Michigan high school wrestling: Top seeds bulldoze their way to repeat team titles
KALAMAZOO — Michigan high school wrestling coaches seed the team state finals each year, attempting to provide the most competitive brackets for both fans and teams alike.
In 2024, as in so many years before, those coaches nailed it.
The two top seeds in all four divisions reached the MHSAA finals Saturday afternoon at Wings Event Center. The results? All four No. 1 seeds won their divisions.
Novi Detroit Catholic Central defeated Hartland in Division 1, 41-12, in a rematch of last year's final won by DCC. D-2 Lowell won its 11th consecutive state championship, this time over upstart Freeland, 49-21. D-3 Dundee won its seventh consecutive title, 49-20 over Whitehall, and D-4 Hudson topped St. Louis, 41-17, for the Tigers' third straight title and 11th in program history.
MICK McCABE: Nakayla Dawson has wrestled her brother for years. The rest of the state has no chance.
Division 1: Eziuka turns the tide
DCC trailed early by team scores of 6-3 and 9-7, as Hartland got early wins by Bohdan Abbey at 132 pounds and Dallas Korponic at 138. But once DCC got wins from Caden Krueger at 157 and three-time champion Darius Marines at 165, the Shamrocks (27-2) were on a roll.
Hartland took the 175-pound match on James Butzier’s 8-4 win over Andrew White, prompting DCC head coach Mitch Hancock to say things were too close at that point for comfort. But then the Shamrocks rattled off six straight victories. One of the six was heavyweight Benny Eziuka, who just began wrestling last year, coming over from football.
“We have pushed him a little bit further than he thought he could go,” Hancock said. “He’s everything you could ask for. His win was a big one. Once we got the fall at 215 (Connor Bercume) and then Benny won, there was a little bit of settling down.
“I’ve told this team all year that they are special. There’s just something different to them, a moxie. This team is as close as any team I’ve ever coached. They work their butts off and aren’t afraid to wrestle anyone, and it showed today.”
Division 2: Another straight shot for the Red Arrows
The Lowell machine kept chugging along this year, and head coach R.J. Boudro said the historic streak — again, now at 11 consecutive titles — runs deep in the community as kids begin to train for wrestling as early as 4 years old, though they don’t compete for a few years after that.
“I’m not going to pretend and say it’s just all about hard work; we’re pretty blessed,” he said.
“Look at the crowd, we have the most here. You’d think they get old and tired of (the streak), but no, because they understand something bigger is going on. It’s not just about winning. (Our motivation is) purpose. Why are we here? We are here to glorify God. We’re here to find out who we are as people, and get better as people, not just win state championships. If it were just about winning state championships, it would get old. It’s about being a better person.”
Division 3: Pressure into pride for Dundee
Dundee is in a similar position, with seven consecutive D-3 titles, and 16 overall. Nate Hall, a former all-state wrestler at Blissfield who took a middle-school physical education teacher position in Dundee six years ago, is the co-head coach. Former Dundee coach Tim Roberts, who won 10 of those state championships, brought Hall in to assist. Was Hall feeling the pressure?
“There’s a little pressure, but that’s on us,” Hall said of trying to repeat. “This is the only time these four classes will be together, so this is their team, their one state title together.
“As far as the program winning seven (state titles) in a row, these guys get to focus on their opportunity. We try to turn that pressure into pride. So, when you get to represent the block D, and look behind you and see everyone from town (in the stands), it’s all about pride, it’s not pressure. The fans don’t have expectations. They don’t think less of you if you lose a match. They are proud that you strapped up and put on the Dundee uniform.”
Division 4: A quick start for Hudson
More of the same can be said for Hudson. Its third consecutive title Saturday was also its sixth in eight seasons. Head coach Scott Marry is in his 36th season at the helm and is the state’s winningest active coach.
Hudson jumped out to a 19-0 lead by winning the first five matches, then won three more before St. Louis got its second individual victory.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school wrestling: Top seeds bulldoze way to repeats
