Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids Catholic Central wrestling pinned down one of its best seasons in the program’s long history this year.
The Cougars, who have struggled in the recent past, finished the year with a 22-3 record, ended the season as the fourth-ranked team in Division 3, and sent a record nine wrestlers to the MHSAA Individual State Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the first weekend of March.
Of those nine wrestlers that advanced to the finals, two came home champions. Freshman Devin Schroder won the state title at 112 pounds and sophomore Nate Limmex won the state championship at 130 pounds.
Schroder, who ended his year at 53-0, and Limmex, who was 22-0, are the program’s first state champions in 32 years.
Freshman 103-pounder Kole Krauss and 140-pound senior Joe English also came home with all-state honors, as Krauss finished in fourth place and English in sixth place.
And the honors didn’t stop there, as the Cougars finished the year earning academic all-state with a team combined GPA of 3.49.
It was a great year for second-year Catholic Central coach B.J. Schroder.
“They got better every week; it was a very explosive team,” Schroder said. “We peaked at the right time, and we were disappointed when the season was over. We wanted to keep going.”
The Cougars lost in the state semifinals to third-ranked Whitehall, 31-24.
*Whereas Catholic Central just missed out on a shot at advancing to the team state finals, congratulations go out to Grandville in Division 1, Lowell and Greenville in Division 2, Belding in Division 3, and Kent City in Division 4 for making it to this year’s finals. The Red Arrows advanced the farthest, falling to four-time state champion St. Johns in the final.
*Aside from Schroder and Limmex, the area also produced four more individual champions in wrestling. Hudsonville’s Zach Henderson won the 125-pound title in Division 1, Lowell’s Bailey Jack was champion at 119 pounds in Division 2, Comstock Park’s Luke Pahl was champion at 152 in Division 3, and Morley Stanwood’s Steven Malloy was champion at 189 pounds in Division 4.
*Congratulations go out to the Grand Haven girls basketball team. For the second straight year, the Buccaneers won the Class A state championship, and they did it against the same opponent. This year Grand Haven beat Grosse Pointe South 60-54 in overtime to finish its year with a 28-0 record. That’s now 50 straight wins for the Buccaneers. Leading the way to the win was senior Hannah Wilkerson, who scored a team-high 17 points. Abby Cole, a 6’5″ senior center who was third in this year’s Miss Basketball voting, ended the game with 11 points, seven rebounds, and eight blocks. Cole now heads to the University of Michigan to play volleyball.
*Grand Haven was the only team from the Grand Rapids area to win a basketball title, but four other teams were close. South Christian girls in Class B, Grand Rapids Christian boys in Class A, Godwin in Class B, and Tri-Unity Christian in Class D. Tri-Unity fell in the Class D final to Southfield Christian, while South Christian, Grand Rapids Christian, and Godwin all fell in semifinal games. But trips to the Breslin Center at Michigan State University for the finals is a great honor.
*Speaking of Grand Rapids Christian, the Eagles lost their Class A semifinal game to Romulus, 76-67. In that game, junior guard Drake Harris led the Eagles in scoring with 25 points. Harris also made some news of a different sort recently, when he decommitted from his verbal agreement to play football and basketball at Michigan State University. Harris said that he may concentrate on just football in college, leading to his decision to test the recruiting waters again. And since that decision, teams like reigning Division I champions Alabama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State have shown their interest. Stay tuned for another verbal agreement soon.