103
D2 #7 Emilio Sanchez, St. Johns (9)
D3 #5 Corey Robinson, Whitehall (10)
D3 #9 Drew Mandell, Dundee (10)
Cole Janes, Grand Ledge (9)
Xavier Graham, Brownstown Woodhaven (9)
Elijuh Weaver, Roseville (9)
Seth Harvey, Addison (9)
This is a pretty light field as far as established talent goes. Robinson was unable to break the lineup at Whitehall last year, but now it’s his time to shine and he has not disappointed. I think he’s the guy that gets it done tomorrow, but I would not be too surprised to see Sanchez, Mandell or Janes finish on top of the podium either.
Predicted Finish: Robinson, Sanchez, Janes
112
P15 #4/D2 #2 Ian Parker, St. Johns (10) – State RU
P15 #7/D1 #3 Noah Gonser, Grand Blanc (11) – State 3rd
P15 #12/D4 #4 Marcus Richardson, Addison (10) – State 7th
D2 #8 Judah Caballero, New Boston Huron (11) – 2X SQ
D2 #9 Dalton Roberts, Fowlerville (12) – RQ
D3 #8 Ken Reinhart, Dundee (11) – State 6th
D4 #7 Cory Agens, Hesperia (12) – 2X SQ
Jack Snaucko, Grand Ledge (9)
Thomas Littlefield, Bronson (11)
Alex Vandelteren, Goodrich (12)
Tyler Adams, Springport (10)
This weight is jam-packed with studs, but I’m not too sure any of them can beat Parker. Of the field, Gonser poses the biggest threat, and Richardson is another who I think carries some upset potential.
Predicted Finish: Parker, Gonser, Richardson
119
P15 #10/D3 #2 Reiley Brown, Whitehall (10) – State RU
P15 #12/D2 #4 Jakob Chapman, Flint Kearsley (11) – State 5th
P15 #15/D1 #3 Jay Jay Brickley, Grand Ledge (12) – 2X SQ
D1 #6 Nathanial Flemming, Grand Blanc (11) – SQ
D2 #10 Lucas McFarland, St. Johns (9)
D3 #5 Zack Blevins, Dundee (10) – State 8th
D4 #4 Jason Richardson, Addison (11) – State 4th
Eli Caballero, New Boston Huron (12) – 2012 SQ
Austin Kleiner, Hesperia (12) – RQ
Taylor Whitmore, Springport (10) – RQ
Chase Dawley, Goodrich (10)
Wes Disbro, Bronson (11)
Daniel Hazzard, Yale (11)
Predicted Finish: Brown, Blevins, Chapman
Another stacked field, this one should be a bit more open for the taking. Of the 7 ranked wrestlers projected to be here, McFarland is the only one I’d have a hard time envisioning as the champ. In the end I think Brown will live up to his ranking, but I also foresee Blevins having a big day. He really impressed in EK earlier this month, and I think he picks up 1 or 2 marginal upsets en route to a finals appearance.
125
P15 #2/D2 #1 Jerry Fenner, Birch Run (11) – State Champ
P15 #6/D4 #1 Zack Yates, Hesperia (12) – State Champ
D2 #7 Nathan Ellis, Goodrich (10) – State 4th
D2 #8 Jon Wellman, New Boston Huron (11) – SQ
D4 #5 (119) Jacob Voss, Addison (12) – State 3rd
Dean Roberts, Fowlerville (12) – RQ
Matt Horne, Brownstown Woodhaven (12) – RQ
Walter Betz, Springport (12) – RQ
Derek Droste, St. Johns (10)
Jwan Britton, Whitehall (10)
In what could be the day’s biggest matchup, this chart will likely pit Fenner and Yates against each other in a D3 vs D4 state champ final. In my eyes it’s pretty much a toss up right now, and whoever wins will set the tone for the rest of their season. I’m also a believer that Ellis may just be able to pull an upset against one of the champs. He’s a riding a somewhat disappointing loss to Leija from a week ago, but I think he bounces back in his home gym.
Predicted Finish: Yates, Fenner, Ellis
130
P15 #7/D1 #3 Kyle Abdellatif, Ypsilanti (12) – State 4th
P5 #9/D3 #1 Brendan O’Connor, Dundee (12) – State 3rd
D1 #7 Dylan Steward, Grand Blanc (10) – SQ
D2 #7 Bret Fedewa, St. Johns (9)
D4 #6 Kahle Scheenks, Bronson (11) – State 8th
Mitchell MacArthur, Flint Kearsley (12) – 2012 SQ
Colin Haag, Addison (12) – SQ
Alex Whitener, Whitehall (12) – 2012 SQ
Kyle Roberts, Fowlerville (10) – RQ
Logan Eaves, Hesperia (12) – RQ
Kyle Adams, Grand Blanc (12) – RQ
Nick Leschinger, Goodrich (10)
Adam Grim, Birch Run (11)
Cass Cortright, Springport (12)
Abdellatif and O’Connor should make for a great finals match. Both are top-75 seniors who are strong state title contenders within their respective division. O’Connor has been pretty consistent in the past, but he looked absolutely phenomenal when I watched him in EK on opening weekend. I say that tomorrow is one of his “on” days, and he
Predicted Finish: O’Connor, Abdellatif, Fedewa
135
D4 #4 Trent Roesly, Hesperia (11) – State 7th
D4 #8 Mason Groenhout, Addison (12) – SQ
Nick Phelps, New Boston Huron (10) – RQ
Brady Bischer, Yale (10) – RQ
Justin Elliott, Birch Run (10)
Travis Wildfong, Flint Kearsley (10)
Andrew Castaneda, Grand Ledge (11)
Nick Cooper, Springport (9)
There are plenty of solid guys present here, but not the same star power as most of the other middle weight classes. Roesly had an awesome GFC this fall and is the clear favorite. Cooper, the younger brother of state champ Jake, is a tough freshman that may have a chance to break out with a high finish.
Predicted Finish: Roesly, Elliott, Groenhout
140
P15 #1/D2 #1 Zac Hall, St. Johns (12) – 3X State Champ
P15 #9/D4 #2 Chase Siersema, Hesperia (12) – 2X State RU
D2 #9 Dylan Tarrence, Flint Kearsley (9)
D3 #2 Brad Scholl, Dundee (12) – SQ
D4 #8 Zeth Caudill, Springport (10) – SQ
Patrick Powers, Grand Ledge (11) – SQ
Ean Taylor, Birch Run (10) – SQ
Noah Priehs, Yale (12) – RQ
Tyler Sofian, Goodrich (12)
Austin Avison, Brownstown Woodhaven (10)
Plenty of talent present here, but no way, no how, does anyone stop Hall from winning his 4th TOC title. Zac has absolutely ran through this tournament the past 3 years, and as good as Siersema and some of the others are, I do not see any way that pattern changes.
Predicted Finish: Hall, Siersema, Scholl
145
P15 #5/D3 #3 Doug Rojem, Dundee (12) – State Champ
P15 #12/D2 #4 Mark Bozzo, St. Johns (12) – State 4th
P15 #14/D2 #6 RJ Smith, Yale (12) – State 3rd
D4 #4 David Jacobs, Hesperia (11) – State 7th
Jeff Fresch, Roseville (12) – SQ
Jacob Smith, Goodrich (12) – RQ
Brandon Tanner, Springport (12) – 2012 RQ
State champ Rojem is an absolute hammer whose senior season got off on the wrong note when he lost to Zac Hall by TF on opening weekend. Combine that with a somewhat disappointing GFC, and right now he’s sort of flying under the radar. I say Rojem comes out like gangbusters and has a signature tournament on Saturday, winning handily against Bozzo in the finals.
Predicted Finish: Rojem, Bozzo, Smith
152
P15 #1/D2 #1 Logan Massa, St. Johns (11) – State Champ
P15 #14/D3 #3 Mitch Franklin, Birch Run (12) – State 7th
D2 #6 Bailey Bischer, Yale (12) – State 6th
D3 #7 Sean Marogen, Dundee (12) – SQ
Nick Harris, Lapeer West (12) – SQ
Dakota Hoffman, Whitehall (12) – SQ
Austin Harvey, Fowlerville (12) – RQ
Jukoada Sexton, Bronson (11) – RQ
Justin Collins, New Boston Huron (12)
Jackari Vines, Goodrich (12)
Colin Kleiner, Hesperia (12)
Just like at 140, there are plenty of talented kids here, and guys like Franklin are in the top 1% of 152lbrs in the state. However, simply put, I just don’t see any way that Massa is challenged too heavily. Any match of his going for a full 6 minutes would be quite a surprise.
Predicted Finish: Massa, Franklin, Bischer
160
P15 #4/D2 #1 Logan Ritchie, New Boston Huron (11) – State 4th
P15 #8/D3 #1 Jared Elliott, Birch Run (12) – State RU
D2 #7 Drew Wixson, St. Johns (11) – RQ
D3 #7 Donny Mandell, Dundee (11)
D4 #5 Mark Workman, Hesperia (10) – State 5th
Jarred Ammons, Brownstown Woodhaven (12) – RQ
Harold Thommen, Whitehall (11) – RQ
Jake Kimble, Addison (11) – RQ
Zach Reynolds, Grand Blanc (12)
Sean Palmateer, Yale (12)
Kyle Minor, Roseville (10)
Mykal Kline, Bronson (10)
The imminent finals matchup between Ritchie and Elliott is my most anticipated bout of the day. I’m not quite as familiar with Elliott, but Ritchie is an absolute offensive machine that isn’t afraid to put points on the board. Both will get tested in the semis, and from there I foresee Ritchie winning an action-packed finals match by at least 3 points.
Predicted Finish: Ritchie, Elliott, Wixson
171
P15 #2/D4 #1 Jacob Cooper, Springport (11) – State Champ
P15 #8/D3 #2 Tye Thompson, Dundee (11) – State 4th
P15 #9/D2 #3 James Davis, Flint Kearsley (11) – 2X RQ
D2 #6 Mason Litz, Fowlerville (11) – State 4th
Alex Kingsbury, Yale (12) – RQ
Justin Patton, Brownstown Woodhaven (12) – RQ
Jeff Rumsey, Hesperia (12)
Bradon Deszell, Goodrich (12)
Jacob Moorer, Ypsilanti (12)
It will be interesting to see how this weight plays out, as I’m not sure either Cooper or Thompson has wrestled 171 yet this season. If there here, I think they are good bets to meet in the finals. Litz is a stud as well, but comes in off a week in which he took a pair of somewhat disappointing losses.
Predicted Finish: Cooper, Thompson, Litz
189
P15 #1/D2 #1 Angus Arthur, Lowell (11) – State Champ
P15 #4/D1 #3 Derek Hillman, Brownstown Woodhaven (12) – State 4th
P15 #12/D4 #4 Eldon Graham, Hesperia (12) – State 4th
D2 #5 Derek Desloover, Yale (12) – SQ
D2 #8 Noah Raymond, Lapeer West (12) – RQ
Tyler Petrone, Roseville (12) – SQ
Adam Lammers, Springport (11) – RQ
Andrew Riley, Goodrich (12)
Another mega-matchup, I think Hillman is going to take Arthur down to the wire on Saturday. He’s still pretty unknown nationally, but Hillman is 100% the real deal. He had an absolutely fantastic preseason, and then kicked off his final HS season with a dominant win over defending D1 state champ Shwan Shadaia. Ultimately I just don’t have it in me to pick against Angus, but make no mistake, this is a match Hillman can win.
Predicted Finish: Arthur, Hillman, Desloover
215
P15 #5/D2 #2 Ty Wildmo, St. Johns (11) – State 3rd
D2 #7 Deion Copley, New Boston Huron (12) – SQ
D2 #8 Jakob Luckett, Lapeer West (12)
D3 #7 Hunter Shaw, Whitehall (12) – SQ
D3 #9 George Lahar, Birch Run (11) – 2X RQ
D4 #5 Scott Rosencrans, Hesperia (10) – SQ
D4 #6 Nick Burt, Addison (11) – SQ
Skylar Riker, Bronson (12)
This should be an interesting one. Wildmo is far and away the most established, but he is giving up a bit of size at 215, and this is a deep weight class with big, physical upperclassmen. In the end I think Wildmo’s motor will be a bit too much to overcome, but I expect him to be tested early and often come Saturday.
Predicted Finish: Wildmo, Shaw, Copley
285
Clayton Huston, Yale (12) – RQ
Nic Sturgis, St. Johns (12)
Justin Thomas, Lapeer West (11)
Wow. Talk about a drop off. It’s amazing how the chips can fall, and somehow this weight winds up with no ranked wrestlers and only one RQ. To be honest, Sturgis is the only one I have seen in person, so he’s my pick.
Predicted Finish: Sturgis, Huston, Thomas
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Since when is Arthur back at Lowell? Just messing with you, great preview!
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