*2009-10 Observerland Wrestling Review*
This past wrestling season was
one of most exciting in memory
BY CHARLES ROTHWELL
March 14, 2010,
11:55 p.m.
High school wrestling is alive and well in the Observerland area and
this year produced the best team and individual performances in the
19-year history of the tournament. Detroit
Catholic Central was the best team in Division 1 and many experts
consider them the best team in the entire state this year.
John Glenn and Canton were consistently ranked in the top 8 in
Division 1 by MichiganGrappler.com and were included in the “Power 15”
which encompasses all teams in all divisions. In
addition to the “big 3”, North Farmington had their best season ever
and Farmington Hills Harrison had their best team in many years.
Individually, this was a banner year for the area. A record 74 wrestlers made it out of districts, and a record 38 qualified for the state tournament. Observerland had 22 all-state wrestlers including 4 state champions. Greater than 50% of area wrestlers moved up from qualifying to placing at both the regional and state levels. This shows that Observerland kids could more than hold their own against the top wrestlers from other areas.
Team and individual success indicates top notch coaching. Mitch Hancock and Bob Moreau were each honored by their peers as Coach of the Year and Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively. Bill Polk was named co-Regional Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. The coaches at Belleville, Canton, and Lutheran Westland continue to crank out state placers, and those at North Farmington and Livonia Franklin continually field strong teams in the face of large graduation losses. Impressive program turnarounds have occurred, or are in progress, at Garden City, Harrison, Plymouth, and Wayne Memorial.
Below are the opinions of one fan on how the high school wrestling teams in our area did this year, and what one might expect next year.
17. Redford Union
This was not a strong year for the Panthers. Low numbers of wrestlers, only 3 wrestlers below 152 pounds, and only 2 wins at individual districts with 10 wrestlers competing – and one of those wins was against a teammate. Redford Union didn’t even bother to show up at the Observerland tournament. The only bright spot I can see is that RU has some freshmen that may turn out to be good wrestlers given proper tutelage.
Key Losses: None.
Key Returnees: Skylar Mulvihill (112), Josh Hall (135), Collin Rankin (171), Roderick Howard (285).
Outlook for Next Year: Rankin had some pretty solid outings, one of which was winning the Salem invitational. Josh Hall also looked pretty good at times. Can the Panthers get enough kids to participate and keep a full line-up throughout a season?
16. Clarenceville
I don’t know if this was a better or worse year for Clarenceville wrestling. Their best wrestlers from last year did not return, leaving the Trojans with no seniors, no regional qualifiers, and no proven leaders. However, 22 kids including 11 freshmen joined the team and the coaching staff was optimistic that they could instill a more positive attitude in this team. Injuries, illness, and attrition affected the young team and they opted not to participate in the Observerland tournament. Only 9 wrestlers participated in individual districts. Anthony Salciccioli has decided to step down as head coach, but remain an assistant coach.
Three Trojans had breakout years. Freshman Michael Weiss was Livonia City Champion and a regional qualifier. Junior Coy Sillanpaa had some key wins and was named MVP of the Metro Conference tournament. Junior Anthony Giordano placed sixth at the Wayne County tournament and was a regional qualifier.
Key Losses: None.
Key Returnees: Michael Weiss (103, regional qualifier), Shane Martin (112), Aaron Bibik (135), Coy Sillanpaa (145), Brendan Groves (152), Travis Edwards (215), Anthony Giordano (285, regional qualifier).
Outlook for Next Year: Guardedly optimistic. Nick Elam will probably take over as head coach and should inherit more talent than the Trojans had at the beginning of this season. If most of this year’s team returns and they can recruit another good crop of freshmen, Clarenceville should be able to fill every weight class every week. Who knows, perhaps the Trojans could even produce a state qualifier or two next year.
15. Garden City
Despite scoring only 9.5 points and finishing last at the Observerland tournament, this year turned out much better than I thought it would. The team sort of fell apart last year and the coach left. The new coach, Don Giese, inherited a lot of first year wrestlers and only one proven upperclassman. His son, D.J., actively recruited other freshmen to join the team so that in the beginning of the year the Cougars were virtually two deep at every weight. Devin Ashley and Kevin Allard had successful years, both placing at the Wayne County tournament and qualifying for individual regionals. Both were injured and unable to compete at Observerland, which is why Garden City scored so few points.
Key Losses: Jeremy Dubyak (130), Devin Ashley (135, regional qualifier).
Key Returnees: Dillon Frye (103), Rob Doane (103), Britton Borlace (112), Nick Doane (119), Brian Spehar (119), Devin Marchio (125), Kevin Allard (140, regional qualifier), Kevin Liske (145), Matt Wisniewski (152), D.J. Giese (171), Zach Cooper (189), Austin Caudill (215), Zack Brock (285).
Outlook for Next Year: With nearly the entire team returning next year there could be a dramatic improvement in the bottom line. This will be a good indicator of how the coaching staff can turn enthusiastic novices into successful wrestlers.
14. Salem
This may have been the worst season in the history of Salem wrestling. The bad news started before the wrestling season did, with Kyle Middleditch and Austin Root choosing not to wrestle, and James Middleditch and Blake Abbey suffering injuries playing football. Injuries and other events deprived the Rocks of many experienced wrestlers for most of the season and the high caliber of wrestling in the area meant that Salem’s freshmen and sophomore replacements did not fare well. Last year, Salem finished third at Observerland with 155 team points. This year they were next to last with 34 points. Only two Rocks made it out of districts and both were eliminated in the Saline regional. Salem wrestled campus rival Canton twice, winning only 1 match each time, and could only muster 5 wins against Plymouth.
Key Losses: Devin Stratton (125, regional qualifier), James Middleditch (135, regional qualifier), Joe Williams (145), Chris Sweet (152), Jimmy Gross (160), Blake Abbey (215), Adam Turner (285).
Key Returnees: Alex Arble (103), Nick Kim (112, former state placer), Daniel Kemp (112), Cody Korpus (119), Dylan Hatcher (145), Tyler Gross (152).
Outlook for Next Year: If Nick Kim and Cody Korpus stay healthy all next year Salem should be able to climb up a few notches and have some individual post-season success. The only other wrestlers that appear threats to place at Observerland are Dylan Hatcher and Tyler Gross.
13. Wayne Memorial
This year’s team looked like a carbon copy of last year’s team. At the Observerland tournament they had one placer and 38 points; last year it was one placer and 36 points. Like last year, the Wolfpack had a single regional qualifier. Wayne Memorial had another winning record, 17-10, and beat Salem and Grand Blanc in their KLAA cross-over duals, but did not fare that well against Division 1 schools with full line-ups. A mid-season injury to talented wrestler Tristan Jarosicwicz hurt the Wolfpack. Numbers remain high and Wayne was at least two deep at most weights.
Key Losses: Anwar Oliver (140), Brandon Whittenberg (152), Josh Mills (160, regional qualifier), Dylan Korzetki (215), and Chris Bowie (285).
Key Returnees: Pablo Flores (103), Tristan Jarosicwicz (112), Darryl Ison (119), Devon Adams (125), Kyle Szalai (140), Jalen Jones (145), Devin Korzetki (171), and Dimitrius Renfroe (189).
Outlook for Next Year: Wayne Memorial should be able to field a team largely composed of juniors and seniors with 2 years or more of wrestling experience. However, Jarosicwicz, Adams, and Renfroe are the only wrestlers that have a demonstrated skill level sufficient to place at Observerland or make it out of districts. Unless there is vast improvement over the off-season, it is hard to envisage the Wolfpack finishing much higher next year.
12. Lutheran Westland
Overall, this was a pretty good year for the Warriors. They moved up one spot in the tournament standings and increased their point total from 48 to 53. Four of their 10 wrestlers placed at Observerland, which is a higher percentage than most of the other schools. Although they had only 15 wrestlers on the team and could only fill 10 or 11 weight classes, Lutheran Westland was team district champions. Laith Francis (125), Justin Palka (130), and Sean Rowe (135/140) placed at most tournaments they entered, including individual districts. Francis and Palka were regional finalists out of a very tough region that included the top teams in Division 4, Hudson and Addison, and Francis placed third at the state meet.
Key Losses: Laith Francis (3rd at 125), Justin Palka (130, state qualifier), Sean Rowe (135, regional qualifier), Josh Andrzejewski (152), and Craig Kowalsky (189).
Key Returnees: Adam Seta (103), Nolan Edwards (135), Matt Sankey (140), Philip Welte (160), Martin Kemp (171), Jacob Bartos (189), and Alex Reardon (215).
Outlook for Next Year: Next year will be a rebuilding year for the Warriors. They graduate one-third of their team including every wrestler that placed at Observerland. They have no returning juniors, and most of the returning freshmen and sophomores have had very little mat time. Nonetheless, the Lutheran Westland coaching staff has proven they can mold novice wrestlers into all-staters, and with time Martin Kemp, incoming freshman Zach Francis, and others could end up placing as well. The big question is can the coaches get enough athletic kids to join the team so that they can get back to team states?
11. Livonia Churchill
Although I do not have the records from every Observerland tournament, I have most of them and I believe it is safe to say that this is the lowest point total (53.5) and placement of any Livonia Churchill team. As a dual meet team, Churchill was the weakest in the KLAA south. However, I think the lower finishes compared to last year were due to stronger competition, and this year’s Charger squad was a little better than last year’s team. They had a good influx of freshmen, albeit with limited wrestling experience, and voided fewer weights than last year. They also had a better post-season with Jacob Meadows and Curtis Castleberry qualifying for the individual state tournament.
Key Losses: Jared Buhagiar (140), Tyler Farnstrom (152), Curtis Castleberry (171, state qualifier), Jon Shekell (285, regional qualifier).
Key Returnees: Jon Locklear (103), Jacob Meadows (112, state qualifier), James Locklear (119), Addel Yaffai (119), Ben Leck (130), John Bannoura (135, regional qualifier), Cody Carrier (160), Mike Harp (189), and Dillon Morantes (215).
Outlook for Next Year: About the same as this year. This will be a team with about four seniors, one or two juniors, and a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. If next year’s freshman class is as good as this year’s was, Churchill may get back to competing with the better teams in a couple years.
10. Farmington
This makes it three consecutive years where Farmington wrestling has made a modest step forward. As occurred last year, they had more points scored by more wrestlers (56.5 vs. 53) and moved up two places in the Observerland team standings. Three Falcons made it out of the very tough Plymouth district. In each of the past three years Farmington had only two regional qualifiers. Dylan Wells was a state qualifier, the first since Jonathan Schwartz in 2004. The Falcons were eliminated in team districts by Catholic Central. Interest in wrestling remains very high at Farmington, with over 40 wrestlers on the roster.
Key Losses: David Yarmouth (135), Dave Gambill (160), Dylan Wells (285, state qualifier).
Key Returnees: Nimantha Herath (103), Kevin Kennerly (112), Anthony Porto (119, regional qualifier), Kienuwa Davis (125, former regional qualifier), Zach Schulz (135), Nick Tomski (145, regional qualifier), Derek Southerland (152), C.J. Hicks (160), Steve Cook (171), Justin Roe (215), Caleb Schonschack (285).
Outlook for Next Year: Looking up. With nine senior starters with plenty of varsity experience, next year’s squad should be the strongest in many years. The question still remains as to whether the Falcons possess the technical skills and conditioning to compete with the big dogs in Division 1.
9. Plymouth
Plymouth was a team on the cusp of having an eye-opening season. They had a lot of juniors and seniors in the middle and upper weights, and several very talented freshmen. But injuries to some key wrestlers and the overall improvement of other teams in the area masked the improvement the Wildcat program made. Their 59 points and ninth place finish at Observerland were virtually identical to their accomplishments in 2008 and 2009. Only one wrestler made it out of the Plymouth district. However, all but two Wildcat wrestlers won at least one match and six lost close decisions in the blood round. Furthermore, most of their losses were to state qualifiers.
Key Losses: Ryan Schultz (140), Brandon Crowther (152), Rob Barackman (160), Brendan Varner (189), Brett Keys (215), Jordan Birman (285), Wally Eppler (285, regional qualifier).
Key Returnees: Shadi Jammoul (103), Alec Breckenridge (112), Trey Berry (112), Said Youssef (119), Chase Khallil (125), Brett Echols (130), Ziad Tamimi (130), Nick Rizzo (135), Jimmy Ahearn (140), Tate Braboy (145), Jackson Chalmers (160), Curtis Crosier (160).
Outlook for Next Year: The Wildcats are expected to regain the services of Nick Rizzo next year and to add talented incoming freshman Mohammed Youssef at 103. Coupled with the returning varsity wrestlers, Plymouth should field a very solid team from 103 through 171. If they can find some big guys that can stay off their backs and win a few matches, they just may compete for a top five finish next year.
8. North Farmington
North Farmington is one of several area teams to have enjoyed their best season ever. Their 79 points and eighth place finish are certainly the highest since I have been following the tournament. The Raiders were City League champions, OAA Division II champions and had an amazing 25-1 dual meet record after winning their team district. Their success was brought about by having solid wrestlers at every weight except 285. The lack of studs caught up with them in the post-season, though. North Farmington was dismantled by Clarkston 50-9 at team regionals, and the Raiders only advanced two wrestlers out of the Rochester Adams district. One of those wrestlers, Matt Jaisle, qualified for the state tournament.
Key Losses: Matt Jaisle (119, state qualifier), Garrett Fisk (130, regional qualifier), Imran Saqib (135), Matt Russell (145), Nate Cherney (152), Brian Miller (160).
Key Returnees: Mike Hoover (103), Mike Williams (112), Jordan Russell (119, former regional qualifier), John Davis (140), Courtney Drew (171), Kevin Miller (171), Majd Mokbel (215).
Outlook for Next Year: Two years ago North Farmington lost 10 starters and still had a better season the following year. Numbers remain very high, so I guess the Raiders could still maintain their position. However, graduation has gutted the middle of the line-up and the talent on other teams seems superior so I would be surprised if the Raiders continue to rise in the area standings next year.
7. Livonia Stevenson
This season was slightly better than last year, but nowhere close to where I thought this team would be. The Spartans moved up one notch in the Observerland standings and scored more team points, even without seniors Josh Seibert and Jake Burns, but with all the seniors at the upper weights, I thought they would outscore Harrison and Livonia Franklin, which was supposedly in a “rebuilding year”. Franklin really put it to Stevenson in team districts, winning 45-20. Five Spartans made it to individual regionals, but none made it out.
Key Losses: Omar Mostafa (119), Jake Mailloux (145), Chris Arnold (152), Josh Seibert (160), and regional qualifiers Charlie Kokenakes (140), Jake Burns (171), Dan McCarthy (171), Andrew Schramm (189), and Nathan Keedle (285).
Key Returnees: Ash Alhaj (112), Corey Davis (125), Robert Schramm (125), Samer Shebak (130), Jacob Range (285).
Outlook for Next Year: A big downturn similar in magnitude to what Salem experienced this year. The line-up was virtually all seniors and sophomores. Of the four sophomores that entered districts, only Jacob Range won a match. The others were pinned. Numbers remain very strong, so Stevenson should fill all the weight classes, but Range appears to be the only wrestler to make noise at Observerland and the post-season.
6. Farmington Hills Harrison
Harrison had a very good season considering they graduated half of their starters last year. There appeared to be no drop-off in their performance at Observerland. They moved up a division in their league and won the OAA Division II individual tournament by 30 points, but finished second in the league to North Farmington based on dual meet results. The Hawks did not have as successful of a post-season as last year. They were not team district champions, and they only sent four individuals to regionals and one to states compared with seven and two last year. Nonetheless, their 21 dual meet victories was a team record. Keavin Beazley placed seventh at the state tournament, giving Harrison its first all-state wrestler in many years.
Key Losses: Evan Hahn (130), Dan Leeb (145, regional qualifier), Brandon Martin (189).
Key Returnees: Fortune Martin (103), Evan Doyle (112), Andre Sanders (119, regional qualifier), Evan Hahn (130), James Roberts (135, regional qualifier), Gabe Unick (135), Ryan Ruspaj (140), Marcus Shepherd (140), Kevin Beazley (7th at 160), Sultan Hubbard (160), Lido Zefi (189), Austin Jarvis (215), Kevin Johnson (285).
Outlook for Next Year: Bigger and better things. Numbers are up and the coaches have shown they can produce some studs. Harrison returns nearly their entire team and shouldn’t have too many holes next year. A top five finish at Observerland, a trip to team states, and several all-state wrestlers are definitely a possibility.
5. Belleville
Belleville rebounded nicely from a relative down year, although the placement and point total (114 vs. 117) at the Observerland tournament did not show that. Injury limited their entrants to 11 wrestlers, 8 of whom placed. The main reason, however, for the unimpressive point total was the number of studs on the other teams. Nearly 70% of Belleville’s losses were to state qualifiers/placers. A better indicator of improvement for this team was the post-season. Last year Belleville had 3 regional qualifiers and 1 state qualifier. This year 6 Tigers made it to regionals and 4 to states. Brendan Papin placed fourth at 119 pounds and Forrest Sampson placed fifth at 215.
Key Losses: Tyler Schneider (130, state qualifier), Carter Sherman (135), Kyle Skotak (140), Andrew Majewski (145, state qualifier), Alex Landa (160), Forrest Sampson (5th at 215), Dustin Staton (285, regional qualifier).
Key Returnees: Chris O’Keefe (103), Josh Watson (112), Ivy Riley (119), Brendan Papin (4th at 119), Robert Chapple (135), Zach Juchartz (152), Cameron McCoy (152), Shames Delahaye (160), Tyler Styrk (171), Mark Tooley (189, regional qualifier), Devin Kelemen (189).
Outlook for Next Year: Belleville graduates most of its top wrestlers and half of its line-up. Their lower weights, with the exception of Papin, were not competitive. However, their sophomores at the middle weights showed a lot of promise and the team had good numbers. I expect next year to be a rebuilding year and the Tigers to have a hard time fending off Harrison and Plymouth to maintain the fifth spot.
4. John Glenn
This was the strongest John Glenn team I have ever seen, and probably the strongest in school history. The Rockets slipped from second to fourth at the Observerland tournament and their point total dropped from 181 to 166, but that was due to Mark Thompson and Travis Mann being unable to wrestle.
They made their second consecutive trip to the team state tournament where they dropped a 34-28 decision to state runner-up Rockford. The difference in that dual was 1-point losses in swing matches at 119 and 285. Coach Polk received co-Regional Coach of the Year Honors for the second year in a row. Individually, Glenn had 9 regional qualifiers and 5 made it to the state meet. Anthony Pavlich was the first Rocket to win a state championship. Dustin Gajowiak placed fourth and Josh Austin came in fifth.
Key Losses: Steve Wakeford (112, regional qualifier), Josh Austin (5th at119), Steve Shak (119), Anthony Pavlich (130 state champ), Mark Thompson (135, regional qualifier), Mikkel Tipton (140), Mike Johnson (145, state qualifier), Zach Redden (160, former state qualifier), Gerald Powell (215), Dustin Gajowiak (4th at 285).
Key Returnees: Kyle Gillies (103, regional qualifier), Quinn Dupraw (103), Joey Camilleri (119), Doug Wiley (119), Kevin Wacker (145), Travis Mann (145, state qualifier), Justin Powers (145), Danny Croft (152), Chris Donaldson (160), Kameron Jones (171, regional qualifier), Reggie Timmons (189), Ronnie Hill (215), Charles Crawford (285).
Outlook for Next Year: John Glenn graduates 10 starters and has only one returning junior starter, so one would expect a significant drop-off next year. However, the Rockets have some sophomores that have had excellent years at the junior varsity level and had 27 freshmen join the team. Several of these freshmen have also had success at the JV level so John Glenn should be tough again next year.
3. Livonia Franklin
Mitch Hancock and Bill Polk garnered the official recognition as the area’s and state’s best coaches, and deservedly so, but one could argue that the best coaching may have been done by Dave Chiola this year. Franklin graduated 10 starters and nearly all their big guys from last year’s squad. In addition, Rian Klein did not return and Coach Chiola dismissed Paul Hanni from the team, leaving the Patriots with only two returning starters. What appeared to be a major rebuilding year ended up yielding a team that accomplished just as much as last year’s squad.
At the Observerland tournament Franklin finished third with 170 points compared to fifth with 137.5 points last year. The difference can be attributed to not entering two starters last year. The Patriots were team district champions, but once again were eliminated by Catholic Central at team regionals. Individually, Franklin had 7 regional qualifiers, 2 state qualifiers, and 1 all-state wrestler. These numbers are virtually identical to last year.
Key Losses: Erik Czech (125), Nick Simmons (189).
Key Returnees: Jack Newa (103), Dan Martinez (103, regional qualifier) Gabe Martinez (112, regional qualifier), Steve Tuyo (6th at 112), Brian Nisun (119), Jordan McGuire (130, regional qualifier), Ryan Derry (130, regional qualifier), Avery Opperman (140, regional qualifier), Josh Hatfield (145), Allen Steele (152), Matt Roos (152, state qualifier), Alex O’Connor (160), Ryan Tikey (160), Zach Leuenberger (160), Ryan Simmons (189), and Omar Haymour (285).
Outlook for Next Year: Livonia Franklin returns all their regional and state qualifiers, and 16 wrestlers with significant varsity experience. They should be very solid at 103-171, but the upper weights will be a big question. Nonetheless, with the graduation losses at John Glenn and Canton, the Patriots should be right in the thick of things for second place at Observerland next year.
2. Canton
Canton was ranked in the top 10 of Division 1 teams all year, and, at times, in the “Power 15”. They beat state tournament teams like John Glenn and Rockford during the regular season, but were unfortunate in being in the same region as state champion Detroit Catholic Central. Their second place finish and 203 points at Observerland were much better than last year and were close to their best seasons of 2001 and 2008 when they were champions. However, the competition in 2010 was stronger than in those other years. Individually, nine Chiefs were regional qualifiers and six moved on to the state tournament. Donnie Watkins, Brent Winekoff, Keith Zech, and Anthony Abro won all-state honors.
The coaching staff once again demonstrated that it can take athletic kids with little or no wrestling experience and turn them into top level wrestlers. Zech had no experience as a freshman and made two trips to the Palace. Ben Poirer had virtually no experience and is a state qualifier as a junior. Sophomore Keshav Patel was introduced to wrestling in November of his freshman year and was ranked by MichiganGrappler.com 14 months later. The dedication and hard work necessary to achieve this success has a downside though. Attrition at Canton is pretty high and their roster at the end of the year is smaller than almost every other Division 1 school in the Observerland area.
Key Losses: Waleed Faraj (125, state qualifier), Connor Johnson (130), Mitch Wolski (130, regional qualifier), Donnie Watkins (3rd at 140), Brent Winekoff (2nd at 152), Keith Zech (7th at 160), and Julius Maddox (285).
Key Returnees: Richard DeMarois (103, regional qualifier), Keshav Patel (103), Danny Filippelli (112), Alex Eimers (119, regional qualifier), Mark Przbylski (119), Julia Salata (125, Fargo National Champion), Zach Marsh (135), Chris Pierce (145), Sean O’Keefe (152), Patrick Murphy (152), Austin Mach (171), Anthony Abro (4th at 189), Ben Poirer (215, state qualifier).
Outlook for Next Year: Up in the air. Canton graduates half their line-up and losing studs like Faraj, Watkins, Winekoff, and Zech would set any team back. However, Canton will have at least three incoming freshmen with lots of experience; Ben Griffin and Alec Pantaleo have national-level experience. Sophomores Patel, Eimers, Marsh, and O’Keefe showed tremendous improvement over their freshman years and could be state qualifiers next year. If the returning freshmen and sophomores add about 15 pounds prior to next year, then Canton could fill every weight except 285 with very tough wrestlers.
1. Catholic Central
I am no Catholic Central historian, but this may have been the best team in school history. It has been 22 years since they last won a state championship and with the way Michigan wrestling has been improving in relationship to other states, it is hard to imagine those earlier teams being better. At Observerland, all 14 Shamrocks placed, 9 were finalists, and 6 won. They scored a tournament record 296.5 team points. DCC also won every other prestigious individual tournament they entered including the Oakland County Tournament, Goodrich Tournament of Champions, the DCC Invitational, and the Holt Invitational. Mitch Hancock was voted Coach of the Year by his colleagues.
Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment was their individual performances in the post-season. All 14 wrestlers qualified for the state tournament and 10 of them reached all-state status. An indication of the depth of this team was that two additional wrestlers, James Demember (103) and David Knuth (285) were good enough to be ranked by MichiganGrappler.com during the season but were not chosen to participate in the post-season individual events.
Key Losses: Matt Thompson (119, state qualifier), Charlie Joseph (8th at 125), Doug Eldridge (145 state champ), Gerid Gee (152, state qualifier), Mike Kinville (3rd at 215), Andrew Johnson (215, state qualifier), and David Knuth (285).
Key Returnees: James Demember (103), T. J. Fagan (5th at 103), Ken Bade (3rd at 103), Todd Melick (2nd at 112), Zach Colone (112), Alec Mooradian (119 state champ), Nick Mason (4th at 130), Justin Melick (135 state champ), Alex Kas-Marogi (140), Brandon Bennett (160), Andrew Erickson (160), Miles Trealout (7th at 189), Robert Coe (189), Mike Popiela (285).
Outlook for Next Year: Catholic Central has to be the favorites to win Observerland and repeat as Division 1 team champions. They lose a lot of starters and Varsity “B” wrestlers to graduation, but are so deep and are rumored to bring in so many top notch freshmen that I don’t think they will miss a beat.
