35th Annual Marquette Challenge
Marquette, MI - December 22nd, 2007
12/24 – Strobe lights, fog machines, jumbotrons, dancers, music, light shows….and some great wrestling! This is The Marquette Challenge. Watching the final round introductions resembled a WWE pay per view event more than a high school wrestling match. The Challenge and tournament director Tony Gentz provide prep wrestlers with a unique opportunity to display their abilities under the spotlight of competing in front of an amped crowd in an environment suited perfectly for high school wrestling.
Oh and did we mention, there was some great wrestling. 8 of the 14 finals matches featured a battle of ranked wrestlers.
Allen Krupp of New Lothrop won arguably the deepest weight of the tournament. Krupp, currently ranked #2 in D4, knocked off Joe Mileski of Gladstone (D3 #4) in a thrilling finals bout. The match was scoreless throughout the first and second period as the wrestlers never left their feet. Then in the third period Krupp started down and Mileski cut him loose to give Krupp a 1-0 lead. Mileski got on the board with an explosive shot to take the lead 2-1. After another Krupp escape the score was tied and remained so until the final seconds when Krupp scored his first offensive points of the match in the final 15 seconds. He then quickly got his legs in and cranked Mileski over with the splits to score a 2pt nearfall at the buzzer and end the match 6-2.
Another marquee final matchup came at 189lbs where two returning state placers, LJ Helbig of Mason and Nick Whitenburg of Bedford, went at it. Helbig came out strong and scored a takedowns in the first and second period to take a 4-1 lead going into the third. Whitenburg would escape but was unable to muster a heroic comeback and Helbig won 4-2.
Two Mason wrestlers, Jacob Burge and Garrett Rozeboom, each won their 4th Challenge Championships this weekend. Prior to them their was only 4 other wrestlers in the 35 year history of the event to accomplish such a feat. Both Burge and Rozeboom are returning D2 state champs and they both cruised to the finals with 3 falls.
In the 140lb final Rozeboom finished his Challenge career with a 14-4 major decision over Joe Gouthier of Iron Mountain. Burge’s final match did not last quite so long as he needed only 20 seconds to pin Jerome Gapczynski of Rogers City. None of Burge’s matches made it out of the first period earning him the most falls and most valuable wrestler awards.
Two freshman started a run to become the next 4x Challenge champ as Conor Youtsey of Mason (112) and Devin Pommerenke of Rogers City (285) each won the Challenge in their first attempt. Youtsey defeated UP state champ Chad Deno of Gladstone in the 112lb final 4-1, and Pommerenke ended the day with a thrilling overtime win against Nick Wollum of Iron Mountain.
Temperance Bedford won the team race, despite crowing only one champion. Alex Ortman was their lone champ at 160lbs, where he defeated Mason’s Dan Anderson in the finals 6-1. Bedford held a 20+ point lead over Mason heading into the final round and held on to edge the Bulldogs by a mere 3 points in the end. Finishing runner up for Bedford was Whitenburg, Billy Osborne at 135, and Pat Nusbaum at 152.
Osborne’s final match was another highly anticipated matchup of two returning state placers. Osborn lost to all-stater and former state champ Craig Eifert of Mason by a score of 4-0. In the semifinals Osborne picked up a dominant win over another all-stater in Tharon Wilk of Rogers City.
Gaylord crowned the first champ of the day at 103 in a battle of tough sophomores. Jacob Armstrong of Gaylord took the lead early and held it to win a close one over Jacob Scholten of Grandville, 6-5.
At 125 and 130lbs it was two Pine River wrestlers knocking fending off Gaylord grapplers in the finals. At 125 two ranked wrestlers, Tom Webster of Pine River and Danny Sharrard of Gaylord, squared off. Webster outlasted Sharrard and came away with the win 8-6. At 130 it was Robert Morris Pine River beating Doug Simcek of Gaylord 5-3.
AJ Sabin of Grandville caught the eyes of many as he crusied through the 145lb bracket. Sabin’s teammate, returning D1 state finalist Zakk Sharron, followed that up with a Challenge win of his own at 152lbs. Sharron, ranked #3 in D1, took out #7 Pat Nusbaum of Bedford 8-0.
Joel Vallier of Gladstone was the lone UP champ on the day as he won it all at 215lbs. Vallier, who is ranked 2nd in D3 and widely considered one of the toughest pound for pound wrestlers in the upper peninsula, defeated Merrill, WI ranked grappler Joe Ankney 8-5 in the finals.
For full brackets of the 35th Marquette Challenge, click here.
Copyright 2007 Michigan Grappler LLC
