2009 MHSAA Team State Championships
Kellogg Center - Battle Creek, MI
By Sean Garner
for Michigan Grappler.com
Division 1 - #1 Rockford vs #2 Holt
Division 2 - #1 Lowell vs #2 Oxford
Division 3 - #1 Goodrich vs #3 Dundee
Division 4 - #1 Hesperia vs #4 Hudson
Championship Finals - All Divisions
**Click REFRESH to view updates, will be updated every few minutes**
And then there were eight. The best teams in each division are about to do battle. Matches start at 112. We will be focusing on the Division One match between the Rockford Rams and the Holt Rams. So without further waste, let’s get to it.
112- Rockford sends out Alex Padilla, not Charlie Hall, to wrestle Ben Matthiesen. In the first minute, Matthiesen already has Padilla on his back. Pin at 1:29 in a chicken wing for Matthiesen.
Holt 6, Rockford 0
119- Drew Dyer from Holt takes on three-time state champ Kyle Waldo. Waldo shoots and gets an easy takedown. Waldo gets another takedown after letting Dyer up to his feet.
Waldo starts down in the second up 4-1. Waldo reverses with a Granby before letting Dyer go. Another Waldo takedown, and he is up 8-2. Holt has to love Dyer’s fight in this match.
Dyer goes on top in the third trailing 12-4. Waldo easily gets out. Waldo leads 18-7 after a flurry of takedowns. Waldo becomes a takedown machine in the third. Winning by technical fall 24-9.
Holt 6, Rockford 5
125- Holt decides to put Kyle Hanton out at 125 where he faces Jake Byers. Rockford fans want a takedown called at the edge, but no points are awarded. We are scoreless at the end of an active first period.
Byers starts on bottom. 40 seconds in, Byers escapes. Byers is probably considered a heavy favorite in this match and the longer Hanton can stay in it, the more confident Holt has to be that he can pull it out. Byers has taken a lot of shots. Hanton has hardly taken any.
Hanton start underneath in the third. Byers has the legs in and is riding Hanton very hard. Hanton gets the legs out, then gets out himself. Byers gets a takedown and wins 3-1.
Rockford 8, Holt 6
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Sorry, we're back after some technical difficulties.
Here are all the scores as they stand now and the weights the matches are on.
Lowell 22, Oxoford 11 (152)
Holt 12, Rockford 8 (140)
Dundee 22, Goodrich 3 (145)
Hesperia 14, Hudson 10 (145
Back to Holt-Rockford
140- Jeff Baker of Holt trail Zach Johnson 7-0 in the second period. Johnson is obviously not playing for a technical fall, he is trying to get the whole six. Johnson does let Baker up, only to take him down seconds later.
Thrid period begins neutral with both wrestlers on their feet. Johnson extends his lead to ten. Johnson now appears to be playing the takedown game after letting Baker and then scoring on a sweeping single. Johnson has Baker on his back temporarily. Johnson can't quite get the tech, winning 17-4.
Holt 12, Rockford 12
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145- Seth Hanton from Holt squares of against CJ Scholl (I think). Hanton gets an early takedown. Scholl escapes.
Hanton goes down in the second. Hasnton escapes.
Scholl starts on bottomin the third. Scholl reverses Hanton to his back. Hanton is briding, trying to avoid the pin. PIN! Huge swing for Rockford.
Rockford 18, Holt 12
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152- Rockford bumps up Bruce Carlstrom from 145 to take on Koort Leyrer. Leyrer soundly beat Scholl at regionals, so this seems like sound strategy from Rinehart. No score at the end of the first period
Leyrer gets a takedown after going neutral to start the period. Leyrer is very very long for his weight. It shows when he is on top.
Leyrer starts on bottom and immediately reverses Carlstrom to his back. Leyrer leads 6-0. Leyrer has no trouble riding out the rest of the match and winning a decision.
Rockford 18, Holt 15
Other scores
Lowell 32, Oxford 11 (189)
Dundee 22, Goodrich 14 (171)
Hesperia 23, Hudson 13
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160- Holt's Josh Shaw takes a 4-1 into the second period over Jake Johnson after earning two takedowns in the first. Shaw gets an escape and another takedsown offa sramble to go ahead 7-1.
Johnson may have beaten Shaw at regionals but this had to be considered a swing match coming in, no upset. On a third period scramble Johnson just scored to make the match 10-5. Rockford is very fortunate. Johnson nearly gave up a takedown that would have put him down nine. Shaw gets an escape and now needs a takedown for the major. Johnson prevents the major, but Holt ties the match.
Rockford 18, Holt, 18
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171- Jake Dorulla gets the early takedown on Holt's Mike Andring. That's all the scoring in the first.
Andring starts on top in the second and does a fantastic job maintaining position depite Dorulla's motion. This can not be good for Rockford. They had to be hoping could Dorulla would get bonus points. Now, he gets ridden out for a whole period.
Andring goes back on top in the third. It is stunning how much trouble Dorulla is having getting away. He will probably still win this match, but his trouble on bottom shows his game is not completely flawless. Dorulla gets ridden out for four minutes and is understandably less than pleased with the win. A huge win for Holt?
Rockford 21, Holt 18
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Goodrich and Lowell have both clinched state titles.
Hesperia leads Hudson 23-19 with three matches to go.
189- Holt's Corbin Boone leads Rockford's Zach Banaszak 10-3 midway through the second period. Boone score a reversal before cutting Banaszak.
Boone starts down in the third leading, I believe 14-4. I can't quite read the scorboard right now. Boone goes right to business playing the takedown game, winning by technical fall midway through the third.
Holt 23, Rockford 21
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215- This is what they call a crucial swing match. Joe Stefanski and James Mireles are about as evenly matched as they come. So far, Stafanski is in control with a takedown and a leg ride.
Stefanski starts on bottom in the second period up 2-0. Stefanski gets up, but Mireles brings him back down hard to the mat. These two beasts just about wrestled into the stands a seond ago. Holt has done a terrific job riding the whole night. Stefanski gets a reversal. The refs confer, and the call is modified to an escape. Rinehart is having a long chat with the officials, presumably saying Stefanski should have been awarded the reversal.
Mireles gets an escape. I just noticed it looks like Stefanski was awarded the additional point. Stefanski gets the takedown. Mireles escapes.Stefanski pulls it out. Rock needed that.
Rockford 24, Holt 23
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285- Jesse Somsel of Rockford is probably thinking he needs to pin Nick Taylor given Holt's prodigous 103 Freddie Rodriguez. Somsel get s the takedown and nearly gets Taylor to his back. Somsel is warned for stalling (riding the hips). Somsel has the half in deep. PIN! ROCKFORD WINS. For the third straight year, a team named the Rams wins the state title (Rockford in 2007, Holt in 2008)
Rockford 30, Holt 23
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103- Freddie Rodriguez pins Tyler VanRooyan in the first period
Rockford 30, Holt 29
Hudson wins in Division Four, beating Hesperia 31-23
So here are your 2009 MHSAA Team Wrestling Champions
Division 1- The Rockford Rams
Division 2- The Lowell Red Arrows
Division 3- The Goodrich Martians
Division 4- The Hudson Tigers
Congratulations to Rockford coach Don Rinehart in winning his final dual meet and state championship as their head wrestling coach. Rinehart has coached at Rockford for 35 years and has done so with a great amount of class.As a greaduate of a former OK-Red school, I can say he will be greatly missed.
Thank you to everybody who was not able to attend this amazing weekend event, and still cared enough to read our updates throughout the weekend. I'd say this is one of the truly special events in sports, and the Michigan Grappler thanks you for your committed support to the best sport on earth. Until Thursday, have a good one.
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