2010 MHSAA Individual State Finals
MICHIGAN GRAPPLER INDIVIDUAL STATE PREVIEW
Division 4
103
Frontrunner: Ryan Gauthier (Iron Mountain)
Top contenders: Luke Bell (Decatur), Ivan Gallejos (Covert), Tyler Mattison (Hudson), Shawn Rosencrants (Hesperia)
Darkhorse: Foster Bunce (Dansville)
Outlook: It is rare to see the best 103lbers return to 103 so it is interesting that three returning placers from last year and 2 other qualifiers lead the pack in this weight class. Gauthier was 4th last year and Bell finished 7th, beating Gallejos in the 7th place match. Mattison and Rosencrants are returning qualifiers. This weight is pretty even among the top 5 as Rosencrants (currently #5) has lost to #4 Mattison and #1 Gauthier in overtime this year. Zack Mack (Mio), Bunce, and Zach Glasco of Byron lead a group of talented freshman looking to knock off the returners. To my knowledge the UP has never had a state champ since joining the rest of the state in Auburn Hills - Gauthier has a great shot at being the first.
Early matchups to watch:
Quarterfinals -#2 Bell vs #5 Rosencrants - This quarterfinal match should be very good as both of these guys are returning qualiifers (Bell placed 7th) and have a great shot at winning this weight class. The winner will likely make the finals to face Bell, Gallejos, or Mattison. Rosencrants, as mentioned above, has overtime losses to Gauthier and Mattison this year and Bell comes in hot after scoring a technical fall over Gallejos at Regionals.
Quarterfinals - #1 Gauthier vs #3 Gallejos - Another big time quarterfinal matchup that would be more suited for the semis or finals. Two returning state placers going at it here. Gallejos didnt look great at Regionals, getting teched by Bell, however, he was 8th in the state last year and should have a shot at placing top 4 this year. These two didnt wrestle at states last year and I am unsure whether or not they have wrestled this year, but this should be a good match with the winner moving on to wrestle most likely Mattison in the semis.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Bell over Sadler, Gauthier over Mattison
Finals - Gauthier over Bell
112
Frontrunner: Brandon Fifield (Leslie)
Top contenders: Matthew Mata (Marlette), Ryan Abrigo (Manchester), Chase Lewis (Blissfield)
Darkhorse: Hunter Machus (Bronson)
Outlook: This appears to be Brandon Fifield's weight to lose as the Leslie junior has been wrestling on a very high level all year with his only loss coming in overtime to Freddie Rodriguez. Fifield already beat the other returning placers Mata and Abrigo soundly this year. Abrigo won a tough regional over returning state finalist Lewis. A tough freshman to keep an eye on here is Machus who scored a big win over Lewis earlier this year.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Fifield over Lewis, Mata over Abrigo
Finals - Fifield over Mata
119
Frontrunner: Austin Deacons (Manchester)
Top contenders: Mike Dunbar (Hesperia), Isiah Schaub (TCSF), Zach Mallo (Constantine)
Darkhorse: Luke Ragon (Dansville)
Outlook: This is a pretty wide open weight, although Deacons is the current #1 there is no reason Dunbar, Schaub, or a couple others couldn't win this weight. Deacons was 4th at 119 last year while Schaub was 3rd at 112 , Dakota Kelley was 5th at 112, and Mike Dunbar was a D3 state qualifier at 125. Deacons won his district and regional pretty soundly over Kelley and Dunbar scored a close win over Schaub, beating him 4-3. Mallo cruised through his regional and comes in 54-2, it will be interesting to see if he can validate his regular season success with big wins in the Palace.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Schaub over Deacons, Dunbar over Mallo
Finals - Schaub over Dunbar
125
Frontrunner: Zeb Hilyard (Hudson)
Top contenders: Gavin Knight (Pine River), Justin Krupp (New Lothrop), Adam Ramirez (St Louis)
Darkhorse: Dan Efting (Bangor)
Outlook: Hilyard is the man to beat as the Michigan bound senior should be sitting in good position to win his 2nd state title this year. Knight and Krupp are returning placers capable of giving Hilyard a go and Ramirez and Efting have looked good this year as well. Hilyard beat Krupp 4-0 at Team States last weekend and it is not looking like anyone in this weight is going to be able to knock him off.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Krupp over Ramirez, Hilyard over Knight
Finals - Hilyard over Krupp
130
Frontrunner: Jordan Capen (St Louis)
Top contenders: Jordan Bosma (Hesperia), Cameron Barnes (Hudson)
Darkhorse: Shawn Veine (Schoolcraft)
Outlook: Capen has established himself as the clear favorite after winning Regionals and Districts over Bosma. Both of those matches were very close and the third time they meet may be the state finals. Barnes is also in the mix here and he and Bosma meet up in a tough quarterfinal match. The winner of that match should make the finals for a shot at Capen.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Capen over Vein, Bosma over Barnes
Finals - Capen over Bosma
135
Frontrunner: Collin Zeerip (Hesperia)
Top contenders: Tyler Harless (Ithaca), Dakota Talbot (Meridian)
Darkhorse: Conner Koester (Clinton)
Outlook: The Zeerip era will officially come to a close this weekend as youngest brother Collin wraps up his prep career in search of his 3rd state title. A title for Collin would make it 9 for the family and next year he joins Brandon and Justin at the University of Michigan. The only guys that appear capable of spoiling things for Collin are Harless and Talbot. He beat Talbot 5-2 at regionals and Harless was 5th last year at 125 with his only loss this year coming to Capen.
Early matchups to watch:
Quarterfinals - #2 Harless vs #3 Talbot - The two top challengers to Zeerip will meet in the quarterfinals with a eventual finals trip probably on the line. The winner of this match should win in the semis and go to the finals for a crack at Zeerip. Talbot lost by 3 to Zeerip at Regionals, so you have to figure whoever wins this match is the best bet at giving the 2x champ a run for his money.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Harless ove Koester, Zeerip over Stoner
Finals - Zeerip over Harless
140
Frontrunner: Derrick Marry (Hudson)
Top contenders: Jordan Bates (Hesperia), Kyle Fletcher (Addison), Andrew McCarthy (Bendle)
Darkhorse: Henry Kokenas (Clinton)
Outlook: Marry looks to finally get back on top of the podium after winning a title back in 2007 as a freshman he was knocked off in 2008 and finished 3rd and then last year a season ending injury kept him out of the postseason. This year he appears to be in position to win his 2nd title and go out on top. He already beat #2 Bates 7-3 this year and he beat #3 Fletcher at Regionals. Fletcher and Bates are the highest returning all-staters finishing in the top 4 last year. Marry and Bates will meet again in the semis and the best match of the top half of the bracket will probably be the Fletcher-McCarthy quarterfinal, the winner of that should move to the finals.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Fletcher over Ellicot, Marry over Bates
Finals - Marry over Fletcher
145
Frontrunner: Aaron Smith (Mio)
Top contenders: Malcolm Martin (Hesperia), Chase Baxter (Springport), Jimmy Hamilton (Manchester)
Darkhorse: Chas Mesnard (Rudyard)
Outlook: This weight should boil down to three guys - returning state champ Smith, 2x state placer Martin, and Baxter who was 3rd in D2 last year. Smith and Martin have split the last two weeks, Martin beat him at Districts but Smith returned the favor at Regionals. By winning regionals, Smith may have hurt himself as he will now meet Baxter in the semis. Martin will have a tough quarterfinals match with Jimmy Hamilton, but he should be heavily favored to come out of that half bracket. The Baxter-Smith semifinal match should be good as the returning state champ tries to get back to the finals.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Baxter over Smith, Martin over Mesnard
Finals - Martin over Baxter
152
Frontrunner: Devan Marry (Hudson)
Top contenders: Jordan Peterson (Montabella), Brad Whitney (Hart)
Darkhorse: Blake Fish (Ithaca)
Outlook: Marry surprised alot of people last year winning it all as a freshman. This year he will not have that element of surprise as he is the hands down favorite to win this weight. He already pinned the 2nd ranked Peterson earlier this year in under a minute and if he comes through this weekend with a state title then the possiblity of him being a 4xer will begin to creep into people's mind and become a topic of conversation.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Marry over Whitney, Peterson over Lucas
Finals - Marry over Peterson
160
Frontrunner: Austin Severn (New Lothrop)
Top contenders: Drew Harding (Springport), David Tyler (Bangor), Connor Sharp (Schoolcraft)
Darkhorse: Jesse Sexton (Clinton)
Outlook: This weight features two returning state runners-up with Harding and Sexton. Harding lost at Regionals to Severn and Sexton took 4th at Regionals, falling Dylan Vansickle of East Jackson, which throws this weight all for a loop. It will be interesting to see if the returning finalists returng to their championship form for another run or if the newly emerged contenders lke Tyler, Sharp, and Severn take over this weight. Severn has a pretty light load on the top half, although he will probably have returning qualifier Tyler in the semis. The bottom is loaded with Harding/Vansickle in one quarterfinal and Sexton/Sharp in the other quarterfinal.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Severn over Tyler, Harding over Sexton
Finals - Harding over Severn
171
Frontrunner: Eric Ford (Blissfield)
Top contenders: Luke Jones (Pine River), Taylor Copes (New Lothrop), Sean Allen (Bendle)
Darkhorse: Juan Aburto (Covert)
Outlook: Ford is 60-0, yea thats right, 60 wins and 0 losses. Anytime somebody enters Auburn Hills with that kind of a record it attracts some attention. Ford, who was 7th at this weight last year, will have to deal with the pressure of wrestling with a target on his back while a pack of solid wrestlers look to knock him off, led by Luke Jones who was 3rd at 160 last year. I see Ford and Jones getting through their half bracket without too much trouble that will set up a great finals match.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Jones over Copes, Ford over Allen
Finals - Jones over Ford
189
Frontrunner: Matt Smith (Hudson)
Top contenders: Jordan Higgins (Mendon), Kim Martin (Hart), Paul Britten (TCSF)
Darkhorse: Brian Moran (Webberville)
Outlook: Smith was 3rd in the state as a sophomore at 215 last year and this year he is primed for a title run. Standing in his way will be Higgins who took 7th last year at 189 and is undefeated thus far this season. Also keep an eye on returning state qualifiers Britten and Brandon McNeese (Schoolcraft) as well as Kim Martin who beat Britten at Districts and Regionals. The semifinal match with Higgins and Martin should be a good one and Smith should roll through his side.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Smith over Britten, Higgins over Martin
Finals - Smith over Higgins
215
Frontrunner: Dave Severn (Bronson)
Top contenders: Art Bunce (Dansville), Brett Martin (Hesperia), Devon Drury (Byron)
Darkhorse: Tom Hall (Fife Lake Forest)
Outlook: Returning state champ Severn has not lost a match since his sophomore year and that will likely not change this weekend as he is the heavy favorite to repeat as champion at this weight. Three returning placers are here with Evan Schroeder of Addison, Drury, and Holden Tullos of White Pigeon. Dansville junior Art Bunce has emerged as a contender pinning through his regional with wins this year over Martin and Drury. Drury has Severn in the quarterfinals, which is unfortunate for him as this weight could turn into a battle for 2nd. Bunce has a good draw on the top of the bracket and he may be the eventual runner up to Severn.
Predictions:
Semifinals - Bunce over Schroeder, Severn over Martin
Finals - Severn over Schroeder
285
Frontrunner: Devin Pommerenke (Rogers City)
Top contenders: Cody Wolever (Hesperia), Ryan Kemplin (Leslie), Michael York (Union City)
Dark Horse: Shea McGillen (New Lothrop)
Outlook: D-Pomm pinned his way through the bracket last year as a sophomore and there is litte reason to believe that wont happen again this year. Pommerenke is arguably the best heavyweight in the state and in Division 4 he is in a league of his own. If anyone makes it all 6 minutes with him it will be a surprise
Predictions:
Semifinals - Pommerenke over Kemplin, Wolever over McGillen
Finals - Pommerenke over Wolvever
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