of the field.
Even as Hesson admits his program still has a ways to go to join Lakeshore as a regular southwestern Michigan power, he likes to think the Vikings are headed that way. The next month could tell more of how far they've come.
“ We've had some pretty good teams going all the way back to my first year. But Lakeshore had better teams; they were stacked,” Hesson said. “Not to take away anything from them, but they made us better … another notch or two or three.”
PHOTO: Niles' Fritzel Findeisen (in white) wrestles during last season's MHSAA Division 2 Individual Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D3 Preview: Bracket Build-up
February 26, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend’s Division 3 Individual Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills could include the tournament's best matchups, regardless of division.
The 119 and 140-pound brackets both include multiple champions from 2013, and the 125-pound bracket could end with a matchup of last season’s 119-pound championship match. And aside from those great potential tilts, Allegan’s Kyle Simaz could finish his career among the winningest wrestlers in MHSAA history.
See below for 10 contenders to watch this weekend, plus others who enter the tournament undefeated or coming off runner-up finishes in 2013. Follow all the matches beginning with Thursday's first round on a subscription basis live on MHSAA.TV, and click here for results at MHSAA.com. And check back with Second Half later Saturday night for full coverage from the Finals, including comments from all 14 champions.
119: Kanen Storr, Leslie sophomore (54-1) – Kicked off his high school career with a perfect 58-0 record and championship at 103 pounds, and has fallen only once this season after moving up two weights.
119: Devin Schroder, Grand Rapids Catholic Central sophomore (36-4) – Followed up a perfect freshman season including a 53-0 record and championship at 112 with a nearly-flawless sophomore campaign so far.
125: Jerry Fenner, Birch Run junior (45-5) – Already has 155 wins in his career and two top-three Finals places after claiming last season’s championship at 119 pounds and finishing with a 57-3 record.
125: Matt Santos, Saginaw Swan Valley sophomore (54-0) – Remains unbeaten this season after falling to Fenner 3-2 in overtime in last season’s championship match; beat Fenner 2-0 at the Tri-Valley Conference Championships earlier this month.
135: Nate Limmex, Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior (19-0) – Hasn’t lost in his last two seasons, including winning the title at 135 in 2013. Limmex began his high school career with a fourth place in Division 2 while wrestling for Lowell.
140: Zehlin Storr, Leslie senior (57-0) – Brings a career record of 216-12 into this weekend after also going undefeated in winning 135 pounds last season; has never finished lower than third at his weight in any of three Finals trips.
140: Doug Rojem, Dundee senior (43-5) – Hopes to follow up on helping his team to a second straight championship last weekend with his second straight individual title after winning this weight in 2013. Rojem never has finished below fifth at a Final.
145: Kyle Simaz, Allegan senior (57-1) – Claimed last season’s Division 2 championship at 140 after two runner-up finishes as a freshman and sophomore; now sits at 236-4 for his career and can finish fifth in MHSAA history for wins.
152: Devin Skatzka, Richmond junior (34-3) – Two-time champion is seeking his third after winning 135 as a freshman and 145 last season; Skatzka also has helped his team to three straight Team Finals and two championships.
189: Teddy Warren, Dundee senior (22-3) – Like teammate Rojem, is defending the championship at the same weight after finishing with a 49-3 record in 2013. Warren also qualified for the Finals as a sophomore.
Other 2013 runners-up: Whitehall sophomore Reiley Brown (119, 38-3, 103 in 2013), Ida sophomore Alex Martinez (119, 48-3, 112 in 2013), Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Blake Russo (130, 34-2, 125 in 2013), Richmond senior Nick Burg (140, 35-4, 130 at 2013), Lake Odessa Lakewood junior Jordan Bennett (140, 44-1, 145 in 2013), Birch Run senior Jared Elliott (160, 45-5, 152 in 2013), Caro senior Skyler Ley (171, 48-4, 160 in 2013), Allendale senior Colin Beebe (215, 45-0, 189 in 2013).
Also undefeated: Manchester senior Eric Coval (152, 34-0), Allendale senior Glenn Geurink (285, 43-0).
More of note: Corunna sophomore Tristan Serbus (103, 42-1), Richmond senior Aaron Kilburn (112, 34-5), Dundee junior Tye Thompson (171, 40-6), Dundee senior Brendan O'Connor (130, 44-3) Farwell senior Tristan Zienkiewicz (160, 45-2),
PHOTO: Hudson’s Kyle Simaz (right), here wrestling against Richmond during last week’s Team Semifinals, can finish his career with 240 wins. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)