DCC outguns Greenville, Lakeshore to win Kent County

By Steve Widzinski
Michigan Grappler HS Anaylst

12/12 – This Saturday several of the state’s premier programs did battle at the extremely competitive Kent County Class.  Perennial powerhouses such as Detroit Catholic Central, Stevensville Lakeshore, Greenville and Rockford were all in attendance.  Despite the fact that several of the states top teams were in attendance, parity was high.  Twelve out of the Eighteen teams in attendance had a wrestler reach the finals, creating a very good mix of the state’s top talent that lead to a very exciting set of finals matches.

The starting weight of 125 pounds featured one of the states top wrestlers in Detroit Catholic Central’s Ken Bade who put on a very impressive performance Saturday.  Bade looked dominant all day long, pinning and teching his way to a first place finish.  Bade looked especially strong in his finals match where he cruised to a 15-0 technical fall over Nick Reddy of Grandville, showing why he is a serious threat to win a state title in Division 1 this year.

Stevensville Lakeshore’s Sam Hanau emerged on the Michigan prep wrestling scene championship performance in the 130 pound weight class.  Hanau, who moved from Missouri this summer, dominated his weight class scoring an impressive 12-4 major decision over Greenville’s Luke Gilmore in the finals.  Hanau’s Michigan career is still young, but his performance Saturday indicates that he will play a serious factor in the state title race come March.

One of the day’s top matches took place at the 135 pound weight class, pitting two of the state’s top juniors against each other.  Two-time State Champion Alec Mooradian of Detroit Catholic Central met with Nick Trimble of Sparta in one of the day’s top finals matches.  The match came down to the very end, with Mooradian using his strong mat skills to ride Trimble out in the third period and claim the 135 pound championship.

While there were quite a few excellent finals matches at the Kent County Classic, it’s hard to argue that any matched the excitement of the 140 pound weight class.  Joe Preston of Grand Rapids Northview went up against Angelo Latora of Portage Central in an electrifying 140 pound finals match.  Trailing 14-5 late in the third period, Preston was able to catch Latora on his back and secure a fall to claim the 140 pound championship.  Preston’s incredible pin over Latora earned him Most Valuable Wrestler honors for the day.

Nate Zick of Byron Center was one of the day’s most impressive wrestlers, claiming the 145 pound title at the Kent County Classic.  In the finals Zick went up against Nick Mason of Detroit Catholic Central in a battle of two highly ranked middleweights.  Zick jumped out to an early lead and held on with strong defense and tough riding to claim the 145 pound title by way of a 6-3 decision.

Detroit Catholic Central’s Drew Garcia showed why he is one of the state’s top young wrestlers on Saturday, claiming the 152 pound title at the Kent County Classic.  In the finals Garcia met with the very tough Austin Scogg of Rockford.  Garcia was able to control the match in neutral and picked up an 8-2 decision to take home first place honors.  While it is still very early in his high school career, the future appears to be very bright for the freshman Garcia.

Returning State Finalist Adam Bonner of Greenville put on an impressive performance in the 160 pound weight class to claim his second consecutive championship at the Kent County Classic.  Bonner was able to reach the finals without too much difficulty where he met Dillon Francisco of Comstock Park.  After a close first period Bonner separated the gap in the later stages of the match to come away with a 12-4 major decision.

Jordan Thomas of Greenville and Kevin Beazley of Detroit Catholic Central cruised to the finals at 171 pounds where they squared off in a battle of very highly touted 171 pounders.  Thomas, a returning state champion, came out firing and quickly scored a takedown and back points to claim an early lead.  Beazley tried to battle back but Thomas was relentless in his attack, eventually winning by a 20-4 technical fall.  Thomas’ dominance was impressive, showing why he is one Michigan’s elite grapplers.

At pair of returning state placers met in a very well matched 189 pound finals match.  Sparta’s Paul Dunneback and Miles Trealout of Detroit Catholic Central wrestled a hard fought match, with Dunneback eventually claiming the title.  Dunneback was extremely impressive on the mat, leading to a 4-2 decision over Trealout and a 189 pound title at the Kent County Classic.

Two of the states top big men battled in a very exciting 215 pound finals match.  Returning state placers Drake Renas of Big Rapids and Kyle Spear of Stevensville Lakeshore went down to the wire in one of the day’s best matches.  With the match tied and short time left on the clock, Division 3’s top ranked Renas scored a late takedown earning him a 5-3 decision and a first place finish at 215 pounds.

Kyle Carlson of Stevensville Lakeshore showed Saturday that he could be one to watch at 285 pounds in Division 2.  Relatively unknown entering Saturday’s tournament, Carlson turned some heads when he scored a fall in the semi finals to knock off Greenville’s returning state placer Justin Zimmer.  Carlson ended the day in grand fashion, scoring a last second reversal in double overtime against Rockford’s Jake Banaszack to claim the 285 pound championship. 

The most wide open weight class of the tournament was 103 pounds, providing a lot of young wrestlers with a great opportunity to prove themselves.  The wrestler who best took advantage of that opportunity was without a doubt Detroit Catholic Central Freshman Evan Toth.  Toth dominated his competition throughout the day, scoring a fall over Coopersville Dale Umlor in the finals.  Toth’s breakout performance showed that he could be a kid to watch out for in Division 1 at 103.

Comstock Park’s returning state placer Caleb DuBridge wrestled well throughout the day to win the 112 pound weight class.  After defeating Grand Rapids Northview’s Kyle Johnson in the semi-finals, DuBridge bested Alex Melinn of Coopersville 10-7 in an exciting finals match to earn first place honors.

The final match of the day at 119 pounds pitted Stevensville Lakeshore’s Tyler Frese against Nick Ross of Comstock Park.  Frese, who placed third in Division 2 last year, was able to build an early lead on Ross thanks to two first period takedowns.  Frese held off a late charge by Ross to come away with a 7-6 decision and the 119 pound championship. 

The returning Division 1 State Champion Detroit Catholic Central showed why they are they are one the state’s top teams, winning the team race by a very large margin.  The Shamrocks showed their incredible depth, as they were able to win the tourney in dominant fashion despite missing three wrestlers from the lineup who are currently ranked sixth or higher in their respective weight class.  Seven Shamrock wrestlers reached the finals and four claimed titles to lead Detroit Catholic Central to a dominant first place finish at the Kent County Classic.

After Detroit Catholic Central there was a very tight race between the rest of the field.  The Yellow Jackets of Greenville were lead by two champions and were able to finish ahead of the rest of the pack to claim second place honors.  Finishing just behind Greenville was Stevensville Lakeshore.  The Lancers had three champions leading them to a third place finish.  While no Rockford wrestler won a title, the Rams had a solid team performance and were able to finish just beating Lakeshore to claim fourth place.  Rounding out the top five was a very tough Comstock Park team that featured one champion and three finalists.

Finals Results

103: Evan Toth (DCC) fall Dale Umlor (Coopersville)
112: Caleb DuBridge (Comstock Park) dec Alex Melinn (Coopersville) 10-7
119: Tyler Frese (Lakeshore) dec Nick Ross (Comstock Park) 7-6
125: Ken Bade (DCC) tech fall Nick Reddy (Grandville) 15-0
130: Sam Hanue (Lakeshore) major dec Luke Gilmore (Greenville) 12-4
135: Alec Mooradian (DCC) dec Nick Trimble (Sparta) 1-0
140: Joe Preston (Northview) fall Angelo Latora (Portage Central)
145: Nate Zick (Byron Center) dec Nick Mason (DCC) 6-3
152: Drew Garcia (Detroit Catholic Central) dec Austin Scogg (Rockford) 8-2
160: Adam Bonner (Greenville) major dec Dillon Francisco (Comstock Park) 12-4
171: Jordan Thomas (Greenville) tech fall Kevin Beazley (DCC) 20-4
189: Paul Dunneback (Sparta) dec Miles Trealout (DCC) 4-2
215: Drake Renas (Big Rapids) dec Kyle Spear (Lakeshore) 5-3
285: Kyle Carlson (Lakeshore) dec Jake Banaszak (Rockford) 3-2 (OT)

Third Place Results

103: John Leark (Caledonia) dec Nolan Waddell (Byron Center) 4-0
112: Zac Colone (DCC) dec Kyle Johnson (Northview) 5-2
119: Dan Graham (Sparta) dec Malik Amine (DCC) 10-4
125: Kyle Hurley (Sparta) dec Kevin Haughn (Portage Central) 6-2
130: Jake Livingston (Northview) dec John Weldon (Comstock Park) 6-3
135: Travis Krauss (Northview) dec Devon Lehman (Greenville) 7-5
140: Austin Merryweather (Grandville) dec Jake Fuller (Byron Center) 3-1
145: Jordan Sullivan (Coopersville) fall Austin Geerlings (East Kentwood)
152: Nike Parks (East Kentwood) default Kevin McCarthy (Comstock Park)
160: Zach Gnauss (Byron Center) dec Brandon Krupp (Union) 5-1
171: Ernie Morton (East Kentwood) major dec Tyler Ritsema (Byron Center) 8-0
189: Zach Banaszak (Rockford) dec Kaleb Bell (Greenville) 5-0
215: Tyler Gruszka (Comstock Park) dec Dillon Schmitt (Caledonia) 7-4
285: Justin Zimmer (Greenville) dec Kyle Knapp (Portage Central) 6-2

Team Standings

1.Detroit Catholic Central
2.Greenville
3.Stevensville Lakeshore
4.Rockford
5.Comstock Park


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