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.)
High 5s - 2/7/12
February 6, 2012
Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer your suggestions by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for other less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics as a whole. We also will honor one team each week.
Marissa Campbell
Brighton senior
Bowling
Campbell has posted some of the state’s top scores this season according to the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association. Her high game of 268 is tied for ninth this season, and her high series of 470 is tied for 20th. She’s averaging 197 pins per game and rolled a two-game 429 last week.
“I think so far I’ve done good. I’ve definitely had some off days, but lately I’m bowling well."
Up next: Campbell has signed to bowl next season with Alabama A&M. She plans to major in biology and minor in psychology. “I’m not really sure what I’ll do yet. But I really like forensics, like CSI. I could be a lab technician.”
My goal this season: "I want to average 200, at least. My high game this year is 268, and I want to (bowl) last year’s, 279. My dream goal is winning states."
My career highlight: "Number one on my list is when I got my high game of 279 when I was a junior. Another was when I made states sophomore year, which was really big because I was only a sophomore. Last year, I missed the state cut by 10 pins.”
I learned the most about bowling from: "My high school coach, Coach (Shawn) Kind, has taught me the most about bowling, as he was my first teacher. Coach Kind is an awesome coach and never yells at his players, but expects a lot out of us because he knows what we are capable of. In the process of teaching me the technical aspects of the game, I grew a passion for bowling. I can’t imagine my life without it.”
I look up to: “My coaches. My high school coach, Coach Kind, and my person coach Lou Marquez. I look up to them because I trust they only want the best for me, and they believe in me. They know my potential, and always push me to be a better bowler.”
Tim Lambert
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern senior
Wrestling
Lambert recently won the 200th match of his career, and now stands at 46-0 this season and 224-5 for his career. He won 61 as a junior and 62 as a sophomore, and sits atop the MHSAA record book with 124 three-point near falls totaled last season. He is seeking to win his first MHSAA championship. He finished Division 2 runner-up at 112 pounds as a sophomore. He’s wrestling at 125 this winter.
Up next: Lambert has signed to wrestle at Nebraska. He is undecided on what he will study. “I have a wide variety of interests though such as business, marketing, fisheries and wildlife, and sports recreation, etc. (I want to be) a good husband and father, and a successful man in whatever I choose to pursue.”
I learned the most about wrestling from: "I’d say learning a lot from my brother and father has influenced my skills. Training at the Olympic Training Center made a huge impact to my wrestling. I have had many coaches throughout my career and outside of high school that have made a big impact in my wrestling success. Craig Shutich and Ernie Gillem are personal coaches that have made major impacts in my success.
I love most about wrestling: “The challenge and the grind. I love being able to train all year mentally and physically to then step out on the mat and be able to see who the best wrestler is without any other variables.”
My pre-match routine is: "I like warming up early and getting a really good sweat or workout in. That way, I am not going into the match with muscles that are tight and not warmed up. And before finals matches I retie my shoes to make them tight, and it kind of refocuses me."
I look up to: "My whole family gives me inspiration and has supported me, and I look up to them. Also, great wrestlers like Jordan Burroughs give me inspiration."
Other sports: "Right now, I don't play any other sports, and I participate in wrestling for most of the year – although I enjoy playing all other sports like basketball, football, and my personal favorite, ultimate Frisbee."
Grand Ledge Gymnastics
The Comets pushed their four-year-plus winning streak to 69 straight meets and became favorites again to win the MHSAA team championship next month by claiming the Canton Invitational title with a score of 146.8, less than a tenth of a point better than runner-up Canton. The meet featured nine teams from last season's MHSAA Team Final, including the top five placers.
"We were behind after two events, and we're not used to that," Grand Ledge coach Duane Haring said. "When (we) came back to beam, the last event again, they went five for five. There aren't that many teams that can do that. We're one that can, thank goodness."
Grand Ledge's highlight easily was a 10.0 score by senior Christine Wilson on bars. Haring has been told its the first 10.0 in Michigan high school history, although he's continuing to investigate to find out if that is so. Wilson finished second all-around in Division 1, and teammate Lauren Clark won the Division 2 all-around competition.
"They just showed me so much drive and determination Saturday," Haring said. "It was incredible."