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.)
Studer In 54th Year of 'Growing Good People'
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
February 19, 2020
BATTLE CREEK — Dave Studer knew he was too small to play varsity football in high school, and when someone approached him about wrestling, “I had no clue what it was,” he said.
“I thought they did it in a ring like pro wrestling.”
That was in the early 1960s at Port Huron High School. Intrigued, Studer decided to try it and got hooked.
In fact, he got so hooked, he is now in his 54th year as head wrestling coach at Battle Creek Harper Creek.
Although he is still going strong, he does not get down on the mats to grapple with his wrestlers any more. That is the job of assistant coach Joe Yurisich.
“I’m their practice dummy most of the days,” Yurisich said, laughing.
Studer, 75, has received many accolades, including induction into the Harper Creek High School Hall of Fame and Michigan Wrestling Association Hall of Fame.
But there is one thing missing from his resume – a trip to the MHSAA Team Finals.
This year’s are Feb. 28-29 at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo.
“The first two years I coached, I had some outstanding teams, but they didn’t have a team state meet at that time,” Studer said. (The team championship format was created in 1988.)
“One of the best teams I ever had, every kid won 80 percent of their matches, but we didn’t have any kind of team thing.”
Last week, the Beavers took a 17-3 record into Districts, winning their fifth consecutive title. They defeated Richland Gull Lake 46-24, then swept Vicksburg 84-0.
The Beavers will host Plainwell today in a Division 2 Regional first-round match.
Temporary beginning
After wrestling for four years at Western Michigan University, Studer graduated and had a government job when he got a phone call in 1967.
“They said Harper Creek’s wrestling coach was in an accident and they needed somebody to stand in for a little bit,” he said. “I said, ‘Sure I’ll do that.’
“My very first match, we just got beat terrible. I thought, maybe I’m not doing things right but I kept working at it. By the end of the season, we won the Regional Championship.”
The school district offered Studer the position and a job teaching physical education at the elementary school, and that sealed the deal.
He eventually taught psychology, then physical education and weightlifting at the high school, retiring from the classroom in 2001.
“I just like the people and the community,” he said. “We had a lot of support. The young men I was getting were good, hard-working kids.
“I had some other opportunities to go other places but I told them no, I was real happy right here.”
He still feels that way after 54 years. Things change of course, and one he’d like to see switch back are more opportunities for dual meets – the team had only two home meets this year but used to have six to eight, which provided more opportunities to create excitement for the sport in the community.
Plus, one of those past duals remains among his favorite memories.
“We were wrestling Lakeview at the old high school,” he said. “We had over 2,700 people come to that dual meet.
“The fire marshal turned away over 300 people. That’s why I like dual meets. People had to sit on the gym floor because we ran out of bleachers.”
Second generations
Studer coached the fathers of many of his wrestlers, including Yurisich, who graduated from Harper Creek and Olivet College in the early 2000s.
“There really hasn’t been much change since I was in school,” Yurisich said. “The cool thing is that my father (Steve), who was (Studer’s) assistant a few years ago, also wrestled for Coach Studer.”
Steve Yurisich graduated in 1978 “so he wrestled for him in a different era,” his son said.
“We’ve had conversations. (Studer’s) mentality for the sport and his passion for the kids has never changed since my father can remember from ’78 to present day.”
Senior Trevor Brooks, who wrestles at 145 pounds, said he has learned a lot from Studer.
“He brings a lot of emotion and intensity and pride,” Brooks said. “We have to keep that pride up, knowing that we’re a good team and we have to keep the tradition going.
“I’ve learned a lot of life skills from him. You should never take a moment for granted because any given moment it can be taken from you because of injury. You just have to go out there and wrestle like it’s your last match.”
Yurisich, who teaches fifth grade math and science at the middle school, said Studer is in it for the kids.
Brooks joins seniors Greylon Dishman, Chandler Froehlich, Aspen Tyler Kortz, Jaden Mainstone and Ethan Shipley. Juniors are Brian DeJesus Castellanos Camacho, Joseph Edmonds, Easton Kolassa, Jake Pancoft, Noah Szarejko, Bryce Trimm and Merritt Wilson. The team’s lone sophomore is Matthew Martinez, and freshmen are Zachary Egan and Nicholas Martinez.
“The biggest thing that I notice as a coach and didn’t necessarily notice as a kid is he’s always trying to make the kid a better person later on in life, not necessarily at what they’re doing at the moment,” Yurisich said.
“Making sure that we grow good, young men, rather than just grow wrestlers.”
The outpouring of love from his wrestlers and supporters was evident four years ago when Studer was honored during his 50th year of coaching.
The school raised more than $40,000 for a scholarship and new wrestling mat.
Studer has not wavered from his original way of coaching.
“We worked a lot on mental training, getting mentally tough, not on winning and losing,” he said.
“I’ve never faulted kids when they get beat. I tell them it’s not the end of the world, it’s just one wrestling match. You’ve got your whole life to be a winner.”
Working with the athletes is what keeps him going.
“I enjoy it,” he said. “When I get to a point where I don’t enjoy it or I don’t think I’m doing a good job, then I will retire.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek Harper Creek sophomore Matthew Martinez locks up an opponent this season. (Middle) From left, coach Dave Studer, assistant Joe Yurisich and senior Trevor Brooks. (Below) Studer talks things over with senior Greylon Dishman. (Action photos by Jennifer Brooks; head shots by Pam Shebest.)