2009 Team State Championships Preview
MHSAA Dual State Championships
Kellogg Center - Battle Creek, MI
March 6-7, 2009
DIVISION 2
---Quarterfinals---
#1 Lowell vs Hazel Park
Top seeded Lowell should have no trouble getting through Hazel Park in their Friday night quarterfinal. The Red Arrows will be riding high after their huge regional win over Greenville last week and they should keep on cruising into the semifinals. If things go Hazel Park's way I only see them possibly winning 4, maybe 5 matches if Lowell wrestles them straight up.
Our Pick: Lowell +30
#4 St. Johns vs Eaton Rapids
This should be a interesting matchup of two mid-Michigan squads going at it. Both teams enter with very different backgrounds as St Johns is new to Battle Creek while the Greyhounds have been regulars since the dual meet format began. ER's expierence could very well be the difference as they are a team that is traditionally good at not giving up big points in big duals. St. Johns will obviously get some points from 130 through 152 with their big guns, however, they will need to continue to have their role players step up. Eaton Rapids should be able to win 103 through 125 with all big wins to off set the 130-152 St Johns wins, however, it will be both teams' upperweights that make the difference. Schnepp and Chapman should win big at 160/171 for ER, and St Johns should get a pin out of Dickensen at 215. 189 and 285, weights where neither team is very strong, could end up be the deciding matches in this dual.
Our Pick: St. Johns +5
#3 Stevensville Lakeshore vs Dearborn Hts Annapolis
This is a tough dual to predict because there a lot of Annapolis guys with good records who came out of nowhere this year. Lakeshore has some major studs that should guarantee them big points and their depth may be hard for Annapolis to match. On paper I can see Annapolis winning 6 matches without needing any huge upsets, so they are definitely in the dual and this will be a good shot for them to prove themselves after not getting seeded.
Our Pick: Lakeshore +10
#2 Oxford vs Byron Center
With 6 state qualifiers out of a tough regional, Byron Center should not be a push over here for #2 seeded Oxford. Oxford has a solid looking lineup from top to bottom and they are a team that will make you pay for having holes. Expect them to put up some big points on Byron Center and win at least 9 matches.
Our Pick: Oxford +28
--Semifinals--
#1 Lowell vs St Johns
Lowell enters this weekend the heavy favorites and righteously so, however, they cannot overlook St Johns. St Johns' middle weight fleet of studs should get them 4 certain wins if they match up right and then with Dickensen winning at 215 you are looking at 5 wins in the bag. After that it is an uphill battle for the Red Wings as Lowell should win the majority of the rest of the matches. The thing that hurts St Johns is that they cannot rely on big bonus points with their horses. Walters will have Fleet (close match earlier this year), Osterman/Wohlfert will have A.Morse/Dean, and then Massa will have Pabon. All of these guys from both teams are state qualifiers. If St Johns needs to make something happen the possiblity of a Massa move to 152 makes this dual worth watching. Massa vs Jackson Morse would be probably the individual match of the weekend if it happened. It will take a miracle for St Johns to pull this off, but no matter what they should put some points on the board.
Our Pick: Lowell +14
#2 Oxford vs #3 Stevensville Lakeshore
This should be a very tight dual. On paper I've got Lakeshore winning 6 and Oxford winning 6 with a couple toss ups. Don't be surprised if bonus points play a part in this dual and don't expect alot of lineup shuffling to go on because these guys probably don't know each other very well. They are from opposite sides of the state and they do not really cross paths very often so this could be interesting. Oxford folks have been talking about go to the state finals all year and now is there chance to make it a reality. Lakeshore should control the lightweights with big wins at 103, 112, and 119 to go along with the Humes bros. who should win big as well. Oxford, meanwhile, should be able to count on winning 5 of the last 7 weights, which should make the dual come down to a couple toss-ups in the middle to light weights.
Our Pick: Lakeshore +3
--Finals--
#1 Lowell vs #3 Stevensville Lakeshore
Well this is no Greenville/Lowell matchup, but it could be an exciting finals matchup.
Lowell could have their hands full with this Lakeshore team that they beat
37-30 a month and a half ago. They also wrestled a few weeks before that 37-30
match and Lowell crushed Stevensville, so who knows how this will go. Lowell's
middle weights are capable of putting some major points on Lakeshore and if they
get the right matchups this could be a rout.
Lowell should win 125, 130, 135, 145, 152, 171, 189, and 285 with relative ease.
That gives them 8 matches, which should be good enough to win a state title. On
top of that, 119, 160, and 215 are winnable for Lowell, so winning
10 matches and runinng away with this thing is a possiblity. Oxford may have a
better shot at matching up with Lowell than Lakeshore, but I think the consensus is
that the D2 state title was won last Wednesday night in Greenville.
Our Pick: Lowell +16
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