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