Rematch of Rivals Goes Dundee's Way
February 23, 2019
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
KALAMAZOO – One of the things that makes the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals special is that a wrestler can be a hero for his team and make a real difference by taking a "good" loss.
That's exactly what happened for the Dundee Vikings in their Division 3 championship match against familiar foe Richmond on Saturday at Wings Event Center.
With his team down two points, and three matches left to wrestle, Dundee freshman Austin Jaworski stepped on the mat with Richmond junior Austin Kilburn, one of the top Blue Devils.
Suffering a pin would have been damaging, putting the Vikings behind Richmond by eight points with two pairs of evenly-matched wrestlers facing off in the next two matches.
Jaworski battled, and lost to Kilburn 11-5, but no bonus points were surrendered.
Dundee won the next two matches by decision with Tyler Swiderski and Jonathon White, and the Vikings won their second straight Division 3 title and 11th title overall with a 26-25 victory over Richmond.
"I just went out there and did my job," Jaworski said. "I didn't worry about how good he was, I just went out there and wrestled. I did the best I could."
Even though Jaworski may sound humble about what he did for his team, it did not go unnoticed by coach Tim Roberts.
"When Austin Jaworski did his job, and he had a stellar guy he was going against and only gave up three points to them, I felt confident going into those last two," Roberts said. "We didn't know this would come down to the last match. We hoped it would be over before that, but that is the way it goes in duals with good teams."
And Richmond and Dundee are two good teams.
Over the last 13 years, they have wrestled nine times for the Division 3 title. Dundee now has won the last two Finals matchups, and is 5-4 against its rival during that time.
"Every year it comes down to us two," said Roberts, whose team ended with an 18-5 record. "They do such a great job over there. They are a fantastic coached team, and they have a community that is really into it. Their kids work so hard, I have nothing but respect for what they do over there. So when we get a chance to compete with them and win, it feels really good because you beat somebody good."
The lead by either team was more than five points only once during the dual. And the Blue Devils had chances, but were unable to extend the lead when they had it.
"Both teams had their chances," said Richmond co-coach Brandon Day, whose team ended 26-3. "I wouldn't say one kid changed this match one way or another. We have some young guys that did a great job saving bonus, and they had some young guys do the same."
PHOTOS: (Top) Dundee's Stoney Buell works toward a major decision during his championship match bout at 160 pounds Saturday. (Middle) The Vikings celebrate their second straight Division 3 title. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Selfless Seniors Lead Shamrocks to Fourth-Straight Division 1 Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2026
KALAMAZOO – Moments after Alex Buskirk stepped off the mat following his 157-pound Individual Regional Final victory, he received his next assignment: cut down to 150 for the Division 1 Team Finals.
“I just thought that if they thought it was what was best for the team, it was an obvious yes,” the Detroit Catholic Central senior said. “If that’s best for the team, I’m doing what’s best for the team.”
Buskirk was one of multiple Shamrock wrestlers to make a personal sacrifice for the betterment of the team, and as it tends to do at Catholic Central, it paid off. The Shamrocks defeated Hartland 43-16 on Saturday in the Division 1 Final at Wings Events Center, claiming their fourth-straight championship.
‘It’s remarkable,” Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock said. “I think it speaks a lot to their effort and attitude. We had a slogan this year that was pretty important; it was ‘Culture, Faith and Process.’ Keeping those things in line I think is what helps those guys. I think they get overwhelmed, I think sometimes there’s a lot of pressure on them in this world. So, if they can keep their eyes on Jesus Christ, focus on their study around a great culture, we can be successful.”
The title was the 19th overall for Catholic Central, and 12th under Hancock, all won since 2010. It was also the second time the Shamrocks had won four in a row, having also accomplished the feat from 2017 through 2020.
But for Hancock, it never gets old, as each team and title has its own back story, and in this one it was the selflessness of his seniors.
“Hats off to our seniors who were remarkable today,” Hancock said. “Starting right off with Collin Payne, he’s a 215-pounder ranked fifth in the state. We went to him on Tuesday and said, ‘Collin, we need you at (190).’ No questions asked, he got down to (190). Our heavyweight (Paxton Heitsch), committed to Akron for track & field. Wrestled as a freshman and sophomore, took last year off and came to me this year and said, ‘Coach I want to wrestle, I wanna go win a team title.’ Alex Buskirk, a 157-pounder, ranked No. 2 in the state, cuts down to 150. It gave us some flexibility and options, so I’m just really proud of those guys.”
Payne won his match by technical fall, 19-3, to open the dual, and Heitsch won a 7-3 decision at 285. Buskirk won a 19-7 major decision back at his normal weight, 157.
After his match, with the dual and Finals title already sealed, he blew a kiss to the CC crowd.
“Just so much emotions running through,” Buskirk said. “Just all the love and gratitude to the fans, the coaches, my teammates, everyone, God, just everyone that supports us. It means so much, it’s hard to describe. People are going to look back and notice this team and say we won four times. I just hope it gives inspiration to the underclassmen below us to keep going.”
There were plenty of non-seniors to be inspired, as 10 of the 14 wrestlers who took the mat in the Final will be back next season.
The other senior to wrestle for the Shamrocks on Saturday was Wyatt Lees, a three-time Individual Finals champion, who can become an eight-timer (four team and individual titles) next weekend at Ford Field. He won his match with a 16-5 major decision.
“It’s the standard in our program,” Hancock said. “The standard isn’t winning titles, it’s being selfless, it’s making sure that you work extremely hard and treat each other with respect. You’re not afraid to lose, you challenge yourself. I’ve got guys on my team with 15, 20 losses. We challenge ourselves. Just really proud of our seniors, our coaching staff.”
There were no pins in the Final, but the Shamrocks did rack up five technical falls by Payne, Caden Krueger (215), Jamison Gregory (126), Ryan Totten (132) and Grayson Fuchs (150).
Braxten Roche (175) won by major decision, while Gavin Boller (106) won a 6-3 decision for the Shamrocks (20-5).
As DCC is setting the standard in Division 1, Hartland hopes to be the team to eventually meet it and take them down. The Eagles were 26-2 on the season, with the two losses coming to Catholic Central and Division 2 champion Lowell.
“Our goal always is to be the best in the state of Michigan,” Hartland coach Kyle Summerfield said. “We wrestled Lowell, we wrestled (Division 4 champion) Hudson, we wrestled (Division 3 champion) Dundee, and we wrestled CC – we wrestled everybody.”
Returning Division 1 champions Bodie Abbey (138) and Dallas Korponic (165) each won by technical fall for Hartland, while Jace Sensor (113) and Jonah McPherson (120) each won decisions.
“One of the big things we preach, we don’t look at score anymore, we look at how our kids did in each match,” Summerfield said. “Our kids competed in each dual, they focused on scoring points and they did their best to wrestle their style. So, that’s kind of what we try to preach, and I’m very proud of the way the kids wrestled this weekend.”
PHOTOS (Top) DCC’s Alex Buskirk, front, gets ahold of Ashton Jewel’s leg during their match at 157 pounds Saturday. (Middle) Hartland’s Jonah McPherson, right, wraps up opponent Brent Coak at 120 pounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)