Whitford Wins Title as Team Michigan Places 6th
July 24th, 2011
7/24 – A week of hard fought Greco Roman and Freestyle competition came to a close Saturday afternoon with the Junior Freestyle finals. Team Michigan capped off a solid week of wrestling with a sixth place finish. The Juniors had five wrestlers achieve All-American status and racked up a total of 27 team points to tie Minnesota for sixth place.
Michigan’s impressive finish came despite having the least entrants of any of the top 15 teams. The Junior team made up for their low numbers by racking up some big points with high finishes. Ben Whitford led the way by claiming first place in a loaded 135lbs weight class. Tim Lambert and Adam Coon also turned in big time performances by finishing 3rd at 119 and 215lbs. Also contributing All-American efforts were Jordan Thomas at 171lbs and Brant Schafer at 130lbs.
With his win in the 135lbs finals, Whitford solidified himself as one
the most decorated wrestlers to compete in Fargo over the past
several years. Whitford, who transitioned from the cadetto Junior
division this year, now has three Freestyle titles and two Greco titles
to his name. The only time Whitford has fallen short of first place in
the Fargo Dome came in 2009 when he placed second in Cadet Greco
Roman.
After dominating his way to a Greco Roman title at 135lbs, Whitford
had to go through a much tougher road to earn his freestyle
championship. The 135lbs weight class consisted of eight wrestlers
who are nationally ranked by Intermat, as well as numerous other
highly touted grapplers. The St. Johns junior suffered his first setback
of the week on Friday afternoon when he fell to three-time New York
state champion Quinton Murphy.
Despite the hiccup against Murphy, Whitford was able to rack up
enough points to win his chart and advance to finals. In the finals
Whitford took on three-time Ohio all-stater Ty Davis, who will be
wrestling for Central Michigan this fall. Whitford earned the title of
Junior Freestyle champion in the finals by soundly defeating Davis with a 7-0, 2-0 shutout victory.
Perhaps no wrestler across the country raised their recruiting stock more than Forrest Hills Eastern senior Tim Lambert over the past week. Lambert, who had never competed at Fargo before, made waves by defeating a slew of highly regarded wrestlers along the way to a 3rd place finish at 119lbs. What made Lambert’s performance so impressive was that it came in arguably the most competitive weight class of the tournament. The 119lbs division featured eight wrestlers nationally ranked by Intermat and many additional state champions and past All-Americans.
Lambert’s incredible run started Thursday morning when he was paired with the favorite to win the weight class, New Jersey’s Evan Silver. Silver, a four time state champion for the prestigious Blair Academy, is ranked #2 nationally at 112lbs. Lambert shocked many by controlling Silver throughout the match to earn a 2-0, 3-0 shutout victory. Lambert’s draw did not get any easier after defeating Silver. Before day one was over, Lambert would also score notable victories over National Prep Champion Will Mason of Virginia, returning All-American Colby Knight of Iowa, Junior Greco All-American Mitch Brown of Utah, and Illinois state champion Nick Harrison.
On day two Lambert picked up right where he left off by scoring 3-2, 2-0 victory over Indiana runner-up Brendan Campbell in his first match of the day. With his win over Campbell, Lambert ensured himself All-American status and earned a matchup against two-time California state champion Nashon Garrett of California, considered by many to be one of the nation’s premier high school wrestlers. Garrett, who will be wrestling for Cornell next year, is ranked #3 nationally at 112lbs by Intermat.
Once again, Lambert shocked many by soundly defeating the highly regarded Garrett by way of a 5-1, 2-0 decision. Following his win over Garrett, Lambert was paired with Hawaii’s David Terao for a Friday night match that would determine who advanced to the finals. In his matchup against the relatively unknown Terao, Lambert suffered his first loss of the tourney in a hard fought 1-1, 5-0, 1-1 battle. The loss was a bit controversial, as Terao appeared to score the winning takedown after time had expired. The officials conferred for a while at the table before ultimately awarding Terao the takedown and the match.
Despite the bitter loss, Lambert showed incredible resiliency in his third place match where he took on three-time Iowa state champion Cory Clark, ranked #5 nationally at 119lbs. After dropping a tight 2-2 first period, Lambert stormed back to win the next two periods 4-2 & 6-3 and capture 3rd place. Following his great showing in Fargo, Lambert should be one of Michigan’s most sought after senior recruits as he looks to win his first MHSAA state title this winter.
Fowlerville big man Adam Coon also racked up some big
points for Michigan with a 3rd place finish at 215lbs in his first
year competing in the Junior division. Over the past four
months Coon has further solidified himself as one of the
nation’s premier upperweights with a number of impressive
achievements on the Freestyle and Greco Roman circuit.
Among Coon’s many accomplishments have been
championships at the FILA Cadet Greco Roman and Freestyle
nationals.
Early in the tournament Coon’s dominance continued as
he stormed through his early matches to post a 6-0 record
heading into the Friday night round. On Friday night Coon
was paired with three-time California state champion Morgan
McIntosh in a match that would determine who advanced to
the finals. McIntosh is considered by many to be the nation’s
top high school wrestler, and has received numerous accolades
including being named the ASICS HS Male Wrestler of the
year. In his matchup with Coon, the Penn State bound
McIntosh backed up his credentials by defeating Coon by fall.
Following his loss to McIntosh, Coon was paired with Illinois’ Michael Sojka who is ranked #5 nationally at 215lbs by Intermat. Sojka is a two-time Class 1A state champion who will be wrestling for Stanford this fall. Coon rebounded from his loss in dominant fashion by defeating Sojka 4-0, 4-0 to earn 3rd place. The win gave Coon a cumulative record of 15-1 between the Freestyle and Greco tournaments.
Michigan’s fourth All-American came at 171lbs, where Greenville senior Jordan Thomas placed 5th. Thomas, who is now a four-time freestyle All-American in Fargo, also placed 6th at the FILA Junior Freestyle Nationals this spring. It was a tough draw for Thomas who was placed on a loaded chart that saw many notable wrestlers fail to place, including Junior Greco champion Geordan Speiller of Florida and returning Junior Freestyle runner-up Matt Hickman of California.
Thomas posted a 6-0 record heading into the Friday night round that was highlighted by a 2-0, 0-3, 1-0 win over Super 32 Champion Brandon Griffin of Oregon. Thomas suffered his first loss of the tournament Friday night when he fell to two-time FILA Cadet Freestyle Champion Jordan Rogers of Washington. Thomas also dropped a match against three-time Iowa state champion Cody Caldwell. On Saturday Thomas bounced back in strong fashion by dominating Illinois runner-up Jack Dechow 5-1, 7-0 to secure 5th place.
The final All-American for Michigan came in the 130lbs division where St. Johns junior Brant Schafer had a breakout performance. Schafer, who is a first time Fargo All-American, picked up several notable wins along the way to a 6th place finish. Two of Schafer’s most impressive victories came when he knocked off former Junior Freestyle champion Tyler Fraley of New Jersey and Junior Greco Roman runner-up Jacob Velarde of Washington.
Several other Michiganders turned in solid performances in the Junior Freestyle division and narrowly missed out on earning All-American honors. Kevin Beazley of Detroit Catholic Central posted a 5-2 record and fell just short of placing, partially due to an unlucky draw. Despite defeating eventual 8th place finisher Kris Klapprodt of South Dakota, Beazley was eliminated due to losses against Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma and Jack Dechow of Illinois who would go on to place 4th and 6th.
Also close to placing was St. Johns senior Jordan Wohlfert, who came two wins away from becoming an All-American in the 160lbs division. Prior to being eliminated, Wohlfert won a competitive three period match against NHSCA Junior National runner-up Ben Sullivan of Minnesota. Additional Michiganders who advanced to Day Two were Josh Pennell of St. Johns, Ken Bade of Detroit Catholic Central and Andrew Napieraj of Brother Rice. All of these grapplers recorded three victories prior to being eliminated.
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Forrest Hills Eastern senior Tim Lambert (Above), one of Michigan's five All-Americans, placed 3rd at 119lbs. Photo: Adam Bird/Grand Rapids Press
Fowlerville junior Adam Coon (above) continued his stellar offseason by placing 3rd at 215lbs.
