Holiday Recap
By Steve WidzinskiMI Grappler High School AnalystSteve@michigangrappler.comDivision 1
#1 Detroit Catholic Central: The Shamrocks started their winter break off with a couple of solid dual meet wins, defeating D1 #10 Rockford 53-4 and D4 #2 Hesperia 48-22. On the 28th and 29th they traveled to Medina, Ohio, for one the country’s toughest annual holiday tournaments. The team lived up to their national ranking, claiming 1st place by finishing over 50 points ahead of #27 Massillon Perry. On the 30th, DCC’s team depth was on display when their “B” team placed 5th at the Goodrich TOC ahead of teams like D1 #7 Rochester and D1 #8 Southgate Anderson.
#4 Brighton: The fourth ranked Bulldogs continued to roll over winter break, going 5-0 to claim 1st place at the Canton Duals. Among Brighton’s wins was a 55-12 victory over Adrian.
#7 Rochester: After jumping into the rankings last week, the Falcons proved they belonged with a very solid showing at the Goodrich Tournament of Champions. The team finished the day in 6th, ahead of several ranked teams including D2 #10 New Boston Huron, D1 #8 Southgate Anderson and D3 #4 Birch Run. Leading the way for the Eagle’s were runners-up Josh Wood and Kaelan Richards.
#8 Southgate Anderson: The Titans were in action at the Goodrich TOC over the break where they came away with an 8th place finish. Key point scorers included Devon Bronson and Ben Dominguez who helped the team to finish ahead of Lapeer West, D3 #4 Birch Run and D4 #7 Springport.
#9 Battle Creek Lakeview: The Spartans came out firing at the All-City wrestling tournament over break after entering the team rankings for the first time this season. The team claimed their fourth consecutive city title by crowning 12 individual champions to finish with over triple the points of second place Battle Creek Central.
#10 Rockford: Over winter break the Rams wrestled some big dual meets against strong competition and came away with a pair of quality wins. The team came away with victories against D2 #9 Stevensville Lakeshore and conference foe Grand Haven who was in the D1 rankings earlier in the season.
Division 2
#1 St. Johns: The Red Wing’s incredible season continued over winter break, as they dominated the field at the Goodrich TOC to win the tourney for the second consecutive year. The nation’s #3 ranked team racked up 279.5 team points, over 120 more than second place D3 #2 Dundee. They crowned a total of eight individual champions, and Zac Hall and Jordan Wohlfert won Most Valuable Wrestler honors.
#2 Lowell: It was a great holiday break for the Red Arrows, who scored some big dual meet wins that should help them to advance in the national rankings. Their run started at their home dual meet tournament where they went 3-0 to claim 1st place, handily defeating D4 #3 New Lothrop and D2 #7 Sparta. Following their home tournament the Red Arrows, currently ranked #45 nationally by Intermat, traveled south to Illinois to take on #39 Glenbard North. Lowell validated their reputation as one of the country’s top teams, winning 35-19 in their biggest dual victory of the season.
#4 Greenville: Over break Greenville competed with many of the state’s top teams when they traveled to Goodrich for the annual TOC. The Yellow Jackets performed well, finishing in third place behind D3 #2 Dundee and ahead of D4 #2 Hesperia. The team was lead by Jordan Thomas who recorded his third consecutive individual TOC championship with a title at 189lbs.
#5 Allegan: The Tigers picked up some solid dual meet victories over break when they competed in Portage Central’s Mike McCloughan Classic. The team finished the day in first place, posting a 5-0 dual record. Their toughest match of the day came when they took on D2 #7 Sparta, coming away with a 36-31 victory.
#7 Sparta: The Spartans challenged themselves over break, competing in very competitive dual meet tournaments at Lowell and Portage Central. Their gauntlet started at Lowell, where they went 1-2 on the day, falling to D2 #2 Lowell and D4 #3 New Lothrop. The team followed up with a 4-1 outing at Portage Central, with their only loss of the day coming in a close 36-31 dual against D2 #7 Allegan.
#9 Stevensville Lakeshore: The Lancers took on D1 #10 Rockford over break, in a dual meet where both teams were missing a few starters. The team was very competitive but fell just short, losing 33-32 in a hard fought battle.
#10 New Boston Huron: One of the most impressive teams at this year’s Goodrich Tournament of Champions was New Boston Huron, who finished 7th in a loaded field. Lead by runners-up Brandon Brooks, Logan Ritchie and Shawn Brewer, the Chiefs finished ahead of D1 #8 Southgate Anderson. Their strong showing earned them a spot in the D2 rankings for the first time this season.
Division 3
#1 Richmond: On the 27th, Richmond competed in one of winter break’s biggest dual meets when they took on D4 #1 Hudson in a battle of the defending D3 and D4 state champions. The Blue Devils came away with a big win, defeating Hudson 40-29. They followed by traveling south to Ohio, where they competed in the highly competitive Medina Invitational. Lead by individual runner-up Greg Sebastian, the team finished 8th in a field that consisted of over 40 teams.
#2 Dundee: The Vikings looked very good over the holiday break, coming away with a runner-up finish at the prestigious Goodrich TOC. The team finished behind only D2 #1 St. Johns, and beat out D2 #4 Greenville and D4 #2 Hesperia by a fairly large margin. Top individual performers were Jon Marogen and Doug Rojem who both finished 2nd at their weight.
#3 Chippewa Hills: On the 29th the Warriors dominated the field at the Ionia Invitational, finishing in 1st place over 120 points ahead of 2nd place Lansing Eastern. Individual champions for Chippewa Hills were Zack Cooper, James Leiter and Damien Curtice.
#4 Birch Run: The Panthers were one of many ranked teams in action at the Goodrich TOC on the 30th. The team was without a few key wrestlers, and finished the day tied for tenth place with D4 #7 Springport. The teams top performance came from freshman Jerry Fenner who dominated the 103lbs bracket en route to an individual title.
#7 Caro: Over the holiday break Caro continued their impressive start to the season with a strong performance at the Freeland Invitational. The team crowned three individual champs to beat out D3 #8 Bullock Creek for 1st place and move up in the team rankings. Winning titles for Caro were Shane Hermann, Cody Hall and Marshall Conley.
#8 Bullock Creek: The Lancers competed at the Freeland Invitational over break where they finished 2nd behind D3 #7 Caro in an 18 team field. Finishing behind Bullock Creek were Bay City Western and Sanford Meridian. Chris March won an individual title for the Lancers at 130lbs and four others placed 2nd.
Division 4
#1 Hudson: One of winter break’s biggest duals went down on the 27th, when Hudson clashed with D3 #1 Richmond in a battle of perennial powers. The highly regarded programs wrestled a closely contested dual meet, with Hudson eventually falling by a score of 40-29 against the two-time defending D3 champions.
#2 Hesperia: The Panthers represented D4 well over break when they traveled to Goodrich for the annual TOC. The team wrestled well, finishing in fourth place behind only D2 #1 St. Johns, D3 #2 Dundee and D2 #4 Greenville. Finishing behind Hesperia were teams such as D1 #7 Rochester and D2 #10 New Boston Huron. The Panthers were lead by an outstanding performance by heavyweight Brett Martin, who posted bonus points in every match along the way to an individual title.
#3 New Lothrop: The Hornets took on some strong competition over break by heading to Lowell for their annual dual meet tournament. The team finished the day in second place with a 2-1 record, losing to only nationally ranked host Lowell. Their biggest victory came in a win over D2 #7 Sparta.
#7 Springport: The Spartan’s turned in a fine showing over break at the Goodrich TOC, competing well with some of the state’s best. They finished the day in 10th place, tied with D3 #4 Birch Run. Key contributors were Cam Chamberlain and Joe Ericson who both had individual runner-up finishes.
#8 Addison: During their holiday break Addison challenged themselves by taking part in the highly competitive Goodrich TOC. The team placed 12th, ahead of some respected D1 schools including Clarkston and Grand Ledge. Their top performer was freshman Jason Richardson, who finished 3rd at 112lbs.
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