103
112
119
125
130
135
140
145
152
160
171
189
215
285
St Johns
#1 Schmitt
#2 Schafer
#2 Pennell
Bender
Bender
#6 Curley
#3 Wohlfert
#1 Massa
#3 Sheick
Schueller
#9 Brown
Dominguez
Pemberton
Allegan
Betke
#6 Shaw/Wilson
#4 Simaz/#8 Knoblach
Simaz/Knoblach
#1 Bohl
#3 Smith
#4 Smith
#6 Smythe/#9 Kelley
Smythe/Kelley
#10 Sousley
#1 Rizgallah
#6 Blank
2010 MHSAA Team State Preview
DIVISION 2
MHSAA Dual State Championships
Kellogg Arena - Battle Creek, MI
February 26-27
Seeds & QuarterFinal Pairings:
#1 St Johns (38-3) vs Corunna (35-0)
#4 Greenville (29-3) vs Avondale (28-9)
#3 Stevensville Lakeshore (31-4) vs DH Annapolis (33-3)
#2 Allegan (37-1) vs Mason (29-8)
---Quarterfinals---
#1 St Johns vs Corunna
Top ranked St Johns received a pretty tough Quarterfinal
draw as they will have to beat the only undefeated team left
in the state to move on to the semifinals. Corunna is 35-0
with 8 state qualifiers, however, their perfect season will
likely end Friday night in Battle Creek. St. Johns, behind
their 10 state qualifiers and 5 wrestlers currently ranked in
the top 3 of their respective weights, are a nightmare to matchup with and I only see Corunna being capable of picking up 4 or 5 wins in this dual. Massa, Schmitt, Schafer, Pennell, Wohflert and company will likely rack up enough bonus points to keep this thing from getting too close.
Our Pick: St Johns +26
#4 Greenville vs Avondale
Greenville received a nice 1st round draw as they should be able to sleep easy tonight and look forward to their semifinal match with St Johns. Avondale has 5 state qualifiers and should be able to win a handful of matches here, but not enough to make this interesting. A potential #1 vs #2, Keselring vs Vettese matchup at 130 would be the highlight of this dual.
Our Pick: Greenville +31
#3 Stevensville Lakeshore vs Dearborn Hts Annapolis
Lakeshore is one of the big four with a legitimate shot at winning this thing, however, they have a formidable first round opponent in Dearborn Hts Annapolis. This is a rematch of last year's quarterfinal where Lakeshore won 40-25 and expect a similiar result this year. Annapolis will win some matches and put some points up, but in the end Lakeshore should roll on to the semis without too much trouble.
Our Pick: Lakeshore +19
#2 Allegan vs Mason
Mason made a heck of a run getting through Tecumseh at the Regionals, however, the party stops here as Allegan comes in with a fleet of studs from top to bottom that will be too much for Mason. The Bulldog's big guns will likely win and post some points, however, Allegan should run away with this thing in a rematch of the 2006 finals and 2005 semifinals.
Our Pick: Allegan +22
--Semifinals--
#1 St Johns vs #4 Greenville
These two teams were at the same individual regional, so they should have gotten a good look at each other in preparation for this dual. St Johns qualified 10 out that regional while Greenville got 7 out, so you have to imagine the Red Wings have a little more firepower. St Johns features a stacked fleet of lightweights with #1 Schmitt, #2 Schafer, #2 Pennell, and a pair of regional qualifiers at 125. Therefore, they should sweep the first 4 weights and tack on big bonus points at 103 and 112. After that these teams are pretty even, Greenville is favored to win big at 130, 135, 160, 171, and 285 while St Johns is favored to win big at 145 & 152 and favored to win at 189 and 215. One key for Greenville to have any shot at winning this dual will likely be winnig the 140lb toss up of 6th ranked Travis Curley (SJ) vs #10 Collin Fuller (G). These two met at regionals with Curley winning 8-6. If Fuller can flip that around and win, it should give Greenville 6 wins, including major bonus points and at that point they are one fluke pin or upset victory from being right in the mix of pulling off a big time upset. Watchout at 160 to see if St Johns opts to bump their stud Taylor Massa for a state finals rematch with Jordan Thomas. I am not sure if that move benefits the Red Wings, but it would be fun to watch.
Our Pick: St Johns +7
#2 Allegan vs #3 Lakeshore
HUGE matchup here between the Southwest Michigan's biggest wrestling powerhouses. These two are perennial state contenders each year and this is one of the best squads that either program has had in the past few seasons. They met earlier this year with Allegan barely winning 30-27 and this time around should be equally close and anyone's to win. In term's of good individual matchups throughout, these teams could make for one of the best duals we see all weekend as a handful of toss up rematches from Regionals should play a huge role in who comes out victorious. Lakeshore will likely bump their lower weights, and while they will be favored to win 103-119, they will be contested. At 103 Kyle Frese won a close match over Betke of Allegan in the blood round of regionals and Mike Shaw is capable of giving state champ Daniel a run for his money. Tyler Frese should win big at 119, then 125/130 favors Allegan with a pair of state ranked 125lbers, however, Lakeshore features a state qualifier and regional qualifier in there as well, so not a gimme for the Tigers.
The key weights to watch in this dual will be 135, 145, 152, and 215. All four of these weights should be toss ups, barring a bump or lineup change. 135 is a regional finals rematch as top ranked Bohl of Allegan beat freshman Hayden 6-4 last weekend. 145 is more of the same as Garrett Smith beat Nick Humes in the regional finals 9-8. Lakeshore's Christian Nitz did not get out of Regionals last week, however, he only lost 5-4 to Andrew Kelley in the consolations. Kyle Spear of Lakeshore placed over Steve Blank at 215 last weekend, however, they both suffered close losses to the eventual champ, so that is a toss up as well. Those four weights could and should be the difference as I see Lakeshore winning 6 and Allegan winning 8.
Our Pick: Allegan +8
--Finals--
#1 St Johns vs #2 Allegan
These teams are made up kind of differently as St Johns relies on
their big guns to carry them home while Allegan is more solid
throughout, however, the Tigers have some studs as well and they
will need them to step it up in this dual.
St Johns should continue their theme of dominating the lower
weights and 103 and 119 should be big wins for them. Allegan
should then answer back with big wins at 125, 130, and 135 with
their trio of ranked wrestlers.
140 and 145 are the marquee matchups of this dual. At 140 you
have #3 Matt Smith of Allegan and #6 Travis Curley of St Johns.
Smith beat Curley soundly earlier this year, however, Curley has had
a good year and proved he can compete with the best guys in the
state. If Curley can pull out an upset win here against Smith it would
put St Johns in the drivers seat to win this dual.
145 features the #3 and #4 ranked wrestlers in the state with sophomore standouts Jordan Wohlfert of St Johns and Garrett Smith of Allegan. Smith is fresh off a big win over returning state runner up Nick Humes at Regionals and another win over a state finalist here would be huge for Allegan. If either team can sweep 140 and 145 it would put this dual near out of reach. On paper, I have Matt Smith winning at 140 for Allegan and Jordan Wohlfert winning at 145 for St Johns, but they could both go either way.
St Johns will inevitable score a fall at 152 with Massa and Sheick is favored at 160. Then 171-215 should go to Allegan. Heavyweight is a big question mark for Allegan so state qualifier Taylor Pemberton of St Johns should be the favorite here.
In the end, I see them splitting 7 matches a piece, which will bring this dual down to the almighty bonus points, which each team should score alot of. St Johns should have bonus point possiblities at 103, 119, 152, and possibly 112 if Schafer shows up. Allegan should have bonus points chances at 125, 130, 135, and 189. I think Allegan will score more bonus points and win their first state title since the Cam Simaz/Dan Craig/Joe Rizgallah team of 2007.
Our Pick: Allegan 32, St Johns 29
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Senior John Rizgallah will look to get his Allegan squad back on top in Division 2 after being a part of their 2007 title team as a freshman
Weights projected based on Ind Districts
