Michigan Grappler - Everything wrestling in Michigan

Home | Contact Us | Advertise

Prep Report - Week 1 Recap

MI Grappler HS Analyst Steve Widzinski breaks down how the top teams in each division started their season:

Division 1

1. Detroit Catholic Central: The returning state champs picked up right where they left off, dominating their way through some pretty tough competition. The Shamrocks ran through a depleted Lowell team who was missing the several starters on Wednesday by a score of 66-12. On Saturday the Shamrocks traveled to the West Land John Glenn Rocket Duals where they dominated a pretty solid group of teams. The Shamrocks cruised past Westland John Glenn, Roseville and Livonia Franklin by scores of 61-3, 67-9 and 50-15 to claim first place. The Shamrocks opened the season firing on all cylinders, and they will be tough to beat in Division 1.

2. Oxford: It was a week of up and downs for second ranked Oxford. The Wildcats started the week on a high note with a 62-10 win over Lowell. However following their big win over Lowell, Oxford fell to a very impressive young Davison team 34-31. The Wildcats bounced back in very impressive fashion on Saturday, scoring a huge 30-28 win over Division 3’s #1 ranked Dundee to claim first place at blank duals.

3. Holt: The Rams had a solid showing at the Lake Orion tournament on Saturday, finishing second in a pretty solid field. Holt finished behind Hartland and head of several strong teams including D2 #7 Holly, Lake Orion and Monroe.

4. Hartland: Hartland opened their season with big wins on Wednesday night, defeating Rochester and Anchor Bay by scores of 54-17 and 54-19. The Eagles traveled to the Lake Orion Tournament on Saturday where they had a very impressive first place showing, finishing ahead of tough teams including #3 ranked Holt and Division 2’s #7 ranked Holly.

5. Rockford: Rockford looked good fielding a team of primarily new starters, finishing in first place at Comstock Park Duals. The Rams picked up a good win by knocking off Division 3’s #8 ranked Otsego 37-25 in the finals.

6. Temperance Bedford: The Kicking Mules showed tremendous depth by placing all thirteen wrestlers at the very tough Lansing Eastern Tournament on Saturday. Bedford had a lot of guys rack up big points, leading to an impressive second place team finish ahead of Division 3’s #4 team Lake Fenton and behind only the state’s top team St. Johns.

7. Romeo: The Bulldogs traveled to the very tough Rocket Duals at Westland John Glenn where they suffered a couple of early season set backs. Romeo fell to Clarkston 38-25 and to Livonia Franklin by a score 43-27, eventually finishing in fifth place.

8. Davison: The very young Cardinals showed that they could be one of Division 1’s most dangerous teams, scoring a huge win 34-31 over #2 ranked Oxford of Wednesday. Davison fell to Lake Fenton 42-29 on Thursday, but their upset win over Oxford shows that they have the talent to hang with the big dogs in Division 1.

9. Roseville: Roseville went up against several of Division 1’s top teams on Saturday at Westland John Glenn’s Rocket Duals. Roseville finished the day in fourth place, falling to top ranked DCC 67-9 and to Clarkston 41-22.

10. Anchor Bay: Anchor Bay struggled against a tough Hartland group in the season opener, falling by a score 54-17. They traveled to the Brooklyn Columbia Central Duals tournament on Saturday where they finished in 5th place behind Tecumseh, Mason, Onsted and Ida, scoring a win over D4 #8 Constantine in the final match of the day.

Division 2

1. St. Johns: The Redwings opened the season with a dominant showing at the very tough Lansing Eastern tournament. Eight individual champions lead the way for St. Johns who claimed first place honors finishing well ahead of a tough group that included over D1 #6 Temperance Bedford and D3 #4 Lake Fenton.

2. Lowell: It was a tough week for the Red Arrows, who were missing the bulk of their lineup and fell to Division 1 powers Detroit Catholic Central and Oxford by final scores of 66-12 and 62-10. Expect Lowell to be right back in the mix when they return all of the starters who are still out due to football season.

3. Allegan: After losing a very strong group of wrestlers to graduation Allegan’s new look lineup looked very impressive Saturday, claiming first place at the Allegan Southwest Classic ahead of Division 4’s #2 ranked Hesperia.

4. Greenville

5. Stevensville Lakeshore

6. Mason: The sixth ranked Mason Bulldogs traveled to the Brooklyn Columbia Central Duals on Saturday to kick off the 2010-2011 season. Mason finished in third place, falling to Tecumseh by a score of 51-12 and finishing ahead of D1 #10 Anchor Bay and D4 #8 Constantine.

7. Holly

8. Tecumseh: The Indians started their season in grand fashion, dominating their way through Brooklyn Columbia Central Duals. Tecumseh finished in first place, scoring a big 51-12 win over Mason.

9. Grand Rapids Northview: Northview struggled at the Allegan Southwest Classic, finishing in tenth place at the individual tournament. Teams ahead of Grand Rapids Northview included D2 #3 Allegan D3 #6 Shelby, D3 #9 Allendale and D4 #2 Hesperia.

10. Dearborn Heights Annapolis

Division 3

1. Dundee: Top ranked Dundee took a tough early loss a very strong Oxford team who is currently ranked second in Division 1. The Vikings fell to Oxford in a hard fought dual by a score 30-28 to finish in second place at Warren Woods Tower Duals. The dual came down to the last match and Dundee was missing a few wrestlers who should be key contributors by the time the state tournament comes around.

2. Richmond:

3. Chippewa Hills: Chippewa Hills started their season in dominant fashion, cruising to a first place finish at the Corunna invitational. Chippewa Hills scored an impressive 208 team points, 80 more than second place Roscommon.

4. Lake Fenton: The new look Lake Fenton lineup picked up a big early season win over Davison on Thursday by a score 42-29. On Saturday Lake Fenton traveled to the very tough Don Johnson Invitational at Lansing Eastern on Saturday where they finished third behind St. Johns and Temperance Bedford. The Blue Devils are still missing a few key wrestlers from their lineup and their solid performances to open the season show that they will be a force to be reckoned with in Division 3.

5. Swan Valley:

6. Shelby: This Saturday’s Allegan Southwest Classic provided a good test for Division 3’s sixth ranked team. Shelby turned in a fourth place finish ahead of D3 #9 Allendale and behind D2 #3 Allegan, D4 #2 Hesperia and Whitehall.

7. Bullock Creek: Division 3’s seventh ranked team started their season with a close dual meet victory, prevailing 33-29 to defeat Midland Dow. On Saturday Bullock Creek finished in fourth place at the Birch Run Duals, finishing behind New Lothrop, Frankenmuth and Birch Run.

8. Otsego: Otsego competed at the Comstock Park Duals on Saturday where they claimed second place. Otsego finished the day with a record of 3-1, with their only loss coming to Division 1’s #5 ranked Rockford.

9. Allendale: Allendale was in attendance at this Saturday’s Allegan Southwest Classic where they finished in fifth place. Teams finishing ahead of Allendale were Allegan, Hesperia, Whitehall and Shelby.

10. Goodrich: Goodrich competed at the Warren Woods Tower Duals this Saturday where they came away with a fourth place finish. The team suffered two losses at the hands of D1 #2 Oxford and Canton.

Division 4

1. Hudson: The Tigers continued their recent run of dominance, cruising to a first place finish at their own dual meet tournament this Saturday. Hudson went untested on the day, defeating Napolean by a score of 62-9 in the finals.

2. Hesperia: Hesperia turned in a strong performance this weekend, claiming second place at Saturday’s Allegan Southwest Classic. The Panthers finished behind Division 2’s third ranked Allegan and ahead of Division 2’s ninth ranked Grand Rapids Northview and Division 3’s sixth ranked Shelby and ninth ranked Allendale.

3. Manchester: It was a strong day for Manchester who battled hard to post a 4-1 record and claim first place honors at Springport Duals. The Dutchmen posted a win over Dearborn Heights Crestwood but fell in a narrow dual against Springport by a score of 38-36 putting themselves in a three-way tie for first place. The Dutchmen won the tiebreaker of most total points to finish the day as champions.

4. Dansville

5. Ithaca:

6. New Lothrop: New Lothrop had a big start to the season, claiming first place at the Birch Run Duals. Sixth ranked New Lothrop posted a 5-0 record to claim first place honors in a solid field that included Frankenmuth, Birch Run and D3 #7 Bullock Creek.

7. Rogers City

8. Constantine: Constantine turned in a sixth place performance at Saturday’s Brooklyn Columbia Central Duals. Constantine fell to Division 1 #10 Anchor Bay in their final match of the day.

9. Iron Mountain

10. Addison: The returning state runners-up fielded a lineup with a lot of new faces and finished in twelfth place at the tough Allegan Southwest Classic. Teams ahead of Addison included D2 #3 Allegan, D2 #9 Grand Rapids Northview, D3 #6 Shelby, D3 #9 Allendale and D4 #2 Hesperia.

May not be republished or reproduced without expressed, written permission

Contact Michigan Grappler via E-Mail: admin@michigangrappler.com