Rivals to Be Push Each Other as Teammates
February 24, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
SAGINAW — The trash talk of an intense rivalry can wait.
For now, Matt Santos and K.J. Suitor wear the same colors, representing the same school, focusing on the same goal — winning individual MHSAA wrestling championships.
The Saginaw Swan Valley seniors also are helping each other attain that goal, providing the other with one of the best training partners available in the state.
When the MHSAA Division 3 Individual Wrestling Finals end March 5 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Santos and Suitor will no longer be teammates for the first time in six years.
The next stop for Santos will be Michigan State University, where he will wrestle for the Spartans.
Suitor will move on to University of Michigan to wrestle for the Wolverines.
While the irony of two teammates becoming rivals isn't lost on either wrestler, it's a storyline they've minimized during their final season together at Swan Valley.
"We'll have an occasional laugh about that," Suitor said.
"Yeah, we get that a lot," Santos said. "We've talked about it a little bit, but not too much. Right now it's all about business, talking about what's happening right now. It's about states and stuff like that. I'm sure we'll get to that more."
As wrestlers in the same college conference, there is the chance that Santos and Suitor could one day take the mat against each other. They are only one weight class apart, Santos wrestling at 135 pounds and Suitor at 130. Santos has always been significantly bigger than Suitor, but the weight gap has closed to within five pounds this season.
"We don't really talk about it too much," Suitor said. "It's definitely a possibility. We're getting pretty close in weight. We don't really focus on that. Right now, the primary goal is to finish out the year on the best note possible at the state championships. I can see us talking about it later down the road. We'd both give it our all. It wouldn't be anything less than what we've been doing."
What Santos and Suitor have been doing day in and day out in the Swan Valley wrestling room is prepare each other to succeed on the biggest stage.
While they've never wrestled against each other in a competitive match, their practice sessions can be tougher than some of their matches.
"Most of the time, we're just working on moves, but once in a while we do go live," Santos said. "It's a brawl; we go at it."
Suitor knows that he can't take a day off in practice with a partner like Santos awaiting him.
"Matt is an extremely hard worker," Suitor said. "As soon as you enter the room, you know you're going to go 100 percent. That's really good to know. He helped me get to the next level. We thrive off each other. It's great knowing I can walk in and I'm going to get the best partner in the state."
Santos was the 130-pound champion in Division 3 last year after taking second at 119 as a freshman and fourth at 125 as a sophomore. He is the No. 1-ranked wrestler in that weight class in all divisions, according to MichiganGrappler.com.
The only loss for Santos in a 48-1 season was a 3-2 decision against St. Johns senior Ian Parker, the No. 1-ranked wrestler in all divisions at 140 pounds and an Iowa State recruit. Santos is 190-10 in his career and is ranked 13th nationally at 132 pounds by InterMat.
"I always want the better matches with the better guys," Santos said. "That's what makes you better as a wrestler. Yeah, I want to go undefeated. At the same time, going into the state tournament I don't have the pressure to be undefeated. I have to go out there and wrestle now."
Suitor has been on the podium all three years, but has yet to grab the top spot. He was seventh at 103 as a freshman, second at 112 as a sophomore and fourth at 125 as a junior. He is ranked fourth overall in the state at 130 behind two Division 3 wrestlers, No. 1 Alex Martinez of Ida and No. 2 Kole Krauss of Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Suitor's only loss this season was a 3-0 decision to third-ranked Dallas O'Green of Division 4 Carson City-Crystal in January. Suitor is 51-1 this season and 219-12 for his career. The 219 wins are a school record, and he’s just outside the top 30 for career victories in MHSAA history.
"It definitely sent a message," Suitor said of the loss. "It was like a blessing in disguise. It gives you something to go back and work on the drawing board to prep for future matches like that. It takes a load off going undefeated. It's a great opportunity, but it also just adds more stress than you need. You tend to wrestle more at ease. You're not afraid to make as many mistakes."
Swan Valley coach Darrell Burchfield guided both athletes through the recruiting process, starting it out by sending about 70 letters to Division I and II colleges on behalf of his wrestlers. He also asked them to come up with a list of schools which offer the degree programs they are interested in pursuing.
Suitor is going into finance with a goal of eventually working for a professional sports team, while Santos will major in physical therapy.
"They are very different," Burchfield said. "Both are excellent character kids. Both are hard workers. Both are strong goal-bound people. You don't get the success without that. Matt just has incredible discipline in everything he goes. He maps things out a little bit different than K.J. K.J. looks at things from the 10,000-foot view; these are the steps he needs to go and the steps he's going to take. Matt will map out this day and he'll do this. He has his meal plans down, what time he's going to bed."
Having each other as wrestling partners has helped Santos and Suitor shore up their weaknesses, Burchfield said.
"It's a huge help," Burchfield said. "Historically, K.J. had struggled with short, quick, strong guys a little bit and Matt had struggled with guys who had a lot of length. So, their body styles helped each other out this year. We've had a good room over the last several years, so they've had a lot of different people to work with. This year, they've drilled with each other every day."
The only time Swan Valley has produced two MHSAA individual champions was in 2009, when B.J. Suitor won at 112 pounds and Jake Jeske won at 145 in Division 3. B.J. Suitor, K.J.'s brother, was a three-time champion from 2007-09. He's the only Swan Valley wrestler to win multiple titles, an exclusive club Santos looks to join on March 5.
"My freshman year, the first time being in the Finals, it's scary," Santos said. "Now that I've been there for three years, been in the Finals and won, it takes a lot of the pressure off."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Matt Santos (left) and K.J. Suitor compete during last season’s MHSAA Individual Finals. (Middle) Santos claps after claiming the Division 3 championship at 130 pounds. (Below) Suitor wrestles his first-round match at 125. (Click for more photos from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D1 Preview: Davison Seeks Return to Top
February 20, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Davison is arguably the most storied wrestling program in MHSAA history. And for seven seasons, the Cardinals have looked to add another championship chapter.
This weekend at Kellogg Arena, they are favored to win their first Division 1 title since finishing a string of five consecutive championships in 2006.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 1, listed by seed. Their Quarterfinal matches begin at 3:15 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 9:30 Saturday morning and the championship match at 4 p.m. All matches this weekend will be streamed live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV. For results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page. Rankings below are from MichiganGrappler.com.
#1 DAVISON
Record/rank: 23-4, No. 1
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley Association
Coach: Roy Hall, 17th season (426-72-1)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2006), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Devon Perez (31-11) soph., 112 Max Johnson (35-7) soph., 125 Lincoln Olson (38-1) jr., 130 Derek Humphrey (36-4) sr., 135 Matt Miller (30-7) sr., 140 Justin Oliver (40-1) sr., 145 Dominic Russ (33-8) sr., 152 Thomas Garty (33-3) sr., 152 Brenden McRill (22-11) fr.,171 Jordan Cooks (36-2) sr., 215 Jake Ellis (25-16) jr.
Outlook: Davison just missed the title last season, falling to Detroit Catholic Central 29-26 in the Final. But 11 starters from that match are back this weekend. The starting lineup features five 30-match winners, with five more 20-match winners able to sub in. Cooks was a repeat individual champion last season, while both Olson and Oliver have won multiple titles during their careers and Miller was a runner-up in 2013. Total, six of this weekend’s probable starters placed at last winter’s Individual Finals.
#2 HARTLAND
Record/rank: 38-2, No. 3
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: Todd Cheney, 22nd season (601-91-2)
Championship history: Four MHSAA runner-up finishes (most recent 2007).
Individual Finals qualifiers: 125 Sage Castillo (49-7) soph., 130 Nate Hughes (48-7) sr., 135 Austin Eicher (33-1) sr., 145 Jacob Gorial (52-1) jr., 160 Logan Vish (39-15) soph., 285 Josh Charneski (46-8) sr.,
Outlook: Hartland again is contending for its first MHSAA team title, moving up from a third seed a year ago as it makes its 13th straight Quarterfinal appearance. Eicher defeated teammate Gorial in one of last season’s most talked about Individual Finals, at 130, and Gorial is the team wins leader this season. Once again, the path to Battle Creek was a tough one, with No. 4 Brighton and No. 5 Holt among those Hartland downed along the way.
#3 DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 15-4, No. 2
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League
Coach: Mitch Hancock, seventh season (146-32)
Championship history: Ten MHSAA championships (most recent 2013), two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Parker O’Brien (26-17) sr., 119 Trevor Zdebski (20-2) jr., 130 Evan Toth (27-13) sr., 135 Greg Johnson (32-10) sr., 140 Myles Amine (35-6) jr., 145 Malik Amine (27-3) sr., 152 Nick Bennett (36-0) sr., 171 Drew Garcia (34-1) sr., 189 Nick Giese (19-8) jr., 215 James Russell (36-7) sr.
Outlook: Detroit Catholic Central has won three Division 1 team championships in four seasons, including at the end of the last two, and should be in the hunt again despite the third seed. The Shamrocks’ only losses were to No. 1 Davison, Division 2 No. 1 Lowell and No. 2 St. Johns and Illinois power Oak Park River Forest. Malik Amine and Garcia are reigning individual champions, and Zdebski, Myles Amine and Giese also placed last season.
#4 GRANDVILLE
Record/rank: 17-1, No. 7
League finish: First in O-K Red
Coach: Bubba Gritter, fourth season (66-26)
Championship history: Two MHSAA championships (most recent 1993), three runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Josh Brower (33-9) soph., 135 Collin Tomkins (32-4) sr., 140 Kameron Bush (39-3) fr., 152 Jake Brower (31-8) sr., 160 Sam Greco (30-11) fr., 215 Eppe Saarenheimo (28-13) jr.
Outlook: Grandville returned to the Quarterfinals last season for the first time since Gritter’s senior year of 2003, and returns four seeds higher this weekend. Half of last season’s lineup is back including returning Individual Finals placer Tomkins. He’s one of five seniors; the probable starters for this weekend also include seven underclassmen looking to make this trip a tradition.
#5 OXFORD
Record/rank: 24-4, No. 8
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Paul McDevitt, 17th season (345-140)
Championship history: MHSAA Division 1 champion 2011, two runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Alex Hrisopoulos (42-7) soph., 160 Noah Kinne (33-18) jr., 171 Wesley Maskill (46-5) sr., 189 Wyatt Harden (16-4) soph., 189 Grant Krause (31-9) sr., 215 Ben Line (39-7) sr., 215 Jamal Pettiford (18-9) sr., 285 Zach Wood (30-5) sr.
Outlook: Oxford missed the Quarterfinals last season for the first time in six, but returns this weekend after beating No. 10 Clarkston along the way. Hrisopoulos, Maskill and senior Eddie Schlickenmeyer all have won at least 40 matches this season and were Individual Finals placers in 2013. Maskill, Schlickenmeyer, Krause and senior Zab Throne all were in the lineup the last time Oxford wrestled in a championship match, in 2012 against Detroit Catholic Central.
#6 PLYMOUTH
Record/rank: 36-4, unranked
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: Quinn Guernsey, sixth season (112-75)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Brandon Harris (47-4) jr., 119 Mohamad Youssef (50-3) sr., 140 Jon Conn (44-7) sr., 145 Sofus Nielson (34-10) sr., 160 Joey Shaver (43-9) sr., 171 Hussein Youssef (45-8) jr.
Outlook: Guernsey, who wrestled at Brooklyn Columbia Central and then Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University, has led Plymouth to its first Quarterfinal this winter and an increased win total each of the last three seasons. Plymouth defeated No. 6 Temperance Bedford during this run. Mohamad Youssef was an Individual Finals placer last season.
#7 MACOMB DAKOTA
Record/rank: 25-5, No. 9
League finish: First in Macomb Area Conference Red
Coach: Ed Skowneski, second season (62-10)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Zack Prater (39-11) soph., 135 Kyle Cendrowski (29-19) sr., 152 Alex Bozinovski (42-7) sr., 160 Jake Johnson (48-1) sr., 171 Joshua Burnham (39-8) sr., 189 Greg Brohl (32-17) sr., 215 Antonio Balabani (38-7) jr.
Outlook: After making the Quarterfinals last season for the first time, Dakota is back with a lineup of half seniors. Half of the lineup also has at least 30 wins, including returning Finals placers Bozinovski and Johnson. Skowneski was a 2003 individual champion for Clinton Township Chippewa Valley before wrestling at MSU.
#8 LIVONIA FRANKLIN
Record/rank: 16-7, unranked
League finish: Fifth in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Coach: David Chiola, 14th season (231-97)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Jeremy Nelson (33-23) soph., 119 Nick Robertson (40-14) jr., 125 Nathan Atienza (50-6) fr., 152 Kenneth Steele (32-19) sr., 152 Nick Frazier (42-7) sr., 160 Jordan Atienza (58-0) sr.
Outlook: Franklin is in the Quarterfinals for the first time after winning its ninth straight District title. Jordan Atienza is 166-1 over the last two seasons and was an Individual Finals runner-up at 152 last winter. Chiola has won 292 matches total as a coach, with six more seasons at Garden City.
PHOTO: Davison wrestlers participate in the "Grand March" before last season's championship matches at Kellogg Arena. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)