Shamrocks Make it 10 with D1 Repeat
February 23, 2013
By Greg Tunnicliff
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – Rematches are always fun.
But they don’t get any better than when they are between the top two teams, and in the MHSAA Finals.
Detroit Catholic Central, ranked No. 1, and Davison, ranked No. 2, met for the second time this winter in Saturday’s Division 1 championship match at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
The highly-anticipated rematch lived up to its billing, with the Shamrocks pulling out a thrilling 29-26 victory when junior Evan Toth earned a pin at 125 pounds with 36 seconds left in the third period.
Toth trailed 9-2 before he successfully put a headlock on Davison junior Derek Humphrey, turned him over, and recorded the six-point victory to send the Shamrocks’ bench and many of the capacity crowd of 3,618 into a frenzy.
Coincidentally, Toth lost to a wrestler from Oxford in the last match of the 2011 state finals. The Wildcats beat the Shamrocks 26-25.
“I’ve been in that situation before,” Toth said. “I knew we needed more than three points, and I was looking for something big the whole match. I knew what I had to do. You have to wrestle the whole six minutes. (Winning the championship) is the highest high you can have.”
It is DCC’s second straight MHSAA title and 10th overall. The Shamrocks ended this winter 25-3.
“I’m at a loss for words,” DCC coach Mitch Hancock said. “(Toth) never gave up. When you’re a Shamrock you believe to the end, and he did.”
While the Shamrocks were overjoyed Saturday, Davison’s contingent was stunned. The Cardinals led for most of the match and appeared to be headed for their first MHSAA title since 2006 when they took a 26-23 lead on 3-1 decision by Lincoln Olson at 119 pounds.
Humphrey got off to fast start at 125 and controlled the majority of the match, leading 4-1 after the first period and 9-2 after the second.
Davison ended this season 14-5.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Davison coach Roy Hall said. “That kid (Toth) found his position. He had one opportunity to hit a home run.”
In a star-studded Division 1 lineup that featured eight teams that had won a combined 34 team championships, it was no surprise that Davison and DCC faced each other in the Final.
Entering this weekend’s final round of the state tournament, the Cardinals and the Shamrocks boasted a combined 17 MHSAA titles and three runner-up finishes. Both teams featured a combined 21 ranked wrestlers.
DCC and Davison were the top two seeded teams, with Catholic Central at No. 1 and Davison No. 2. Both squads more than lived up to their lofty billings by demolishing their quarterfinal and semifinal opponents.
Davison defeated Holt, 50-12, in Friday’s Quarterfinals before polishing off third-seeded Hartland, 44-15, in Saturday’s Semifinals. The Shamrocks beat eighth-seeded Grandville, 62-7, before downing fourth-seeded Rochester, 48-13.
Davison started out Saturday’s championship rematch in much better fashion than its first encounter with Catholic Central, a 44-23 setback on Dec. 14.
Saturday’s match began at 130 pounds and Davison captured the first five weights to take an 18-3 lead. DCC was able to get back into match, primarily, because of the performances of its heavyweights.
The Shamrocks captured four straight weights from 171-285, recording back-to-back major decisions at 171 and 189 and a pin at 285 by senior Bob Coe that gave Catholic Central its first lead at 20-18.
“The whole year we didn’t talk about repeating,” Coe said. “Now that it’s done, we can talk about a repeat. I firmly believe we have the best coaching staff in the country and the hardest-working team in the country.”
One of the big reasons Davison was able to stay with Catholic Central and nearly win was the return two-time individual champion Justin Oliver and the performance of freshman Max Johnson.
Oliver did not compete in the Cardinals’ first match with the Shamrocks, and they both recorded key victories Saturday. Oliver opened the match at 130 by recording a 3-0 victory over Myles Amine, giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
After Catholic Central came and took the lead, Johnson gave Davison the lead back at 23-20 with a technical fall victory, 15-0, over the Shamrocks’ Tommy Herrimann at 103 pounds.
“Justin Oliver is a two-time state champion,” said Hall of Oliver, who returned to the Cardinals’ lineup at the team District tournament. “He is a stud and he lights up an athletic event. I was happy with the effort. That’s all you can ask for. Our guys will be back.”
The Cardinals almost put a huge distance between themselves and Catholic Central when Jacob Madrigal nearly pinned Parker O’Brien at 112 pounds.
Trailing 4-2 with less than 10 seconds left in the third period, Madrigal flipped O’Brien over and came seconds away from securing a pin before time expired. O’Brien took the victory and tied the match.
“I went a little too quick,” O’Brien said. “I went for two points (takedown) and I got a little sloppy. I just held on for the win.”
The loss was only the Cardinals’ third to a Michigan team this season. Besides Catholic Central, the only other Michigan squad to beat Davison was St. Johns, which beat Lowell, 42-20, in the Division 2 championship match.
“It’s very tough,” Hancock said of having to face Davison again. “We knew they were a much better team than we faced in December. Anytime you have (Davison’s coaches) Roy Hall and Paul Donahoe in a corner, you’re in for a war. We persevered.”
Haslem Seeks to Take Next Step, Elevate St. Clair Wrestling Again
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2025
For the first time in his career, Cristian Haslem is heading to the Division 2 Individual Wrestling Finals with teammates.
After being the lone member of the St. Clair wrestling team to qualify in each of the past two seasons, the 120-pound junior will be joined this Friday and Saturday at Ford Field by Zachary Drugach (113), Nathan Postma (157), Caleb Kuretich (175) and David Alley (190).
“I’m really excited,” Haslem said. “I just let them know to treat it like any other match, really. Just don’t make it bigger than it is.”
It’s the biggest contingent of Finals qualifiers for the Saints in program history, so it’s only fitting that Haslem is part of it. While the current version of the program is still less than 20 years old, Haslem already has cemented himself as one of its all-time greats.
His two runner-up finishes – at 106 as a freshman and 113 as a sophomore – are the highest any Saints wrestler has ever stood on the Finals podium, and his two all-state finishes tie him with Colton Pfaendtner for the most in school history. They’re also the only two St. Clair wrestlers to earn all-state honors.
Haslem set the freshman (46-2) and sophomore (49-1) records for wins, and at 132-3 over his career, he’s already moved to second all-time behind Pfaendtner (180).
So, as he looks to take the next step this weekend and become the first Finals champion in school history, he’s hoping to follow his own advice.
“I feel a lot more confident about this year,” Haslem said. “The last two years, I wasn’t used to the big stage. I feel like I just have to treat it like any other match.”
Haslem enters the weekend at 37-0 and seeded second at 120 pounds behind sophomore Devan Garcia of Battle Creek Harper Creek.
The two know each other well, as Garcia defeated Haslem in the 113-pound Final a year ago.
Haslem admits that a rematch Saturday night has long been on his mind, but he’s well aware there’s work to do in order to get there.
He opens the tournament Friday with Jack Hayes of Bay City John Glenn, and his potential opponents on the way to the Final include unbeaten Joshua Ledford of Zeeland East.
“I’ve definitely just been trying to think about the next match, and not thinking about that rematch,” Haslem said. “Otherwise, I know it will mess with my matches before it. But of course, I’m excited for that match.”
St. Clair coach Jake Scillian has watched Haslem remain focused all season, and while he knows being this close to the finish line will make that more difficult, he has faith in his star to remain in the moment.
“We just kind of take it one match at a time, one opponent at a time,” Scillian said. “I think this year is going to be the hardest, because I know he’s foaming at the mouth to get that title. But he knows that he’s really going to have to focus for each match.”
Getting so close two years in a row has driven Haslem to another level this season. He’s unbeaten on the mat, with wins over top-tier wrestlers such as Traverse City West’s Matthew Quigley – a runner-up at 113 in Division 1 a year ago – and Yale’s Landon Sopha, a three-time placer in Division 3.
Scillian said Haslem has put everything into his training, attending Team Donahoe sessions in Flint at least once per week to train with former Davison star and NCAA national champion Paul Donahoe. That’s on top of his St. Clair practices and attending every open mat session Scillian has held.
“After two heartbreaks, he definitely put it into overdrive this year,” Scillian said. “He wrestles 365 days a year. His parents hired a strength trainer; he’s been lifting like crazy.”
Haslem’s work is geared not only toward winning a title this weekend, but also securing a place on a collegiate roster. Of course, a win Saturday could go a long way in helping that.
“I think it would make a big difference for college coaches,” Haslem said. “I feel like it’d be helpful to show them I can compete on big stages and do what it takes to win.”
He’s already proven quite a bit. As a freshman, he surprised himself with his run, only to have to wrestle the Final with a broken finger suffered in the semis. Getting to the Final as a sophomore was more of an expectation, but he went down early against Garcia and couldn’t claw back.
He’s also helped elevate St. Clair wrestling. In trying to find better competition for Haslem to wrestle, Scillian has challenged his entire team to raise its level – and the Saints have responded.
“It’s kind of cool to see the trajectory of both of them,” Scillian said. “Cristian came in and he’s this super-talented kid, so the issue was, ‘What do we do with a kid that’s at a higher level?’ We’ve always tried to raise the ceiling, and have everyone else raise theirs, too. We kind of used Cristian as a catalyst for that. … I have a ton of respect for the Haslems for keeping Cristian here. He could have gone to any school. It kind of shows that our program is on the right trajectory, and it can happen to anyone who puts the work in. You don’t have to be from a certain school to win.”
Haslem is happy to be that catalyst and have his teammates joining him in the Grand March. Now he’s ready to take the next step and elevate himself, and the program, again.
“It would be awesome,” Haslem said. “I think it would just help bring a lot of kids out, and just put our school on the map for wrestling.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. 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) St. Clair’s Cristian Haslem, right, has his hand raised in victory after a match this season. (Middle) Haslem, left, wraps up and lifts an opponent off the mat. (Photos courtesy of the St. Clair wrestling program.)