Article - High School Sports Scene

By BUTCH HARMON

This year’s Division 4 individual state finals had an extra-special meaning for the Krupp family of New Lothrop.

After experiencing disappointments in the past at the finals, this year’s led to sweet celebration.

Last year, as a junior, Taylor Krupp lost in overtime in the 160-pound championship match.

Taylor’s older brother Justin was there to experience that disappointment with Taylor. Like Taylor, Justin knew the disappointment of coming up just short in the finals. During his high school career, Justin twice reached the state finals and twice came up short.

This year, the disappointments of coming up short were swept away in one moment, as Taylor scored a takedown in the final 10 seconds of his match with Shane Rodenburg of Kent City. The takedown provided the deciding points, giving Krupp a 6-5 decision over Rodenburg. Making the moment even more special was having Justin, a New Lothrop assistant, right there on the mat.

“Justin is my coach, and he was the first one who hugged me after the match,” Taylor said. “It was sweet having Justin there when I finally won it. It was a great brother-bonding moment. It was great to share it with him. He was there to see me lose last year, and now he was here to see me win this year. ”

With the win, Krupp ended the season with a 56-0 record.

Krupp’s opponent Rodenburg ended his season with a 52-2 record. Krupp had defeated Rodenburg 5-3 in overtime two weeks prior in the regional finals.

“I felt like we were going to overtime again,” Krupp said. “I didn’t want to be in that position again, so I saw an opportunity and took it.”

Making the day even sweeter for the Krupp family was that younger brother Connor, a freshman, placed fifth at 103 pounds.

“This was not only a great day for me but for my family, also,” Taylor said. “Having Justin there when I finally won it was special. He’s my coach, and he knows all the work that I put in. That was huge having him here.”

Back

Jeff Chaney

Sports Scene

It’s not easy to become a four-time state champion wrestler.

It takes a lot of hard work, and a lot of sacrifices are made along the way, according to the state of Michigan’s newest member to the elite club.

St. Johns senior Zac Hall became just the 18th wrestler to win four titles when he accomplished the feat March 1 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. He accomplished it when he beat Greenville’s Alec Ward 12-2 in the 140-pound final in Division 2.

The journey to become a four-time champion began at age five for Hall. But wrestling wasn’t the only sport in which he participated as a young athlete, and he wasn’t even sure how much time he wanted to dedicate to it. “I didn’t know at first,” he said “I played football and a little baseball, but I started to have so much success in wrestling, that I decided to quit baseball to concentrate on wrestling.

“I played football through the eighth grade, but then I gave that up, too. Once I got into high school, I realized I could get a college scholarship in wrestling, and I concentrated on wrestling solely.”

But giving up football wasn’t that easy, especially because he played quarterback. “It was definitely hard to give up football,” Hall said. “I look back now and I wonder if I still played football. At that time, I was still at Ithaca High School, and we never lost. Football was so much fun, and I loved to play quarterback.”

But size matters in football! “I was good at football, but I was small,” Hall said. “I was trying to look at this long-term, and I didn’t see myself playing college football, so that was the ultimate decider.”

So he made the decision to stay with wrestling and change to St. Johns High School, which rarely loses in wrestling.

It was a good decision, not only because he won three team titles to go along with his four individual titles, but also because of the work he got in the St. Johns practice room and beyond.

Success breeds success, and that’s what happened at St. Johns, and that is what Hall loves so much about the sport.

“Best part of wrestling has got to be the winning,” Hall said. “The feeling you get when you get your hand raised. And the bigger the match, the bigger the victory, the more rewarding.”

It was a thrilling moment for Hall when he won his fourth title, and the large crowd at The Palace gave him a standing ovation for his great accomplishment. “That will be a moment I will never forget.”

Hall also pointed to all the relationships he has formed along the way – not only at St. Johns, but across the country. That’s because champions in wrestling are made with long car trips to national tournaments across the country.

“All the people you meet along the way, you travel a lot, and you meet so many great people,” Hall said. “I have a wrestling family; it’s a brotherhood.”

Now he leaves this chapter of his life and moves on to the University of Michigan, where he will wrestle for the Wolverines next year.

He leaves St. Johns with a 198-2 record, three team titles, and individual championships in the 103-, 112-, 125-, and 140-pound weight classes.

Did he ever think he could accomplish all of that?

“It was always in the back of my mind [that I could win four],” Hall said. “I heard of it being done before, but never witnessed it [until his teammate Taylor Massa did it two years ago]. I wanted to be a state champ, but it didn’t set in that I could win four until I won that first one. And now four years later, here we are.”

But even as a four-time champion, he knows he still has to get better before he heads to Ann Arbor.

“I need to keep working hard,” he said. “The biggest thing, and it should take a couple of months to settle in, is that I will be wrestling men. But I don’t think there is a better place to get ready for that than at Michigan. I will be working with a great coaching staff at Michigan, and I’m ready to get started.”

Back

Jeff Chaney

Sports Scene

Dave Dean says that he has a lot of great memories from the past nine years of leading the Lowell High School wrestling team.

The best memory being all the young men he molded to not only to be great wrestlers, but to also be great people in society.

Dean steps down after this year to become the Olympic Development Coordinator at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He will begin his new job after this school year.

“It was bittersweet [after the season ended after the MHSAA Individual Finals],” Dean said. “I have such great friends and acquaintances from coaching here. I got to know a lot of great coaches and friends in wrestling. I felt a little sad, and still do. I know I’m going to miss it.”

He leaves behind is a program that won two team state titles and finished runner-up three times. It also produced a total of nine individual champions, including three this year in Lucas Hall, Josh Colegrove, and his son Max Dean.

Another one of those nine champions is his other son Gabe Dean, who is currently a freshman wrestler at Cornell.

This year, the Red Arrows won their second team title under Coach Dean.

“It was a pretty special year,” Dave Dean said. “I have two nephews and a son on the team, and with the other boys on the team, it’s been special.

“It’s been nine years, and some of these boys I have been with for nine years. Bailey Jack, Derek Krajewski, and Garett Stehley. Time has gone by so fast. It seems like I just got here, and now I’m leaving.”

It was a decade ago when Dean arrived at Lowell after 20 years as a coach at Michigan State University.

“I have had a few remarkable moments in my nine years here,” he said “My first one was my first day driving into work. I traded in my cushy office job at MSU and 30 kids [I coached] to come to a school of 1,200 high school kids.”

That meant new challenges.

“When I got to Lowell, it was awesome,” he said..”Some of the best professional years in my life. It was awesome to be a part of so many kids’ lives. I loved that part, the ability to have an impact in kids’ lives. All the years I spent in college wrestling, it was remarkable to drop down into the high school level.

“I spent so many years at the college level, 20 years, that when got to high school I wondered if high school moments would be just as special, and they are. There is nothing like a kid that meets a goal, that lofty moment.”

Many Red Arrows did just that.

Back

They may be young, but they’re ready. The Midland girls basketball team proved that in their district championship win on Feb. 28 over Midland Dow 56-49. Now the Chemics, who finished the regular season 18-2 overall and a perfect 14-0 in the Saginaw Valley League North, are hoping for more.

“We won a very tough district with that win over Dow,” 13^th-year head coach Elaine Mahabir said. “I really believe that any team that can get out of our district always has a great shot at a regional. I think with the senior leadership we have on this team and the consistent play of our underclassmen, we are a very dangerous team in the postseason.”

Aside from senior Jessica Walter (18.3 points per game, 6.1 assists), the Chemics have won with a largely unproven roster, starting as many as three freshmen in some games. The perfect 14-0 league mark was good enough for the team’s third league title in school history and the two wins in districts brought their win total to 20 on the season.

“My kids have played very consistent, and we have great leadership with senior point guard Walter,” Mahabir said.

Aiding the cause for Midland are Jayden Williams (6.7 ppg, 7 rebounds), Alex Vansumerer (6.9 points), Sadie Dewildt (5.9 points), and Emily Resmer (4.4 points, 6.2 rebounds).

The Chemics’ two losses were against state-ranked Nouvel Catholic Central and Powers Catholic, while the Chemics have beaten Dow three times and handled Heritage in two close games, as well.

“The girls have played very stoic all season long,” Mahabir said. “When you are playing alongside Walter, you are able to not have to try and do too much. She finds you when you’re open, she relieves defensive pressure because teams key on her, and she is a great vocal leader. We have started three freshmen for the majority of the season.”

Back

A district championship remained just out of reach for the John Glenn girls basketball team, but that didn’t take anything away from what fifth-year head coach Cory Snider called a strong season.

“We have been so successful this year because of our ability to play both inside and outside with teams,” Snider said of the season that saw the Bobcats go 18-4 overall and win the North East Michigan Conference with a 5-1 record. “Our strength is our athleticism, and we have really ran the floor well this year. Our defense has been solid, which has led to great early opportunities for us offensively.”

Despite their third consecutive season with at least 16 wins, the Bobcats still had their season end with a loss to Bullock Creek in the district championship on Feb. 28. Aside from that loss to the Lancers, John Glenn lost two close games to Nouvel Catholic Central and one to Standish-Sterling.

“I also think our success is an attribute to how hard our girls work in the off-season,” Snider said. “They play a lot of basketball in the summer and fall, and it is really showing in the way they are playing together. Our chemistry has been very good this year, as well, and that makes playing a team game so much easier when you are willing to make sacrifices for the girl next to you. The final piece of our success has been my coaching staff. They are tireless workers who enjoy the game so much, but more than that, they enjoy teaching the game to our players. Without their game planning, help at practice, and day-to-day analysis, we wouldn’t have the success we’ve had the last few years.”

Of special importance for the Bobcats was winning the NEMC title, the first conference championship for the John Glenn girls’ program in several years and just the fourth in school history.

“We are certainly headed in the right direction, and winning the NEMC this year is just another stepping stone to get us where we want to be ultimately,” Snider said.

The coach pointed out Jenai LaPorte, a sophomore guard who averages 20.2 points per game; Kalle Martinez, a freshman guard with an 18.7 average; Sydney Thelen, a three-year varsity player; Jamie Brisson, another sophomore; Kennedy Clyde, a freshman post player; and Jessica Hegenaur, a three-year varsity player, as his top players.

“LaPorte is a very good rebounder for a guard and affects the game in a variety of ways,” Snider said. “Martinez is one of the best players I’ve ever seen at getting to the basket. Thelen is the best defender I’ve ever coached. Brisson has one of the highest basketball IQs I’ve seen. Clyde, in the five months I’ve coached her, I’ve yet to see her miss a box-out. Hegenauer is a superb athlete who can run the floor and finish in transition as well as step out and shoot.”

Even with standout players, the coach admits that they all have to come together to make an impact.

“We’ve been blessed with some outstanding and tireless workers,” Snider said. “They are an outstanding group of girls who enjoy playing the game for the name on the front of the jersey instead of the name on the back.”

Back

So far so good for the Powers Catholic girls basketball team. As of March 3, the Chargers have clipped to a 20-2 record, won the Saginaw Valley League South, and picked up wins over Caro, Mt. Morris, and Frankenmuth to win the district title.

“Our defensive and transition parts of our game stand out as team identity, but our ability to have a balanced attack from multiple players makes us hard to defend,” third-year head coach Thom Staudacher said.

After finishing as class B runner-up a season ago, the Chargers dropped an early season game to Farmington Hills Mercy and then won 14 games in a row before a loss to Nouvel Catholic Central on Feb. 17. They went a perfect 10-0 in SVL South play.

It’s the balanced attack that Staudacher credits with a large part of his team’s success. Seniors Ally Haran and Mick Coury (Lake Superior State University commit) both average over 11 points a game, fellow senior Sara Ruhstorfer averages 9.6, Francesca Coury has added 8.1 points a game as a sophomore, and freshman Rachel Phillpotts has averaged 4.7.

“Haran is our best all-around athlete who is sometimes overlooked with basketball award recognitions,” Staudacher said. “She is one of our MVPs, and she is critical to our success. Mick Coury is a standout post player, and I would consider her one of the best in the state. Ruhstorfer is clutch when we need it, both on offense and defense. She has a basketball mind like no other.

“Francesca Coury’s high school career is just starting to get rolling as a sophomore,” Staudacher continued. “While versatile in many positions, her ability to create shots off the dribble or controlling the offense are areas she continues to improve on. Phillpotts is our most improved player, even as a freshman. She has been providing consistent defense when we need it while providing offense when we expect her to. It didn’t take long to understand she will be a special player for years to come.”

Although the Chargers run to the state title game last year may not have much to do with this season’s campaign, the coach is hoping to draw upon the experience.

“The two seasons don’t really compare,” Staudacher said. “Last year, early on we tried to find our identify, and it didn’t happen until the Midland game in January… This year, we know our identity but sometimes lose focus because we are worried about our personal performance, or we are looking too far ahead. We need to make certain we only focus on one game at a time.”

With its balanced attack and its one-game-at-a-time vision, Powers could be well on its way to another deep run this month, and Staudacher is hoping to get over the hump and win the state championship.

“We need a little bit of luck, focus on one game at a time, and we need to play together as a team,” he said. “One of our team goals is to win the state championship, but we have to go through a lot of great teams, players, and coaches. The best part of this game is that it’s one-and-done type format, so anything can happen.”

Powers was scheduled to play Croswell-Lexington March 4. A win there would set up a rematch against Goodrich, the team that beat the Chargers in last year’s state final. Goodrich is led by all-everything guard Tania Davis and is looking to win its third consecutive Class B title this season.

Back

By BUTCH HARMON

For those who think that winning a state championship is easy, a conversation with New Lothrop senior Josh Wendling may change their minds.

As a returning state champion, many people around New Lothrop and in wrestling circles thought that a repeat state title for Wending was a given.

Not so fast, according to Wendling. “A lot of people thought that I would win the state title automatically,” he said. “Everyone thought I would win easy. It’s not that easy. I felt a lot of pressure. Winning another one is sweet. It was just a blast.”

Wendling needed to grind to win his title, as he defeated Mark Workman of Hesperia 13-7 to win the 160-pound title in Division 4.

Wendling finished his career at New Lothrop with a 202-24 overall record. This year, he turned in a 56-4 record.

Along with the expectation of winning a second state title, Wendling had another distraction that made winning the second title more difficult. The week leading up to the individual state title came on the heels of New Lothrop’s dramatic win over Hudson to take the Division 4 team state title. After helping New Lothrop win the team title, he had to deal with the post-championship celebrations around New Lothrop.

“I had to keep my mind right,” Wendling said. “Everyone was talking about the team state all week, and it was tough keeping my mind on the task at hand. I thought I was able to do that and keep myself at the top of my game.”

Back

By BUTCH HARMON

Although Swan Valley sophomore KJ Suitor finished second at the Division 3 individual state finals, the future appears bright for him and his teammates.

Suitor finished second in the 112-pound weight class and ended the season with a 54-3 record.

“I was very excited to make the state finals,” Suitor said. “A lot of people don’t get that chance. I just tried to go out and execute the game plan. It was just disappointing it didn’t go like I wanted it to.”

Suitor was not the only Swan Valley wrestler to earn all-state honors. Fellow sophomore Matt Santos placed fourth at 125 pounds and ended the season with a 58-2 record. Junior Collin Dole placed third at 135 pounds and ended the year with a 53-6 record, while junior Sam McLean placed seventh at 145 pounds and ended the year with a 60-5 mark.

“We had three other guys make all-state, and I’m very proud of how they wrestled,” Suitor said. “All of the guys placed, and every one battled.”

With those wrestlers all returning next season, Swan Valley has some high expectations. “We have a bright future ahead of us,” Suitor said.

Suitor plans to use this year’s second-place finish as motivation to improve next year. “I finished seventh last year, and I used it as motivation this year,” he said. “Now I’m going to use second place this year as motivation to win a state championship next year.”

Back

By BUTCH HARMON

Although the Laingsburg wrestling program is only four years old, it now has a state champion it can be proud of.

Lainsgburg sophomore Kevin Koenig became the first state champion in school history when he won the 215-pound title in Division 3. Koening turned in a dominating performance as he defeated Patrick Harbin, Jr. of Detroit Loyola 14-3.

“I knew I had him after the first takedown,” Koenig said. “He couldn’t stop it. I wanted to go for a pin, but he kept stalling on the bottom.”

Winning by a pin was important to Koening, who lost in the final round of last year’s state tournament.

“I would have liked to have pinned him, but it felt pretty good beating him by a bunch of points.”

With the win, Koenig finished the season with a 48-3 record.

After losing in the final by technical fall last year, Koenig was on a mission this season, and he didn’t let up until he captured the first MHSAA title in school history.

“I wanted to be the first state champion in school history,” Koenig said. “Ever since the eighth grade, I have been working for this.”

Koening believes that winning a state title will help the Laingsburg wrestling program continue to grow. “We’ve only had a wrestling team for four years,” he said. “I feel that by winning a state title, it will help get a bunch more kids to come out and see what wrestling is all about.”

Back

Bay City Western girls and Ithaca boys earned runner-up finishes in the state bowling tournament Feb. 28-March 1 to highlight a successful weekend for area bowlers.

In addition, Alex Ouellette of John Glenn was state singles champion in Division 2, and Kyle Tuttle of St. Charles was champion in Division 4.

Western lost 1,267-1,120 to Kearsley in the final.

Final individual game scores for Western were Anna Kuehne 190, Claudia Gielda 173, Haley Delestowicz 137, Megan Rabideau/Taryn Butler 132, and Storm Butler/Kaylee Radwick 147.

Western defeated Tecumseh in the semifinals and Mason in the quarterfinals. Ionia and John Glenn were also in the quarterfinals.

Last season, Western finished third. “I guess we had a little improvement this year,” coach Rick Dodick said. “I knew I had a pretty good team. It’s a great group of girls this year that worked hard and practiced hard and set their goals high. I thought we could do well. We bowled in quite a few of the high school tournaments, [and] we won a couple of those. I knew we had a pretty decent team.”

At the state tournament, Western qualified in the fourth position. “We bowled pretty good that day,” Dodick said. “We bowled against Tecumseh, and we had bowled against Kearsley in a couple of tournaments early in the year. We kind of knew what we were going up against, and we were ready for them.”

Delestowicz and Storm Butler were among the top bowlers for Western this season along with Kuehne and Gielda.

In the Division 4 boys’ final, Ithaca lost to Jonesville 1,153-1,094.

“It was great, obviously one step short of our goal,” said Ithaca coach Wally Schneider. “We bowled well all day, up until the finals. We were dominant all day. We won the qualifying round by 186 pins. We beat the No.1-ranked team in the state and the defending state champions, all on our way to the finals. It was a great day overall.”

Final individual game scores for Ithaca were Blake Gulick 151, Jared Baublitz 156, Kaeden Greer 167, Donald Carl 137, and Joe Whittaker 172

“We just got to the finals and couldn’t buy a strike and didn’t get a break. In the end, it cost us a state title,” Schneider said. “All in all, it was a great day.

“Everybody on the team bowled well at different times,” he continued. “Blake Gulick, a sophomore, bowled well all day. He had several games at or around 200. I didn’t have anybody way off all day long. Blake led the team, but Joe Whittaker, Donald Carl, Kaeden Greer, and Jared Baublitz all bowled well.”

The Yellowjackets beat defending state champion Gabriel Richard Catholic in the semifinal and No. 1-ranked Bendle in the quarterfinal.

“This is the best we’ve done at the state tournament,” Schneider said. “In 2012, we were sixth, and in 2005 we were also sixth.”

DIVISION 1

The event was at Sunnybrook Lanes in Sterling Heights.

Davison was girls champion, led in the title match by Kalee Johnson with 212, Taylor Brown with 201, Sydney Brown at 224, Taylor Davis at 247, and Brooklyn Green/Myranda Livingston at 223.

Josh Kukla of Grandville was individual champion for the boys. Derrick Norman of Heritage was a quarterfinalist. Emily Dietz of John Glenn was the girls’ champion. University of Detroit Jesuit was the boys’ team champion.

DIVISION 2

Kearsley won the boys’ team event at Century Lanes in Waterford. It defeated Mount Pleasant in the semifinals. John Glenn and Owosso were both quarterfinalists.

Alex Ouellette beat Alec Nunn of Warren Fitzgerald 479-410 in the final. He had bowled a 300 game in the morning qualifying blocks.

Cody Vincent of Owosso was a semifinalist. Destiny Kennedy of John Glenn was a quarterfinalist.

DIVISION 3

Sam Brandt of Fremont won the boys’ title. Chase Badalamenti of Garber was a quarterfinalist. For the girls, Hannah Chase of Alma was a finalist, losing 428-323 to Heather Bruci of Richmond for the state title. Brianna Cords of Perry was a quarterfinalist.

Fremont won the boys’ team event. Croswell-Lexington was the girls’ champ.

DIVISION 4

Vandercook Lake was girls’ team champion. The St. Louis boys were quarterfinalists in Division 4, failing to make it to the semifinal after losing to Sandusky by one pin 1,209-1,208.

For girls, Portland St. Patrick Catholic, Ithaca, and All Saints Central were among the qualifiers.

Kyle Tuttle brought home the Division 4 title by beating Zach Fenby of St. Louis 406-324. Fenby had beaten teammate Connor Pilmore in the quarterfinals 445-373. Josh Dubay of Valley Lutheran was also a quarterfinalist.

Melissa Sleda of Sandusky won the girls’ event.

Back

State finals a family affair for New Lothrop’s Krupp family

“Nothing better than feeling of winning”

Bittersweet exit for Dean

Midland High girls keep winning despite youth

John Glenn girls win NEMC championship, fall to Bullock Creek in district final

Flint Powers girls’ win districts, SVL South title

New Lothrop’s Josh Wendling repeats as state individual champion

Swan Valley’s KJ Suitor places second at individual state meet

Koenig wins first state title in young history of Laingsburg wrestling program

Area bowlers have success at state finals