Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
St. Johns wrestling coach Derek Phillips has had one of the best seats in the house to witness the building of a wrestling dynasty.
For seven years as an assistant, and this year as the head coach, Phillips has been on the edge of the mat to watch the Redwings program develop several wrestlers into state champions and win three straight Division 2 state titles.
The program really began to take off with former state champion Dan Osterman and all-stater Tyler Dickinson, both of whom are wrestling in the Big Ten for Michigan State University.
The Redwings continued that momentum when four-time undefeated state champion Taylor Massa and all-stater Travis Curley led the team to three state titles. Massa now wrestles for the University of Michigan and Curley at MSU.
And this year, as St. Johns goes for a four-peat, it’s led by five seniors who will move on to the Big Ten next year.
Ben Whitford and Payne Hayden will be wrestling at Michigan next year, Jacob Schmitt at Northwestern University, Josh Pennell at MSU, and Brant Schafer at Indiana University.
It’s an incredible run of talent.
“It is nice to see all the work these kids put in pay off,” Phillips said. “Seeing kids so dedicated to a sport and then have it pay off with success and to get some college paid off has been nice to be a part of. All I can say is that all of these kids have worked hard for what they have achieved, and it’s been special to be a part of all of it.”
It doesn’t hurt to have all these wrestlers in the same practice room, whether it’s after school or Sunday nights at Dr. Roger Massa’s practice room, which was built just for that extra work it takes to become a champion.
“We are a huge family and are very friendly amongst ourselves,” Schafer said. “But we are also very competitive in practice and beat the crap out of each other. We all want to win.”
Phillips sees that every day and every match.
“They feed off each other,” Phillips said. “They work hard in practice, but they are always the first ones on the edge of the mat to cheer when they know the other has a very difficult match ahead of them.”
But wrestling is an individual sport, and wrestlers must be self-driven at times. Like Osterman, Dickinson, Massa, and Curley before them, Schmitt, Schafer, Pennell, Whitford ,and Hayden have turned wrestling into a lifestyle.
“These kids have put so much time into this sport, that sometimes they have missed out on other things,” Phillips said. “So yes, they do put a lot of time in, but they are as good as they are mostly because they are all incredible athletes.”
Right now four of the five seniors are ranked first in their respective weight classes, and the fifth, Pennell, is ranked second only because Whitford is ranked one spot ahead of him.
The team is ranked No. 1 in Division 2 and is a strong bet to win a fourth straight state title.
The only problem that Phillips has had this season is dealing with health. Only recently has St. Johns been at full strength.
The first time was January 18, when the Redwings avenged an earlier-season loss to Detroit Catholic Central and beat the Shamrocks 31-22 right before the University of Michigan and Iowa dual meet at Cliff Keen Arena at Michigan.
But February is the time you want to be healthy, and that appears to be happening.
“We know nobody is going to hand us anything,” Phillips said. “All of us need to go out and wrestle as hard as they can, and hopefully it ends in wins.”
The good thing for Phillips is that this run is not about to end, as St. Johns still has talented wrestlers Ian Parker, Zac Hall ,and Logan Massa on the roster for the near future.