Performance: Detroit CC's Nick Jenkins
January 27, 2017
Nick Jenkins
Detroit Catholic Central senior – Wrestling
The reigning Division 1 champion at heavyweight, Jenkins has again made a heavy impact on the top-ranked Shamrocks’ near-perfect run this season. On Jan. 19, Detroit Catholic Central avenged back-to-back MHSAA Tournament losses to Davison with a 32-22 dual win, and Jenkins clinched the victory over the No. 2-ranked Cardinals with a 3-1 overtime victory against sophomore standout Aaron Gilmore to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
A relative newcomer to the sport entering high school, Jenkins has grown into one of the state’s best and moved to 28-1 this winter in the Shamrocks’ win over No. 5 Oxford on Wednesday. He’s top-ranked at his weight by MichiganGrappler.com, coming off last season’s Division 1 Individual Final when he edged Dearborn Heights Crestwood’s Ali Wahab 5-1 while handing Wahab (also the 2015 runner-up) his only loss of last season. Jenkins went on to finish sixth at the Flo Nationals in Pennsylvania last March to earn All-America recognition. His career record is 140-35, and DCC as a team is 21-1 this winter with its only loss to Ohio power Lakewood St. Edward.
Jenkins also started at center this fall for DCC’s football team that advanced to the Division 1 championship game and finished 13-1 with its only loss to Detroit Cass Tech in the Final. He earned all-Detroit Catholic League Central honors in that sport, but will stick to the mat at Central Michigan University. He carries a 3.2 grade-point average and is interested in studying either athletic training or criminal justice.
Coach Mitch Hancock said: “Nick is an exceptional young man who has a work ethic that is very rare in young kids today. He's respected greatly amongst his peers and faculty members here at CC due to his humility, character, and friendliness. Nick is a blue-collared, hardworking individual who prides himself on representing his family, school, and team with pride. He's a great leader and a fantastic individual who has led this team to great success."
Performance Point: “As a team we knew it was a big match for seeding purposes at team states, and we want to get the one seed,” Jenkins said of the Davison match. “We thought we worked for it and we deserve it. Individually, I thought I’d perform better against (Gilmore), and I knew I had to get that win. I didn’t expect him to come out like he did; he surprised me a little bit. But I just kept my focus, tried to get my offense going a little more. I was passive the first two periods, but as the match progressed I started getting more aggressive, getting my leg attacks.”
Always in the title hunt: “We always expect to be great. We know how hard we work, how hard our coaches and staff work, and we expect to be in that position come February and March. We’re a little more unified this year. Losing two years in a row to Davison, that left a bad taste in guys’ mouths. We worked harder in the offseason, for sure.”
Starting from scratch: “I had about a month of wrestling in eighth grade. (But) I really wanted it, and my coaches don’t really let me take reps off. It’s either give everything you have, or don’t do it. Honestly, I’d heard (DCC wrestlers) win a lot, and I love to win, love to compete, and that was a big part of it for me. Around the middle of my sophomore year I saw guys like Myles (Amine), Trevor (Zdebski), how they kept advancing through the season and getting better although they were returning state champs. Everything clicked then. (They taught me) never stop getting better. You’ve got to keep going and going. Wrestling is a hard sport. You’re going to have ups and downs, but if you listen to what your coaches say and do the right things, you’ll have greatness in it.”
Learning to win: “(Success) is just kinda expected at CC. They don’t settle for anything less than giving your best, and if you give your best all the time you’re going to find success on and off the field. My brother (Jordan) went here before me, so I’d experienced that before and I had a solid mentality coming into CC. … (Hancock and football coach Tom Mach) really aren’t too much different. Both teams work hard; the coaches demand success of you. They preach the same messages: consistency, hard work and work ethic.”
Charting the future: “(I’m interested in) athletic training, to get to work in sports and be able to help people out. It’s always been something I liked. Criminal justice is just something I’ve liked since I was a kid … FBI, CIA, that kind of special agent stuff always intrigued me.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize 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.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) DCC's Nick Jenkins wrestles Crestwood's Ali Wahab during last season's Division 1 Final at heavyweight. (Middle) Jenkins salutes the crowd after claiming his first MHSAA individual championship. (Photos courtesy of Detroit Catholic Central high school.)
Broncos' VanLanen Preps for Big Finish
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
January 29, 2016
HARRIS — It hasn’t always been easy, but Bark River-Harris senior Morgan VanLanen has held her own for four years in the male-dominated sport of wrestling.
This year, she is entered in the 152-pound division after competing at 140 a year ago.
"I hadn’t been able to drop weight and had to move up,” she said. “It really hasn’t seemed like that big of an adjustment. I was in a pretty packed bracket last year, which prepared me for this year.”
VanLanen is 7-17 heading into Saturday’s Manistique Super Duals after finishing 1-2 in the Upper Peninsula Championships at Marquette last Saturday.
A total of 88 girls wrestled on teams at MHSAA member schools during the 2014-15 school year, representing 66 schools. Participation numbers for this season will be announced at the end of the school year.
VanLanen tuned up for the U.P. tournament by pinning Menominee’s Seth Smith in two minutes, 27 seconds in the Broncos’ lone home meet on Jan. 19.
“That was a pretty big boost,” she said. “I wrestle a lot of stronger guys. I had been weight lifting every day, trying to prepare myself for that. I’ve had a few quick pins, but win or lose you always learn something. I like sports that are more individual because you have to take all the responsibility for how you perform. You’re not just sitting the bench.”
VanLanen said practices are challenging, but have also been productive.
“We run a lot, but that doesn’t always condition you for wrestling,” she added. “I haven’t been focusing so much on my technique. I’ve been wrestling since second grade and have the technique down for the most part. We focus more on team wrestling during practice, which is good for conditioning and gets us prepared more for the matches.”
Outside of high school wrestling, VanLanen has competed in out-of-state girls tournaments during the offseason. This winter, VanLanen is on a Bark River-Harris high school team of just five.
“It’s going to be tough to compete in the (Division 4) Team District with only five on the team,” she said. “There’s also a lot of good teams out there. The Individual District (at Munising) will be similar to the Escanaba Elks tournament. There just won’t be as many numbers.
“I think our team has been pretty successful this year. Some of the kids have done real well. I’m probably going to be pretty sad when the season ends, knowing I’m done with everything.”
VanLanen plans to attend Grand Canyon University in Arizona this fall.
“I want to go into athletic training,” she said. “I’ve thought about wrestling in college, but I don’t want to be in college more years than I have to.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Bark River-Harris' Morgan VanLanen waits for the whistle to wrestle during a match. (Middle) VanLanen is hoisted by the other four members of the Bark River-Harris wrestling team. (Photos courtesy of Bark River-Harris athletic department.)