Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
Liam Widman never had breaking school records in mind when he began to wrestle as a youngster.
The Alma High School senior just wanted to win.
“I had no idea what I was getting in to,” Widman said. “When I started, I never thought about breaking records. That still doesn’t mean too much to me. Its all about winning, and the records will come.”
Widman has done that, winning more than any other wrestler at Alma.
The senior 171-pounder just broke Bruce Hubbard’s school record for wins. Last year, Hubbard set the school mark at 154, and now Widman has 163 career wins after a 12-0 start this season.
And he has won on the state’s biggest wrestling stage. As a freshman 135-pounder, Widman was a state qualifier. His sophomore season he took 8th at 152 pounds, and last year he was third at 160.
His only loss at the individual finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills last year was to eventual state champion Lelund Weatherspoon of Napoleon, and that was by a tough 5-3 score in the semifinal.
This year Widman, who finished last year with a 52-2 record, would like to take that final step and win a state title. “[Last year] motivates me in a weird way,” he said. “I was never supposed to be in that Weatherspoon match, but I was right there with him. So I knew I was good enough to win it. It was just the way the brackets were set up, and it didn’t work out.”
Alma coach Randy Miniard likes Widman’s chances this year. “He should win it this year, but ‘should win it’ and ‘winning it’ are two different things,” he said. “But I have all the confidence in the world in him. He just has to get in rattlesnake mode, because he is very quick for a big guy, and when he has his feet moving, he can wrestle with anyone.”
Some of his natural ability is genetics. His father Zip Widman wrestled at Alma College, and Liam Widman credits him and a former CMU Chippewa as being big influences on his career.
“My dad and Steve Brown,” said Liam Widman, who is currently the top-ranked 171 pounder in Division 3. “Steve did a lot of extra work with me when I was coming through and prepared me to take the next steps to be where I wanted to be. And dad has been there the whole time, every step. When I was little and losing every match, to the successes now. He has driven me everywhere and has paid.”
This past off-season, Widman put in a lot of extra time, wrestling in the prestigious Disney Duals in Florida and wrestling for Team Chub Chub in many tournaments in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
“He’s worked his butt off,” Miniard said. “He’s been wrestling since he was four or five. He doesn’t wrestle completely year-round because he takes time off for football, but he puts a lot in the sport.”
After high school, Widman plans on wrestling in college but has much work to be done prior to that.
“I fallen short of a few goals but can’t dwell on those; I have to step up and accomplish the next ones,” Widman said. “I’m ready to finish my high school career strong.”