Performance: DCC's Kevon Davenport
February 28, 2019
Kevon Davenport
Detroit Catholic Central senior – Wrestling
As he had the past two years, Davenport played a major part in Detroit Catholic Central claiming its third straight Division 1 team championship Saturday at Wings Event Center. The nationally-regarded 145-pounder picked up three victories on the weekend, all wrestling up at 152 pounds, in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Davenport won with a pin in 4 minutes, 50 seconds against Clarkston’s Jacob Billette in the Quarterfinal, a 21-5 technical fall against Westland John Glenn’s Brenten Polk in the Semifinal and a 7-3 decision against Brighton’s Victor Grabowski in the Final. Those victories improved Davenport’s record this season to 34-1, with his only defeat coming against an opponent from Indiana by 5-2 decision while wrestling up at 160 pounds.
What also made this season’s team championship special was Davenport was able to compete with his brother Kamron, a freshman who wrestles at 125 pounds. Now Kevon gets a chance to finish on an individually historic note. Davenport will bring a 167-10 career record into this weekend’s Individual Finals at Ford Field, where he will attempt to become the 25th or 26th wrestler – and first from DCC – to win four MHSAA titles (Hudson’s Jordan Hamdan also will try to win his fourth). Davenport’s first three championships came at 119, 130 and 145 pounds, and he’s the top seed at 145 with matches set to begin Friday. Davenport carries a 3.0 GPA and has signed to continue his career next season at University of Nebraska, where he intends to study sports media and communications.
Coach Mitch Hancock said: “Kevon is an incredibly gifted and hard-working young man. He's very well-liked and respected by his peers and amongst his teachers here at Catholic Central. Kevon has the opportunity this weekend to do something very special, and we are proud of the hard work, dedication, and focus he's put into representing himself, his family and Catholic Central in an incredible way. I consider it a blessing to be a part of Kevon's life. He's an incredibly mature, selfless, and caring person. His personality shines brightly, and he is very respectful and humble. Kevon has incredible mentors in his father Kevon and mother Izetta.”
Performance Point: “We tried to stay even keeled, not get too high or too low,” Davenport said of the championship match against Brighton. “We had a mindset on dominating, and I felt like in the matches that we won, we controlled the pace, we did our thing and tried our best to wrestle our style. We were just trying to come out with a mindset of dominating and having fun.”
Starting strong: “I think it had a huge impact on the dual, being able to get the momentum rolling and kind of keep things going from there. We talked a lot about that. Momentum is a big thing for us, so that’s really important to us.”
Bringing brother on the ride: “That was really fun. (Kamron) was a little down on himself because he lost, but he clinched the dual for us. He didn’t get pinned, so that clinched the dual for us. I think it was really cool just being able to experience this entire season, my last high school season, with my brother. I think it was a great feeling.”
Not much time to celebrate: “It feels great, but at the end of the day, I’ve still got one more week, I’ve still got history to chase. Next weekend, I look forward to being crowned the first four-time champ in CC history. It feels great, but at the end of the day, we still have work to be done.”
Focus on 4: “It would mean a lot (to win a fourth championship). It’s something that I worked a lot for, as far as coming up through middle school. That’s always everybody’s goal coming up, being a four-time champ, and you want to chase that goal. For it to be so close to me and such an attainable goal, it’s really unfathomable, especially at CC.”
- Paul Costanzo, Second Half correspondent
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
February 21: Reagan Olli, Gaylord skiing - Read
February 14: Jake Stevenson, Traverse City Bay Reps hockey - Read
February 7: Molly Davis, Midland Dow basketball - Read
January 31: Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24: Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central’s Kevon Davenport works toward a pin during the Shamrocks’ Quarterfinal win over Clarkston on Friday. (Middle) Davenport’s arm is raised in victory at Wings Event Center. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
This Time, DCC Leaves CMU as D1 Champ
February 25, 2017
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
MOUNT PLEASANT – Last year, the Michigan High School Athletic Association held its Team Wrestling Finals at Central Michigan University's McGuirk Arena for the first time.
The Detroit Catholic Central wrestling team did not have a good first trip to CMU, losing in the Division 1 Semifinals with a team that ended up with five individual champions a week later at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
So the Shamrocks went to work in the offseason with a chip on their shoulders, and came back this year motivated.
That motivation took them all the way through the two-day tournament and winning the school's 12th team title, as the Shamrocks beat Davison, the team that knocked them out in the Semifinals last year, 35-22.
"We were frustrated last year," Detroit Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock said. "There was a ton of motivation. We weren't happy last year. We entered as the three seed and thought we earned the one seed by beating Hartland (the eventual champions) by 16 points. But we didn't wrestle to the best of our ability against Davison, and fell short."
That wasn't the case Saturday at McGuirk, as the Shamrocks flexed their muscles against Davison throughout their lineup, including getting wins from all five of their returning individual champions.
Nicholas Jenkins scored a decision at 285 pounds, Ben Kamali won 13-7 at 112, Kevon Davenport pinned at 130 pounds, Cam Amine won by technical fall at 140 and Tyler Morland ended the dual at 171 with a pin in 30 seconds.
"Anytime you lose in the Quarterfinals or Semifinals, that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth for sure," said Morland, a senior. "We have a lot of leaders on this team, more than our seniors, and we were motivated for this year."
Davison coach Roy Hall saw that motivation up close.
His team, which lost to Detroit Catholic Central earlier this winter 32-22, was hoping to find those 10 elusive points Saturday. But the strength of the Shamrocks’ lineup was too much.
"They are so well coached," said Hall, whose team ended its year with a 26-4 record. "But I am very proud of our guys; they wrestled hard. We didn't wrestle bad, that's just a very talented team."
The Cardinals took the early lead when their returning individual champion, senior 189-pounder Brenden McRill, won by technical fall.
Davison also got big wins from Andrew Chambal at 103 and 2015 individual champ (and 2016 runner-up) A.J. Facundo at 125, but in the end, Detroit Catholic Central won eight of the 14 matches wrestled and scored more bonus points throughout the dual.
"This is absolutely remarkable," said Hancock, whose team ended its season with a 31-1 record. "We went undefeated in the state of Michigan. Our only loss was to (Lakewood) St. Ed's out of Ohio. Everybody did their job today, and we represent DCC with pride."
The Shamrocks earned their way to the championship match by knocking off last year's champion, Hartland, in their Semifinal match. Davison beat a game Macomb Dakota team in their Semifinal, 37-21.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central wrestlers cheer on a teammate during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) DCC and Davison competitors lock up during the Shamrocks’ win. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)