Did you see that? (9/10-9/16)
September 18, 2012
One of the state's premier regular-season cross country events plus some big-time volleyball in the Upper Peninsula highlight the non-football highlights from the week that was Sept. 10-16.
(Click for the Drive for Detroit football report.)
Cross country
Elite meet at MSU: The Spartan Invitational, run at Michigan State's Forest Akers East Golf Course, is arguably the most competitive regular season event in this sport and draws a number of top teams from all over the state for a series of races. Champions on Friday were the Waterford Mott boys and Grosse Pointe South girls in the Elite races, the Ithaca boys and North Muskegon girls in the White division, the Haslett boys and the Spring Lake girls in the Bronze division, and Bloomfield Hills Lahser boys and Jenison girls in the Green division. Click the "Playmakers" link for results and the others for coverage. (Playmakers.com) (Grand Haven Tribune) (Lansing State Journal)
Volleyball
Capital of UP volleyball: Calumet, ranked fourth in Class C this week. defended its title at the Articatz Invitational Autumn Classic in Marquette by winning all 12 of its games. The field also included Marquette, Houghton and Escanaba among others. (Marquette Mining Journal)
Trojans at home above the net: More of the Upper Peninsula's top teams met nearer the Wisconsin border. Crystal Falls Forest Park, ranked No. 6 in Class D, defended its home tournament title with a 2-1 win over No. 10 Lake Linden-Hubbell in the final. (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Golf
Lakeview owns Battle Creek: Lakeview continues to rank among the state's best teams in Division 2, at No. 3 this week. And there's no question it's the best in Battle Creek, as evidenced by a sixth-straight All-City championship won with a score of 176 -- 45 strokes better than runner-up Harper Creek. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Recognition
Clawson names Judy Hacker Field: Hacker, who died in 2011, was a pioneer of girls sports in the southeastern corner of the state during her time at the school from 1963-95. She coached basketball, volleyball, softball, track and field and field hockey at the school. The school dedicated its softball diamond in her name Saturday. (Oakland Press)
D4 Preview: Brackets Full of Stories to Be Told
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 1, 2021
Clinton, Hudson and New Lothrop have dominated Division 4 wrestling’s team tournament over the last eight seasons – only those three have appeared in a championship match since 2014, including Clinton’s win over the Hornets in Tuesday’s Final.
But Saturday’s Individual Wrestling Finals at Van Andel Arena could see many more schools in the title mix.
Clinton has five top seeds, and New Lothrop and Hudson have two apiece. But total eight schools have No. 1-seeded wrestlers among the 14 weights – with favorites from Bark River-Harris, Iron Mountain, Rudyard and Vermontville Maple Valley representing their schools’ best chances at claiming a first title.
Below we look at 10 contenders to watch, plus list all of the top seeds heading into the tournament, champs and runners-up back from 2020 and every wrestler who will make the trip to Grand Rapids with an undefeated record.
Even then, we surely missed a few who will end up making headlines Saturday – but make sure to come back to Second Half late that evening as we’ll interview and report on all 14 Division 4 champions.
Wrestling begins Saturday at 10 a.m., and this season it’s a one-day event. Spectators remain limited, but all matches will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv. See the MHSAA Wrestling Finals page for more information and to follow results this weekend.
103 Bradley Hall, Rudyard senior (16-0) – The top seed at 103, Hall finished fourth at the same weight last season and will be competing to cap his career as the first Finals champion in Rudyard history.
119 Shawn McGuire, Iron Mountain sophomore (29-1) – The top seed at this weight is a combined 70-3 over his first two high school seasons and finished runner-up at 112 a year ago.
125 Manus Bennett, Marlette sophomore (20-2) – He’ll wrestle for a second individual title in his second try after winning the 103 championship last season.
130 Bronson Marry, Hudson junior (22-0) – The top seed at this weight is going for a second-straight title after winning 112 last year and also finishing runner-up at 103 as a freshman.
145 Caden Natale, Hudson senior (23-1) – Natale has risen from third at 103 as a freshman to second at 119 as a sophomore to winning 130 last year and returning to the Finals as a top seed this weekend.
152 Bryce Cheney, New Lothrop senior (20-0) – The runner-up at this weight last winter is back as the top seed this weekend and carrying a combined 53-4 record over the last two seasons.
171 Trenton Holden, Grass Lake senior (23-1) – He had only one loss last season on the way to finishing 46-1 and claiming the 160-pound championship, and his only defeat this winter was at the Individual Regional to this weekend’s top-seeded Brayden Randolph of Clinton (see below).
171 Brayden Randolph, Clinton senior (27-1) – He’s the top seed at this weight after finishing runner-up at 171 last season, and he’s looking to add a first title also to a runner-up finish at 160 as a sophomore and third place at that weight as a freshman.
189 Logan Badge, Clinton junior (27-1) – The top-seeded Badge went over 100 career wins (he’s 101-5 overall) during Tuesday’s run to the team championship and he’s looking to add a third individual title to those he won at 215 as a freshman and 189 last year.
215 Camden Orr, New Lothrop senior (21-1) – He’s the second seed at this weight but the reigning champion, and his only loss was a forfeit in the Regional Final. He also finished sixth at 189 as a sophomore and quarterbacked the football team to the Division 7 title in January.
Other 2020 runners-up: 140 Andrew Krupp, New Lothrop senior (19-2, 125 in 2020); 145 Kent McCombs, Clinton junior (26-2, 145 in 2020).
Additional No. 1 seeds: 112 Matthew Slaght, Vermontville Maple Valley junior (33-0); 125 Nik Shadley, Clinton freshman (25-1); 135 Dillon Raab, Bark River-Harris sophomore (30-1); 140 George Ames, Clinton junior (24-0); 160 Spencer Konz, Clinton senior (22-3); 215 Caden Ferris, Delton Kellogg junior (29-2); 285 Isiah Pasik, New Lothrop junior (21-0).
Also undefeated: 125 Randy Frailey, Hanover-Horton senior (25-0); 130 Zach Ouillette, Oscoda senior (27-0); 145 Parker Stroud, Iron Mountain junior (21-0); 145 Carsen Young, Martin senior (28-0); 171 Cole Hopkins, Evart sophomore (19-0); 189 Trent Hocter, Hanover-Horton senior (16-0).
PHOTO: Hudson’s Bronson Marry, left, and Iron Mountain’s Shawn McGuire lock up during last season’s Division 4 Final at 112 pounds. Both carry top seeds into this weekend. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)