Butch Harmon
Sports Scene
High school wrestling begins its second season this week as the team state tournament begins. Division 2 and Division 4 districts will take place across the state on Wednesday while most Division 1 and Division 3 districts take place on Thursday.
High School Sports Scene will be at many of the districts in the area this week covering local wrestlers at this exciting time of year. Following is a look at team districts with Division 2 and 4 previews today and Division 1 and 3 tomorrow.
DIVISION 2 PREVIEW
@ MT. PLEASANT
Semifinal matchups: Bay City Western vs. Bay City John Glenn; Mt. Pleasant vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill.
With 17 district titles to their credit in the history of the program, Bay City Western has one of the richest wrestling traditions in the Bay area. Western came on strong as the season progressed and is hitting its stride. The Warriors captured the Saginaw Valley League (SVL) tournament tile as they outdistanced Heritage by 19 points and will be favored against Mt. Pleasant in the semifinals. Western is led by senior Tyler Kuch at 145 pounds who improved to 27-0 enroute to winning a conference title at the SVL meet. Mt. Pleasant placed third at the SVL tourney and is led by Danny Cashen who won the 125-pound title at the SVL meet and Jacob Lewis who placed second at 130 pounds.
@GREENVILLE
Semifinal matchups: Cedar Springs vs. Sparta; Greenville – bye.
Long-time rivals Sparta and Cedar Springs collide in the semifinals of one of the toughest Division 2 districts in the state. Host Greenville, which receives a bye, is ranked fifth in the state in Division 2 while Sparta is ranked ninth. Sparta, led by senior Nick Trimble at 140 pounds, defeated Cedar Springs 54-13 early in the conference season.
The Spartans and Yellowjackets are on a collision course for the district title. The two teams saw each other in late January at the Sparta Invitational. At that tournament Sparta placed third with 160 points while the Yellowjackets placed fifth with 144 points.
Defending state champion Jordan Thomas (189) leads the way for Greenville along with Mike Schmidt (103), Alec Ward (130) and Devin Lehman (140).
@OWOSSO
Semifinal matchups: St. Johns vs. Corunna: Owosso vs. Swartz Creek.
Corunna is coming off a Capital Area Athletic Conference (CAAC) White division title but draws the short straw of facing nationally-ranked St. Johns in the first round of the district tournament. The Cavaliers crowned five conference champions at the league meet.
St. Johns captured 10 of 14 weight classes enroute to winning the CAAC Red tournament title. The Redwings won every weight class from 119 through 189 pounds at the conference meeet.
On the other side of the bracket Owosso will be looking to earn the right to face the Redwings in the finals. The Trojans placed third at the CAAC White tournament while Swartz Creek placed ninth at the Flint Metro conference meet. Owosso crowned one champion at the league meet when Cody Chase won the 112-pound title.
@LOWELL
Semifinal matchups: Lowell vs. Forest Hills Northern; Forest Hills Eastern – bye.
The Red Arrows, ranked second in the state in Division 2, are overwhelming favorites to win the district title and take another step toward a rematch with St. Johns in Battle Creek at the Division 2 state finals. The Red Arrows crowned eight individual champions at the O-K White Conference tournament. Forest Hills Eastern does feature one of the top individuals in the state in senior Tim Lambert at 119 pounds.
@DEWITT
Semifinal matchups: Charlotte vs. DeWitt; Ionia vs. Waverly.
DeWitt placed third overall at the CAAC conference meet behind St. Johns and Fowlerville. The Panthers had a total of seven wrestlers reach the final round. Although the Panthers were unable to crown any champions, that depth should serve them well at this district. Look for Waverly to get past Ionia and in the title match DeWitt should outlast Waverly.
@CHELSEA
Semifinal matchups: Chelsea vs. Dexter; Mason vs. Jackson Northwest.
Mason captured the CAAC Gold title and the Bulldogs will be heavily favored to capture the Chelsea district title. With the talented senior duo of heavyweight Adam Robinson and Nick Starzec leading the way, the Bulldogs will overpower league rival Northwest and the be favored against either Chelsea or Dexter.
@LANSING EASTERN
Semifinal matchups: Bath vs. Sexton; Haslett vs. Lansing Eastern.
The Quakers of Eastern will be difficult to defeat on their home mats. Eastern turned in a solid performance at the CAAC Blue meet as it finished second behind league champion Grand Ledge. Eastern had a pair of conference champions in Jerek Crim (160) and Elijah Dennis (171) while three other Quakers were runnerups.