Richmond 'Works Hard' to Contend Again
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
February 8, 2016
RICHMOND – Every sport seems to have its glamour position.
Baseball and softball have their home run hitters. In football, it’s the quarterback. In volleyball, the player who collects the most spikes makes the highlight reel. And for those in track and field, the fastest runner receives all the glory.
There’s nothing pretty about wrestling. It’s a blue-collar sport where athletes compete like tigers in a cage. They eye their opponent, take a few steps, then make their move. Usually the strongest wins, but quickness often trumps strength – especially in the lower weight divisions.
One fact separates an average program from those that achieve success consistently, and that’s hard work. Sounds trite, but it’s true. Unless there is a wide variance in talent, the wrestler who out-works the opponent wins.
At Richmond, a town of about 6,000 people located in rural northern Macomb County, there’s no substitute for hard work. And for the school’s varsity wrestling coach Brandon Day, there is no tolerance for a lack of hard work.
The Blue Devils have won four of the last six Division 3 titles including last season. And despite losing 11 of their 14 starters, they are one of the top contenders again and No. 3 in the final regular-season Division 3 rankings.
“We have some talented kids,” Day said. “But we get the most out of them. It’s a total community effort here. Now I’m starting to get the kids who had dads and uncles wrestle here. We have one of the smallest schools (by enrollment) at the Finals, but we’ll have some of the biggest crowds.
“I guess we’re a lot like Lowell. It’s a community. They made the football Finals and their wrestling program is among the best. A lot of our kids play football, too. The kids want to be a part of it. There’s no selfishness.”
Day, a graduate of Imlay City, is in his 12th season as Richmond’s head coach. Growing up in a rural area, Day understands the mentality of participating in small-town athletics. The student you are competing with as a senior is the same person with whom you attended first grade.
One of five seniors on the team, Aaron Kilburn, is one of the three returning who started last season. As a freshman, he finished third at the 103-pound weight division. Kilburn was an MHSAA champion at 112 his sophomore year and, as a junior, finished second at 119. He competes at 125 this season.
The other two returners are Graham Barton at 135 and Cody Keller at 119. Both were MHSAA Finals qualifiers last season.
“We’re young,” Kilburn said. “We’ve developed the young guys as the season has gone on. Here everyone busts their butts every day. There are no slackers.
“A lot of the guys play football. I don’t. I just wrestle. We get a month off a year. The rest of the time we train in the offseason getting ready. I love the sport. It’s a passion. It’s just you and the other guy on the mat. Your teammates can’t help you then. It’s just you. I like working hard.”
The Blue Devils are improving. They lost to Division 1 No. 6 Oxford in a close match early in the season and last week at the Macomb-Oakland Invitational held at Oxford, Richmond went 5-0 highlighted by a 44-24 victory over the host.
Richmond’s Team District is Feb. 10 at Algonac, and for Richmond to be successful the Blue Devils must have solid matches from underclassmen like Colton McKiernan (171), Alex Roberts (140) and Tyler Marino (215), all of whom are sophomores.
Day is hoping the demanding schedule he put together begins to pay off. He’s taken his team to tournaments in Defiance, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Cleveland to help the team prepare for the postseason.
“We like to have the kids go against the best as much as possible,” he said. “We beat (defending Division 4 champion) New Lothrop and we wrestled (Division 2 No. 1) Lowell in Ohio and lost.
“We’ve been fortunate here. The parents and the kids value hard work and accountability. Being a hard worker is still cool here.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) A Richmond wrestler (right) works for control in a match against New Lothrop at Central Michigan University last month. (Middle) Richmond athletes watch a teammate during the competition. (Click for more photos from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D2 Preview: Contenders Line Up as Lowell Hopes to Run Streak to 9
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 24, 2022
Two other contenders are undefeated this season. Two more are past MHSAA Finals champions.
But until defeated, Lowell will be the team leading the Division 2 title chase – in this weekend’s case, with the hope of adding to its record eight-season Finals championship streak.
That quest begins with Friday’s 6:45 p.m. Quarterfinals at Kalamazoo’s Wings Event Center – see matchups below. Semifinals will start at noon Saturday, with the championship match later that day at 3:45 p.m.
#1 Lowell (20-3) vs. #8 Birmingham Brother Rice (19-5)
#4 Gaylord (27-0) vs. #5 Monroe Jefferson (18-3)
#3 Goodrich (29-2) vs. #6 Mason (32-3)
#2 Whitehall (26-0) vs. #7 St. Joseph (23-8)
Tickets for Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals will be sold by the Wings Event Center box office. All matches for all three rounds also will be viewable on MHSAA.tv with subscription.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 2, listed by seed. (Girls Finals qualifiers are noted with “G” with weight class, as those classes differ from the other Individual Finals brackets.)
#1 LOWELL
Record/rank: 20-3, No. 1
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference White
Coach: R.J. Boudro, eighth season (159-24)
Championship history: Eleven MHSAA championships (most recent 2021), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Carter Cichocki (28-3) fr., 103 Landon Musgrave (20-5) fr., 112 Jackson Blum (31-3) fr., 119 Easton Lyons (18-15) jr., 125 Owen Segorski (22-11) fr., 130 Ramsy Mutschler (26-5) sr., 135 James Link (32-5) sr., 140 Landon Miller (24-7) jr., 140 Jared Boone (25-9) soph., 145 Nate Cleaver (28-11) sr., 152 Tacho Gonzales (18-13) soph., Carson Crace (21-9) jr., 215 Carter Blough (31-2) sr., 285 Bryson Vandermeulen (23-13) sr.
Outlook: The Lowell championship machine keeps churning even after graduating four individual champs from last year’s team title winner. Crace is the reigning runner-up at 160 (after losing to graduated teammate Doak Dean in his 2021 title match), with Blough, Mutschler, Miller, Gonzales and Link also returning Individual Finals placers. The Red Arrows own wins over the other three 2021 team champions – Davison, Dundee and Clinton – plus victories over Grandville and Rockford, among others, and with their losses only to Detroit Catholic Central and two out-of-state powers.
#2 WHITEHALL
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 2
League finish: First in West Michigan Conference
Co-coaches: Justin Zeerip and Collin Zeerip, fourth seasons (100-7)
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2021, Class C runner-up 1984.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 130 Riley Buys (34-10) sr., 145 Max Brown (37-5) sr., 152 Alec Pruett (36-10) sr., 160 Wyatt Jenkins (37-8) fr., 171 Nicholas Blanchard (43-2) sr., 215 Shane Cook (43-2) jr., 285 Ira Jenkins (45-0) sr.
Outlook: For the second season in a row, Whitehall is entering Finals weekend as a second seed, and last year’s run to the Division 3 Final was its fourth making at least the Semifinals over the last six seasons. Jenkins hasn’t lost a match since his sophomore season and won the Division 3 title at 215 last winter, and Brown was last season’s D3 title winner at 140. Blanchard and Pruett also are returning individual placers; those four are among eight seniors in the starting lineup.
#3 GOODRICH
Record/rank: 29-2, No. 3
League finish: First in Flint Metro League
Coach: Kenneth Sirignano, 12th season (record N/A)
Championship history: Two MHSAA championships (most recent 2009), four runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Jaden Davis (27-2) fr., 119 Brody Orcutt (33-9) soph., 125 Ryan Angelo (35-6) sr., 125 Heremias Cheff (17-6) jr., 140 Carsen Richards (39-2) sr., 152 Max Macklem (27-9) fr., 160 Easton Phipps (25-6) soph., 171 Cameron Macklem (39-3) sr., 215 James Mahon (33-10) fr.; 115-G Kendra Vickory (7-6) soph., 125-G Ryen Allen (3-0) soph.
Outlook: Goodrich is another regular at Finals weekend, making the trip for the fifth time in seven seasons, and the Martians have finished Division 2 runners-up two of the last three years. This team has only three senior starters and nine underclassmen in the lineup, but the group is plenty accomplished already. Nine starters are back from last season’s championship match, with six repeat Individual Finals qualifiers.
#4 GAYLORD
Record/rank: 27-0, No. 4
League finish: First in Big North Conference
Coach: Jerry LaJoie, 28th season (775-136-2)
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2020 and 2018.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 130 Louden Stradling (19-0) jr., 135 Gabe Thompson (31-2) sr., 140 Gus James (36-8) jr., 160 Ty Bensinger (38-3) soph., 171 Brayden Gautreau (37-1) jr., 189 Riley Hush (32-5) soph.; 105-G Sunni LaFond (29-8) fr., 120-G Hanna Blyveis (14-1) fr.
Outlook: Few programs can match Gaylord’s record over the last many seasons – the Blue Devils are 106-3 over the last four and a combined 282-10 over the last nine. They also are seeking to make the Semifinals for the sixth time over the last eight seasons. Gaylord edged No. 10 Bay City John Glenn 34-29 in the Regional Final to secure this trip.
#5 MONROE JEFFERSON
Record/rank: 18-3, No. 6
League finish: First in Huron League
Coach: Mike Humphrey, 19th season (368-158)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Issac Masserant (25-6) soph., 130 Dylan Garcia (32-6) sr., 135 Caleb Smiley (26-10) sr., 140 Noah White (29-11) sr., 145 Carter Simota (18-10) soph., 189 Anthony Cousino (20-17) soph., 215 Nathan Masserant (36-5) jr.
Outlook: After returning to the Quarterfinals last season for the first time since 1995, Jefferson is making a repeat trip and has been considered among the top 10 teams in Division 2 all season. Senior Cody Richards (28-6 at 103) was last season’s runner-up at that weight, and Garcia and junior Seth Minney (31-7 at 160) were both individual placers as well.
#6 MASON
Record/rank: 32-3, No. 7
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Coach: Brian Martel, 19th season (544-113)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2006), one runner-up finish.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Matt Ausel (43-2) fr., 125 Tayden Miller (32-0) jr., 171 Derek Badgley (45-2) soph., 189 Landon Peiffer (29-6) sr., 285 David Fancher (40-8) sr.
Outlook: Mason is headed back to Finals weekend for the second time in three seasons and with its most team wins since 2013-14. The Bulldogs also have been considered among the division’s top 10 all season, with Badgley, Miller and sophomore AJ Martel (27-1 at 160) all returning Finals placers.
#7 ST. JOSEPH
Record/rank: 23-8, No. 9
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Taylor Misel, seventh season (83-97)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Marcus Lowry (30-17) fr., 112 Noah Dahlke (33-14) fr., 119 Nolan Wertanen (46-0) sr.; 125 Landon Thomas (48-6) fr., 130 Jack Sherman (43-10) sr., 171 Jacob Halsey (46-1) sr., 189 Matthew Morris (36-12) sr., 130-G Maya Milletics (10-7) fr.
Outlook: The Bears are making their first trip to Finals weekend, with the key victory 35-34 over No. 5 Stevensville Lakeshore in the District Final. Eight senior starters are leading the charge, with Wertanen the reigning champion at 112 and Halsey last season’s runner-up at 152.
#8 BLOOMFIELD HILLS BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 19-5, unranked
League finish: Seventh in Detroit Catholic League
Coach: Scott Kolesky, third season (41-25)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Jace Morgan (46-6) fr., 119 Ricardo Saenz (46-0) fr., 125 Luke Nelson (36-13) jr., 152 Brennan Parent (37-11) jr.
Outlook: Brother Rice has earned its second trip to Finals weekend and first since 1988, winning all four of its postseason matches so far by at least 45 points. Kolesky formerly was the head coach at Clinton Township Chippewa Valley and Troy Athens and has a 293-210 record over 17 seasons total. This team has taken major strides after going 6-11 a year ago, and nearly half the roster is freshmen – with five of the team’s eight starting.
PHOTO Lowell celebrates a match win during last season’s Division 2 Final. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)