Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart defeated Bg Rapids Crossroads 46-34 in a Class D district title showdown on Friday at McBain.
Sacred Heart trailed 8-6 after the first quarter but was ahead 16-12 at halftime and 33-23 after the third period. Averi Gamble led Sacred Heart with 16 points while Sara Hansen and Riley Terwilliger had 13 points apiece.
Jeff Chaney / Butch Harmon
Sports Scene
AUBURN HILLS, MI – This year’s Michigan High School Athletic Association Individual Wrestling Championships once again showcased the best high school wrestlers in the state.
The three-day spectacle of athleticism and brute force at The Palace of Auburn Hills culminated with 56 champions being crowned in four divisions.
The following is High School Sports Scene’s Dream Team – the best of the best in our opinion. It is a team that is made up of wrestlers in all four divisions.
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
Zac Hall, Sr. St. Johns High School: Hall became just the 18th wrestler to win four state titles. He did that when he beat Greenville’s Alec Ward 12-2 in the 140-pound final of Division 2. This accomplishment has now happened three straight years, as Fowlerville heavyweight Adam Coon did it last year, and former St. Johns teammate Taylor Massa did it two years ago. All three of these special wrestlers will now be teammates at the University of Michigan.
103
Ben Freeman, Fr. Walled Lake Central High School: This ninth grader made a huge statement at this year’s finals, winning a state title by beating all four of his Division 1 opponents by technical fall. He finishes his freshman year with a 46-1 record.
112
Lucas Hall, So. Lowell High School: This sophomore had quite the final week of the high school wrestling season. Not only was he instrumental in helping his team win the Division 2 team title, but he also capped off his season with an undefeated record by winning the 112-pound championship.
119
Devin Schroder, So. Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School: This sophomore won his second state title by winning one of the more difficult weight classes in Division 3, if not in all four divisions. Not only did he have to beat Ida’s Alex Martinez, a wrestler he beat in the finals last year at 112, in the semifinals, but he also had to beat another returning state champion, Leslie’s Kanen Storr, in the final.
125
Lincoln Olson, Jr. Davison High School: The talented junior easily won his third state title by beating all four of his opponents at the state meet by technical fall. Next year he will be on a mission to be the 19th four-timer in the state.
130
Ben Griffin, Sr. Canton High School: This may have been the most difficult weight class to pick, but our nod goes to Griffin, who wrestled a strong state finals in winning his first state title. And he needed some late heroics to win the championship match over Howell’s Ben Calandrino.
135
Austin Eicher, Sr. Hartland High School: Eicher won his second state title while injured. He wrestled through the Division 1 135-pound weight class with torn cartilage in his ribs but toughed it out to become not only a two-time state champion, but also Hartland’s only four-time state placer.
140
Cole Weaver, Sr. Hudson High School: This weight class was very top heavy. Not only do you have Weaver, a three-time state champion for Hudson, but you also have our Wrestler of the Year in Hall, and three-time Division 3 state champion, Leslie’s Zehlin Storr. It was a tough call, but winning three team titles and three individual titles gave Weaver the edge over Storr.
145
Kyle Simaz, Sr. Allegan High School: This impressive athlete has wrestling in his blood. His father and his uncle were great wrestlers, as were his older brothers: Eric, Cam, and Taylor were all state champions. With Kyle’s two state titles, the brothers have a total of eight, as Eric won one, Cam won three, and Taylor won two. Kyle will be joining Cam and Taylor at Cornell University next year. Cam is a coach and former National Champion for the Big Red, and Taylor will be a sophomore.
152
Logan Massa, Jr. St. Johns High School: This is another wrestler with the sport in his blood. His father wrestled at Ferris State University, and his brother Taylor, who was a four-time state champion, now wrestles for the Univeersity of Michigan. Logan Massa won his second state title the same way he won his first, with a pin.
160
Jordan Atienza, Sr. Livonia Franklin High School: Atienza had an impressive senior season, finishing his year with an incredible 67-1 record. His only loss came when he bumped up two weight classes to wrestle Davison two-time champion Jordan Cooks at the team state finals.
171
Drew Garcia, Sr. Detroit Catholic Central High School: This Cornell-bound wrestler won his third state title and did it by winning a very difficult weight class. Not only did he have to beat Davison’s Cooks, a returning two-time champion, in the semifinal, but he also had to beat a very athletic and strong Devan Richter in the final.
189
Angus Arthur, Jr. St. Johns High School: This Redwing had to beat a former teammate to win his second state championship, beating Lowell senior Garett Stehley in the Division 2 189-pound final to do so. Arthur and Stehley were teammates on the Lowell team during Arthur’s freshman season. He transferred to St. Johns after his ninth-grade year.
215
Josh Colegrove, Jr. Lowell High School: Colegrove missed last year’s state finals, as he was recovering from ACL surgery to repair an injury that he sustained during football season. But he came back strong his junior season, winning the state title at 215. He also helped the Red Arrows to win the team title in Division 2.
285
Ryan Prescott, Jr. Whittemore-Prescott High School: Prescott cruised through his junior season with an undefeated record and his second state title. He pinned his way through his four opponents to win the Division 4 heavyweight title.
AREA FIRST TEAM
103 Tristan Sirbus, Corunna, soph. 46-1
112 Lucas Hall, Lowell, soph. 37-0
119 Mason Smith, Clio, jr. 55-0
125 Lincoln Olson, Davison, jr. 45-1
130 Jaedin Sklapsky, Eaton Rapids, jr. 49-2
135 Austin Melton, DeWitt, soph. 48-3
140 Zac Hall, St. Johns, sr. 52-0
145 Mark Bozzo, St. Johns, sr. 38-8
152 Logan Massa, St. Johns, jr. 51-0
160 Josh Wendling, New Lothrop, sr. 56-4
171 Max Dean, Lowell, soph. 34-2
189 Angus Arthur, St. Johns, jr. 47-0
215 Josh Colegrove, Lowell, jr. 35-1
285 Brian Darios, East Lansing, jr. 40-2
SPECIAL MENTON
Jordan Cooks, sr., Davison; Jared Elliott, sr., Birch Run; Eric Fader, sr., Meridian; Jerry Fenner, jr., Birch Run; Bailey Jack, sr., Lowell; Max Johnson, soph., Davison; Kevin Koening, soph., Laingsburg; Taylor Krupp, sr., New Lothrop; Justin Oliver, sr., Davison; Ian Parker, soph., St. Johns; Garrett Stehley, sr., Lowell; Zehlin Storr, sr., Leslie; Alec Ward, sr., Greenville; Alex Young, jr., Portland; Tristen Zienkiewicz, sr., Farwell
HONORABLE MENTION
Jacob Alarie, sr., Bay City Western; Brandon Ayris, sr., Clare; Aaron Bauman, sr., New Lothrop; Glenn Beardsley, fr., Farwell; Jared Bennett, jr., Rockford; Jordan Bennett, jr., Lakewood; Kevin Briscoe, jr., Chippewa Hills; Chase Challender, sr., Charlotte; Don Davidson, sr., Montabella; Kanon Dean, sr., Lowell; Zeth Dean, soph., Lowell; Derek Decker, jr., Carson City-Crystal; Dillon Decker, jr., Carson City-Crystal; Collin Dole, jr., Swan Valley; Rylan Droscha, sr., Mason; Johnny Durham, sr., Montabella; Logan Emery, sr., Clare; Joe Foret, sr., Garber; Mitch Franklin, Sr., Birch Run; Thomas Garty, sr., Davison; Benny Gomez, jr., Holt; Jordan Hall, jr., Lowell; John Hollingshead, sr., Midland Dow; Brandon Houle, sr., Rockford; Boyd Hubbard, jr., Alma; Austin Hughes, sr., Nouvel Catholic Central; Derek Humphrey, sr., Davison; Derek Krajewski, sr., Lowell; George Lahar, jr., Birch Run; Nick McGhan, soph., Tri County; Matt Miller, sr., Davison; Dallas O’Green, soph., Carson City-Crystal; Richie Ostrander, sr., Chippewa Hills; Devon Pingel, soph., North Branch; Dalton Roberts, sr., Fowlerville; Dominic Russ, sr., Davison; Matt Santos, soph., Swan Valley; Christian Schoenherr, jr., Bay City Western; Thomas Schoenherr, soph., Bay City Western; Joe Shuler, jr., Meridian; KJ Suitor, soph., Swan Valley; Cody Symons, sr., New Lothrop; Nick Torres, sr., Bullock Creek; Nate Weckesser, sr., Big Rapids; Ty Wildmo, jr., St. Johns; Drew Wixson, jr., St. Johns
By BUTCH HARMON
For Portland junior Alex Young, the 2014 Division 2 individual state finals are a tournament that he will never forget.
Wrestling in the 135-pound weight class, Young reached the championship match before falling to Nate Limmex of Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
“Making it to the championship match was life changing,” Young said. “It was unreal. It was like a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.”
Young qualified for the state meet last year but did not win any matches there. This year, he not only qualified, but he also won three matches in a row to make it to the semifinals, including a 3-1 semifinal win against Collin Dole of Swan Valley.
“Making it to the finals makes me want to push forward and keep working hard and see what I can do next year,” Young said.
Young was joined at the finals by teammates Paul Savage (112 pounds), Dominic Gardner (112), and Derek Gardner (145).
Young credits former Portland wrestlers for helping him improve. “A lot of Portland kids who graduated come back and work with us in the wrestling room,” he said. “They make us push ourselves, and I’ve improved a lot being able to work with them.”
Besides Breckenridge and Merrill, DeWitt and Tri County also qualified for the state finals in competitive cheer at the Grand Rapids Deltaplex. Teams qualified based on their finishes at regionals the week prior to the finals. Eight teams competed in each of the four divisions.
DIVISION 3
Tri County made its first appearance in the state finals. The Vikings were actually fifth after Round 1 but fell to seventh after Round 2 and to eighth after Round 3.
The team was coached by Jennifer Laskey and consisted of McKenna Clark, Alyssa Gardner, Alexis Herschberger. Michaela Lytle, Taylor Merchant, Jordin Rubingh, Opal Tafe, Baylee Zemla, Morgan DeVault, Nicole Minard, Emily Rienks, Lieci VanRooyen, Kayla Fifield, Sylvia Smith, Adrianna Straub, Taylor Stressman, Jamie VanSetters, Belle Caudill, and Mariah Duncan.
“I think they did a fantastic job for our first time at the state finals,” Laskey said. “We hit Round 1 and did a nice Round 2. Unfortunately in Round 3, things didn’t go we as we had hoped. But overall, it’s an awesome job. I’m very proud of them.”
Notre Dame Preparatory School finished first with 764.04, while Comstock Park was second at 759.68, Grosse Ile third at 749.68, Richmond fourth at 735.46, Armada fifth at 728.02, Otsego sixth at 718.62, and Paw Paw seventh at 717.90.
DIVISION 2
DeWitt settled for fifth place in the Division 2 meet.
Cheerleaders for coach Candace Heskitt’s team were Haley Baade, Kelsey Black, Sarah Bland, Grace Colarossi, Lauren Crooks, Payton Daggy, Caroline Deak, Alexis Embs, Lexi Garza, Brittney Gordon, Marissa Gordon, Kailin Greenhoe, Allison Gyurich, Melissa Harvey, Lauren Hasse, Hannah Heinritz, Jennalyn Jubeck, Meghan Lidgard, MacKenzie Lovellette, Hannah Rokosz, Threse Simon, Nicole Stump, Kaitlyn Sweeney, Brittany Vilella, Abigail Wassom, Ashley Wilkinson, Nicole Yabs, and Elizabeth Zunker.
DeWitt faltered somewhat in Round 3 after being less than a point out of second place at the end of Round 2.
Gibraltar Carlson was first at 780.10, followed by Divine Child with 772.24, Allen Park with 769.06, St. Joseph with 766.88, and DeWitt with 764.16.
DIVISION 1
Southgate Anderson took honors in Division 1 competitive cheer with 785.96, followed by Grandville at 783.54, Dakota at 778.54, Lake Orion at 777.79 , East Kentwood at 777.24, Hartland at 776.82, Troy Athens at 775.38, and Rochester Stoney Creek at 774.20.
Merrill had its best performance at a state meet on March 1 at the Deltaplex in Grand Rapids, and the reward for the Vandals was the Division 4 state runner-up trophy.
For the fourth straight season, Michigan Center won the meet. But for the first time in three seasons, Pewamo-Westphalia was not runner up. P-W did not qualify for the state meet, and Merrill took advantage.
Michigan Center scored 745.12 to win the championship, while Merrill was a close second with 743.12. Hudson was third at 734.52, Vandercook Lake fourth at 730.928, Breckenridge fifth at 725.96, Houghton Lake sixth, Manistique seventh, and Munising eighth.
Cheerleaders for coach Courtney Schiller’s team were Samantha Brand, Alex Coppens, Paige Glazier, Karli Good, Hannah Harkrader, Vyky Lamblin, Alanna Peake, Megan Playford, and Ashly Rich. Coppens, Glazier, and Peake are seniors.
“I’m super excited,” Peake said. “We just told ourselves we needed to do our best, and if we did our best, we could win. We did our best.”
“I knew they could do this well,” Schiller said. “They haven’t done all three of the rounds this well yet. But this was the day for them to pull it out.”
This marks the best finish for Merrill at the state meet.
“Our third round is always strong consistently,” Schiller said. “We struggled in rounds one and two this year. Sometimes they’re on, and sometimes they’re not. This was the right time to do it. We feel we nailed it in the second round today,” she said.
Merrill was second after round 2 and had the best score in round 3.
“It all came together,” Schiller said. “We’ve had three seniors leading our program, and they’ve been a real strength with their leadership and ability. We also have girls who will be juniors next year stepping up and one senior and some talented freshmen coming in. I’m hoping they’ll keep it going.”
Coppens has been a high school cheerleader four seasons and was optimistic about her team’s prospects entering the meet. “We recently competed against Michigan Center and took second against them,” she said. “We knew if we pushed ourselves to our fullest, we would come out on top. We had confidence in all three rounds. We were ready for all of them.”
“It was helpful we’ve been here four years,” Peake said. “Then you’re not nervous when you go out.
“Everyone is super close, and we try our best for everyone else,” she said.
Overall, Glazier has cheered for seven years. “We were hoping for first, but second feels just as good at this point,” she said. “We worked hard, and we earned it.”
In November, when practices started, Glazier recalls “hoping” that this would be a special team with a special season.
“It gives the middle schoolers a goal so they can be state champions, hopefully,” she said. “We have a pretty good middle school team.
“I love that we were a family and we pushed ourselves and we pushed each other,” Glazier continued.
Breckenridge won the title in 2007 under coach Deb Gaines. Gaines coached again this year, along with Jenna Graham, and had the following team members:
Harley Conklin, Lena Crowell, Alexandria Gillis, Miranda Smith, Justine Brabaw, Dakota Colthorp, Kaitlyn Corson, Melony Federspiel, Paige Guthrie, Alicia Gutierrez, Katie Mortensen, and Lindsey Reichard.
“They did great today,” Gaines said. “This is our first year back in seven years, and we wanted to come in with three strong rounds, make our mark, and let everyone know we’re back. We did that today.”
Portland’s girls basketball season lost 57-32 to Ionia in the Class B district girls basketball championship victory over Portland Friday night at Wayland.
Allie Grys led Portland with eight points, all in the first half.
Ionia entered the third quarter ahead 32-17.
Portland’s final record was 16-6.
The Ionia Bulldogs enjoyed a 57-32 Class B district girls basketball championship victory over Portland Friday night at Wayland.
Sarah Swartz put in 16 points and had four of the Bulldogs’ nine 3-pointers. Taylor Bovee added a pair of threes and had 14 points while Anna Riccius added 11 points.
Ionia is 17-5 and won its second straight district title.
Breckenridge lost 71-47 to Saginaw Valley Lutheran in boys basketball action Friday night. Valley Lutheran had quarter leads of 23-4, 40-21, 55-38 and outscored Breckenridge 16-9 in the fourth. Keegan Giles had 19 points for Breckenridge while Austin Chamberlin added eight points and Pheo St. John had six points for Breckenridge.
Saginaw Valley Lutheran ended its boys basketball regular season at 18-2 with a 71-47 win against Breckenridge Friday night. Valley Lutheran had quarter leads of 23-4, 40-21, 55-38 and outscored Breckenridge 16-9 in the fourth. Josh Appold had 17 points and Rylan Appold added 16 points and Jonny Englehardt added nine points.
Central Montcalm’s two wrestlers competed in the state finals this weekend at Auburn Hills with Cody Veltkamp at 119 pounds getting eighth place in Division 3. Veltcamp was 3-2 during the dy. He now has a 40-10 record. Dakota James at 152 lost his first two matches and is 34-12.
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