Michigan's best headed for Sr Nationals this weekend
3/29 - Michigan's top seniors will be traveling south to Virginia Beach this weekend to try their hand against the nation's best prep wrestlers at the NHSCA Senior Nationals. The Senior Nationals are widely known as the toughest, most notorious folkstyle national wrestling tournament in the country. The event is sure to attract most of the best grapplers in the country and there should also be a good amount of college coaches in attendance as the event is one of the biggest recruiting havens for wrestling.
Almost all of Michigan's top seniors are registered to wrestle in Virginia this weekend and they will need to show up if they want to have similiar results to the seniors of last year. A year ago Michigan finished 2nd in the overall state standings led by 2 individual champions (Ben Bennett, Marcel Dubose). In addition, 10 Michiganders placed in the top 8 last year to earn all-american honors. For a look at who to watch for this year from the Wolverine State, read below....
Michigan's Best Bets
Here are Michigan's best bets to place high this weekend. These guys were picked out based on their in-state dominance mixed with past national level expierence/success, which should make them Michigan's best bets to place high.
1. Brenan Lyon (Ithaca), 103 - Lyon is one of the most nationally tested wrestlers in
Michigan as he has ammased 6 Cadet/Junior National All-American plaques in the past
three years. Lyon is finally a full-sized 103lber and when it comes to seniors at 103, he
should be the man to beat. Placing in the top 4 is almost a given and Lyon should be the
favorite going in to win it all at 103.
2. Brandon Zeerip (Hesperia) 152 - Zeerip is one of the top contenders to win at 152lbs.
He is a 2x state champ and he earned a lot of national respect with his Disney Duals
performance last summer, however, his lack of freestyle expierence has kept him under
the radar a little bit so this weekend could be a coming out party for Zeerip. The U of M-bound senior is one of a handful of guys capable of winning it all at 152lbs and he is definitely one of Michigan's best bets to place high this weekend.
3. Kyle Waldo (Rockford), 119 - Fresh off arguably the best state performance of his career, 4x state champ Waldo will now have to tackle a very tough field of 119lbers this weekend. Waldo has done well in Disney the past couple years and he was an all-american in Fargo last summer wrestling freestyle. He is much more comfortable in the folkstyle realm so this weekend should be a good chance for Waldo to knock off one of the big guns in this weight.
4. Craig Eifert (Mason), 140 - Eifert has been impressive at the national tournaments he has competed at and he scored some big time wins in Disney last summer. He is a strong, athletic, technically sound wrestler who has the tools to wrestle with just about anyone at this weight. Like Zeerip, Eifert's non-attendance
in Fargo has kept him under many national radars, however, Senior Nationals should be his
time to shine and he is very capable of placing high.
5. Jake Walters (St Johns), 130 - Walters has blown up over the past year, placing 3rd in
Junior Greco and coming just short of placing in Junior Freestyle in Fargo last summer. He
then placed 5th at the highly competetive Super 32s in the fall, and he has since gone
perfect throughout the high school season to finish as an undefeated state champ. He is a
hard nosed kid who has wrestled many of the best guys in the country, so he should not be
intimidated or shell-shocked wrestling at this level of competetion.
Keep an eye on....
This year's senior group is very deep with a handful of guys who have been to many national events and always been right on the brink of breaking through, as well as a lot of quality wrestlers who just haven't seen a whole lot of national exposure. Here is a few guys that I could see breaking out this weekend:
1. Dan Yates (Hesperia), 160 - Yates is not a big freestyler and he did not wrestle in Disney last summer, therefore, he has not had many opportunities to wrestle the big names on the national level. This weekend could be his chance to break through and he will have a heck of a weight class to tackle. Yates will likely draw a big name early on and if he can turn his in state dominance into some national success, then he could make a big statement for himself this weekend.
2. Adam Miller (Sparta), 160 - Miller made a statement for himself as a player on the national scene by placing 2nd at the Super 32s in the fall, however, he is not the most nationally expierenced guy you will find. If he can follow up his Super 32 performance by placing high this weekend he would solidify himself as a big time national level guy.
3. Dan Osterman (St Johns), 130 - Osterman is already signed to MSU, so this weekend is is just about respect for him. He is widely recognized as a bonified stud here in Michigan and he has been right on the brink of placing at many top national tournaments, however, he has always seemed to fall just short of placing or really breaking through. Osterman's takedown ability make him capable of scoring on just about anyone in this tournament and if he is clicking on all cylinders he could string some wins together and place high here, finally making a name for himself nationally.
4. Pete Rendina (Dundee), 135 - Much like Osterman, Rendina's reputation in the state has been established for a couple years, however, he has yet pull off that statement win on the national level. This weekend will be his opportunity and he is one of those bubble guys who I could see getting hot and placing top 4.
5. Calib Rought (Fremont), 152 - 2x state champ Rought all-americaned in Fargo as a cadet two years ago, however, he hasn't been seen much nationally since. He is one of Michigan's top seniors and his expierence/sucess in Fargo should give him confidence coming in as it definitely proves him capable of advancing deep into this tournament.
6. Michael McClure (West Ottawa), 285 - McClure is a monster of a heavyweight. His strength, explosiveness, and agility should be up to par with just about any big man in the country, however, he has very little big time national expierence. If he can handle the pressure of competing on the national stage, don't be surprised if McClure moves on far into this tournament and possibly places very high.
7. Nick Whitenburg (Bedford), 189 - Whitenburg is a great athlete and he wrestles well from all positions. He scrambles, counters, moves, and rides on top much better then most 189lbers. His athleticism should make him able to hang with anyone at this weight, and if he can show up ready to rock Whitenburg is capable of doing very well this weekend.
Michigan Entries
103
Brenan Lyon (Ithaca)
119
Kyle Waldo (Rockford)
Jared Germaine (Swan Valley)
Grant Pizzo (Brighton)
125
Cameron Amaties (Lanse Creuse)
JT Gustin (Kellogsville)
Steve Poffenberger (Allegan)
Shawn Olsabeck (Waterford Kettering)
130
Jake Walters (St Johns)
Dan Osterman (St Johns)
135
Pete Rendina (Dundee)
Paul Hancock (Fordson)
Eric Telford (Durand)
Andrew Schutt (Yale)
Kenny Richmond (Brighton)
140
Craig Eifert (Mason)
Billy Osborne (Bedford)
Charlie Cordero (Stoney Creek)
Zach Johnson (Rockford)
145
Robert Nash (Roseville)
152
Brandon Zeerip (Hesperia)
Calib Rought (Fremont)
Koort Leyrer (Holt)
160
Dan Yates (Hesperia)
Adam Miller (Sparta)
Nick Kaczanowski (Rochester)
Khodor Hobbalah (Dearborn)
Stephen Kemp (Westland)
171
Phil Joseph (Lapeer East)
Chris Lucas (Grand Haven)
Tim Petit (Rochester)
189
Nick Whitenburg (Bedford)
Dillon Kern (Fowlerville)
285
Mike McClure (West Ottawa)
Frank Taylor (Morley Stanwood)
Cody Vandonkelaar (Orchard View)
Michael Dibble (Hazel Park)
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