Wrestling Finals Ticket Sales Underway
February 14, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Fans wishing to purchase advance tickets for the 2017 Michigan High School Athletic Association Team and Individual Wrestling Finals may now do so through the host sites' box offices, from Central Michigan University for Team Wrestling Finals and The Palace of Auburn Hills for Individual Finals.
CMU will host the Team Quarterfinals on Feb. 24 and Semifinals and Finals on Feb. 25, and tickets are available through CMU Ticket Central. Quarterfinal tickets cost $8 and one ticket is good for all 16 matches, starting with the Division 4 session at noon. Semifinal tickets cost $10 and are good for both sessions of that round beginning at 9 a.m.
Team Finals tickets also cost $10 and are good for both sessions – new this season, the four Finals will be split with Divisions 1 and 4 competing at 3:30 and Divisions 2 and 3 wrestling at 6 p.m. All-session tickets good for all matches both days cost $20.
Tickets for this season’s Individual Finals from March 2-4 at the Palace of Auburn Hills are available exclusively through The Palace Ticket Store. Only all-session reserved seat tickets will be sold, at a cost of $55 each plus applicable handling charges.
Remaining single-session reserved and general admission tickets will go on sale Feb. 27 through The Palace Ticket Store. Single-session reserved seat tickets are priced at $12 each, and general admission seats in the upper bowl of the arena are priced at $11 per session and include in and out parking privileges.
Spectators ordering reserved seat tickets for the Individual Finals must designate the wrestling division they prefer to watch, which will result in their ticket assignment being in full view of the mats being used for that competition. For Divisions 3 and 4, the seats will be on the side of the arena opposite the mat placement, providing an unobstructed view of those mats.
Links to both box offices can be found on the Wrestling page of the MHSAA Website. Individual Finals tickets also may be charged by phone to American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard by calling (248) 377-0100.
MHSAA's Davis Selected to Michigan Chapter of National Wrestling Hall of Fame
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 15, 2025
MHSAA Director of Officials Sam Davis – a high school champion wrestler and then highly-regarded official for more than four decades – will be inducted into the Michigan chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on May 17 in Ann Arbor.
Davis has been selected for his lifetime service to the sport, and his list of contributions continues to grow.
After serving 32 years as a teacher and administrator and then a decade in law enforcement, Davis joined the MHSAA staff in 2017 as part of the officials department. He now directs that department and its efforts to serve more than 9,000 officials across the state.
Davis was an MHSAA Wrestling Finals individual champion at 165 pounds as a senior at Lansing Eastern High School in 1969 and also a significant contributor when the Quakers won the Class A team championship in 1968. He then joined Michigan State University’s wrestling program but suffered an eye injury as a freshman that forced him to give up competing in the sport. However, he instead took up judo, winning state championships in 1980 and 1981 and competing at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Davis previously had officiated wrestling during the 1971-72 season and returned to the high school mat for good in 1981, continuing what has turned into a 45-season career as an MHSAA registered official in the sport. He also officiated National Junior College Athletic Association Finals in 1981 and 1982, and he received the MHSAA’s Vern L. Norris Award in 2015 for his vast contributions to officiating, mentorship and officials education.
After graduating from MSU with bachelor and master’s degrees in 1974, Davis began his teaching career at Lansing Everett High School that fall. He taught history, psychology and U.S. government and coached wrestling and football and later served as an assistant principal at the school. Davis also served as principal at Dwight Rich Middle School and then district athletic director before finishing 32 years in the Lansing School District in 2007.
He then served nearly 11 years with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, retiring as a major in December 2017 and soon after joining the MHSAA staff after having contributed several seasons as a Finals official and Official in Charge managing all officials working championship matches during those events. He also has served as a longtime president of the Lansing Wrestling Officials Association.