It’s another great day at Sports Scene!!
It’s March. It’s Madness. What else can a sports fan ask for?
My team of photographers and writers need to be commended for a great job at Battle Creek and at The Palace these last couple weeks shooting photos for wrestlers statewide to cherish for the rest of their lives!! Thank you, Scott Keyes, Gary Williams, Paige Bennett, Jeff McGinthy,Reyna,Julius and Zip Widman, Greg Chrapek, Joe Vozar, Alan Holben, Jamie McNinch and Kelsey Jickling!!
Also, thanks to John Johnson for giving Sports Scene the opportunity and thank you Mark Uyl for your dedication to the sport of wrestling over the last 10 years.
We are truly blessed to be able to wake up every morning with the sun shining (snow and ice hopefully melting), the birds chirping, children playing, and a game on somewhere every day during the month of March. It’s times like this that I am glad I am a sports fanatic.
The first wave of champions has been crowned at the high school level, with wrestling taking center stage for two straight weekends. There were 56 individual champions crowned and four team champions, including New Lothrop (D4) and Lowell (D2), who knocked off state powers Hudson and St. Johns in the finals. Detroit Catholic Central and Dundee repeated in Division 1 and Division 3, respectively.
I am very happy for Coach Campbell and the New Lothrop faithful, as I wrestled with some of the parents and uncles of this team’s wrestlers. I am also happy for the Red Arrows seniors and coach Dean, who worked very hard to finally get to that moment on Saturday, February 23rd, when they snatched the trophy away from the St. Johns Redwings. It is a little bittersweet, knowing most of the St. Johns kids and wrestling community, and my old wrestling teammates at Michigan State, Hudson head coach Scott Marry and Davison head coach Roy Hall, but it was great wrestling, full of intensity and down-to-the-wire matches; what more could a fan and fellow wrestler ask for?
We saw Zac Hall cap his career by becoming only the 18th four-time state champion. Next year, he will join University of Michigan teammates Taylor Massa and Adam Coon, who accomplished the feat the previous two seasons. Great job Zac! It was a privilege coaching you during your days at Ithaca and watching you wrestle during the years at St. Johns, and I look forward to watching you wrestle for the Wolverines in the near future.
We also saw another career come to a close, as Alma’s Maddy Seeley fought to the bitter end in the final game of her high school career, scoring 39 points in the Panthers’ 68-62 regional semifinal loss to Freeland. Maddy put her team on her back and nearly pulled off an epic comeback. It’s performances like hers that make the month of March so special.
Another special shout to my dear Yellowjackets Travis, Logan, and Josh, who will be moving on to play football at the next level; I also look forward to following you!
March is a time where dreams are made and hearts are broken, but it’s times like this where I am glad I am a coach and a high school sports fan.
Thanks to my three seniors from this year’s Alma wrestling team, Alex, Stephen, and Johnny; it was a pleasure and I wish you three the best!! Boyd and Damian, I am proud of you as well!
Good luck to the rest of our area teams that are still fighting the good fight. One and done is what March is all about, so stay focused and mentally aware of your surroundings. This is what dreams are made of.