BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
Brighton finally broke through with its first state title in wrestling last March. Do the Bulldogs have enough for an encore performance in 2015-16? That remains to be seen.
Brighton, ranked fourth in Division 1, will be amongst a short list of teams of realistic chance of making a run to Mount Pleasant — the new site of the MHSAA team state tournament — with several key wrestlers back in uniform plus a solid cast of newcomers.
Brighton, which won the KLAA, Livingston County, district and regional crowns last winter as part of a 29-1 campaign, capped the 2014-15 season with a 31-25 victory over fellow KLAA member Hartland in the Division 1 state finals.
Freshman Victor Grabowski (112), senior Jackson Renicker (125), junior Lee Grabowski (130), senior Grant Morrison, (135), senior Luke Ready (215) and senior Eric Conquest (285) are all ranked. Renicker and Ready are ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions.
The Bulldogs did drop its season-opener to Davison, a team that Brighton edged 29-25 in the state semifinals last March. Davison posted a 45-27 triumph this time around.
Brighton had eight new starters in its lineup against Davison, one of the most successful Class A/Division 1 programs of the past three decades.
HARTLAND AIMING FOR FIRST TITLE
Hartland moved into the top slot on the Dec. 14 rankings. The Eagles won their opener with an impressive 44-15 victory over New Baltimore Anchor Bay.
Hartland has nine wrestlers that are currently ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes, including eight that qualified for the state finals last season.
Senior Noah Lopez (125), junior Garnett Potter (130), junior Reece Hughes (140), senior Sage Castillo (152), senior Logan Vish (160), senior Lucas LaForge (171), junior Andrew Spisz (189) and senior Brandon Krol (285) are all on the charts. Freshman prospect Kyle Kantola (103) is also ranked early in his debut campaign.
Last season, Hughes, Castillo, Vish, Potter all placed in the state finals, while LaForge, Spisz, Lopez and Krol qualified for state.
Reece is ranked No. 1 at 140, while Kantola, Castillo and Vish are all ranked third.
Hartland is 2-0 in duals this season, while the Eagles rolled up 316 points in winning the Hartland Invitational Dec. 12, well ahead of runner-up Remus-Chippewa Hills (No. 7 in D-3) and several other quality teams.
Hartland has won 14 straight regional titles to reach at least the Elite Eight and advanced to the Final Four every time during the past 14 seasons except 2008. The Eagles have also won 15 straight district crowns and have placed in the top three ion the conference (KLAA or KVC) every year over the past 15 years.
We’ll be right in the mix again,” offered Hartland coach Todd Cheney. “We have eight wrestlers with state meet experience back and some quality freshman that will help. We’re excited about the season.”
Hartland is still seeking its elusive first state title.
FREEMAN TO MICHIGAN
Walled Lake Central junior Ben Freeman made an oral commitment on Dec. 13 when he announced that he will wrestle for the University of Michigan.
Freeman is a two-time D-1 state champion and highly ranked nationally. HE has built quite an impressive resume on both high school circuit and freestyle circuit in the off-season.
Freeman is the top-ranked wrestler in the 135-pound division.
HOLIDAY MATS
Novi Detroit Catholic Central is going after its sixth straight Oakland County Tournament, which will take place Dec. 18-19.
The annual meet,which began in 1961, brings in between 40-50 schools each year. Oxford and Walled Lake Central are the other teams that have a legitimate shot at dethroning the second-ranked Shamrocks.
DRY RUN
With the state finals headed north to Central Michigan University, eight powerhouse programs have been invited to participate in a high school invitational at CMU on Sunday, Jan. 17 as an unofficial dry run to the new finals host site.
Hartland, Davison, Novi Detroit Catholic Central, Grandville Remus-Chippewa Hills, New Lothrup, Hudson and Richmond will make up an all-star cast of programs that have established themselves as state powerhouses in recent years.
The competition will take place before the CMU-Missouri college match, featuring two high-level NCAA programs.
CHART TOPPERS
The Dec. 14 rankings are in….Teams now have an idea where they stand heading into the holidays.
Division 1 — 1. Hartland; 2. Novi Detroit Catholic Central; 3. Davison; 4. Brighton; 5. Grandville; 6. Oxford; 7. Walled Lake Central; 8. Bay City Western; 9. Temperance Bedford; 10. Macomb Dakota.
Division 2 — 1. Lowell; 2. St. Johns; 3. Allegan; 4. Eaton Rapids; 5. Gaylord; 6. Tecumseh; 7. Flint Kearsley; 8. DeWitt; 9. Niles; 10. Stevensville Lakeshore
Division 3 — 1. Dundee; 2. Richmond; 3. Grand Rapids Catholic Central; 4. Lake Fenton; 5. Birch Run; 6. Whitehall; 7. Remus Chippewa Hills; 8. Saginaw Swan Valley; 9. Corunna; 10. Caro.
Division 4 — 1. New Lothrop; 2. Hudson; 3. Springport; 4. Decatur; 5. Manchester; 6. Addison; 7. St. Louis; 8. Leroy-Pine River; 9. Martin/Climax-Scotts Unified; 10. Schoolcraft.