D1 103 @ Portage Northern
#2 Nolan Smith, Portage Northern (10) – SQ
#10 Eric Lundwall, Hartland (12) – RQ
HM Hayden Culver, Hartland (9)
HM Lee Grabowski, Brighton (9)
HM Cole Janes, Grand Ledge (9)
Hayden LaRochelle, BC Lakeview (12)
Brendan Stevens, BC Lakeview (10)
Insane depth here. Smith is the clear cut #2 in the state, and Lundwall, Culver, Grabowski and Janes are all borderline top 8 guys, not to mention LaRochelle and Stevens who will also be in the mix to advance.
Prediction – Smith, Culver, Lundwall, Grabowski
D1 103 @ Saline
#9 Carl Antrassian, Monroe (10)
HM John Siemasz, Westland John Glenn (9)
HM Xavier Graham, Brownstown Woodhaven (9)
HM Tyler Rogaliner, Temperance Bedford (12) – 2X RQ
Kyle Boxeth, Saline (10)
Collin Reed, Plymouth (10)
Very interesting group with minimal separation. I wouldn’t be too shocked to see any of the 4 ranked guys win this district, but, on the flip side, it wouldn’t blow my mind if one failed to advance.
Prediction – Antrassian, Siemasz, Graham, Rogaliner
D2 103 @ Gaylord
#4 Dalton Roberts, Fowlerville (12) – 2X RQ
#5 Dom Lajoie, Gaylord (9)
#7 Trevor Giallombardo, Petoskey (10)
Jordan Ringler, Cedar Springs (9)
Not an incredibly deep group, but there is some big time firepower present. With rumors swirling about #1 Joe Garcia’s status for this postseason, I’d say Roberts and Lajoie are both legit title contenders this year. Lajoie is a stud who frosh hasn’t been tested much this year, and I’m interested to see how he matches up a Senior and former member of the Cadet World Team in Roberts.
Prediction – Roberts, Lajoie, Giallombardo, Ringler
D2 103 @ Fowlerville
#8 Emilio Sanchez, St. Johns (9)
HM Drew Hutchinson, Clio (9)
HM Shukarani Nybenda, Lansing Eastern (12) – SQ
HM Luke Zimmerman, Linden (10)
Norm Golden, Fenton (12) – 2X RQ
There are 5 SQ caliber all guys here, but only 4 will advance to regionals next week. In fact, with #4 Roberts, #5 Lajoie and #7 Giallombardo all in the opposite district, there’s a good chance only a single member of this group will make it to the Palace. As a senior and returning SQ you’d think Nybenda would be a sure thing, but he has been struggling of late, and I really like what I have seen from Sanchez this season.
Prediction – Sanchez, Nybenda, Hutchinson, Zimmerman
D1 112 @ Portage Northern
#1 Benny Gomez, Holt (11) – State Champ
#10 Reece Hughes, Hartland (9)
HM Matt Heaps, Portage Northern (9)
HM Grant Morrison, Brighton (10)
HM Jack Snauko, Grand Ledge (9)
Mike Strayer, Howell – RQ
Las Sang, BC Lakeview (11) – RQ
Defending state champ Gomez will likely cruise to the top of the podium, and that will leaves 4 SQ caliber wrestlers and a couple more returning RQ’s to fight for 3 spots at next week’s regional. Of the rest of the pack Hughes has the most impressive wins, and is a good bet to reach the finals.
Prediction – Gomez, Hughes, Morrison, Heaps
D2 112 @ Coopersville
#1 Lucas Hall, Lowell (10) – State 4th
#6 Dylan Wilkins, Sparta (10)
HM Devin Bisard, GR Kenowa Hills (11) – SQ
HM Cameron Butler, Fruitport (11) – 2X RQ
All 4 of these guys are worthy at wrestling at the state meet. Hall is a heavy favorite to win, and Wilkins is a pretty safe bet for 2nd. In the other placement match, Bisard and Butler will likely battle for valuable bracket positioning at next week’s regional.
Prediction – Hall, Wilkins, Butler, Bisard
D2 112 @ Vicksburg
#7 Bryce Dempsey, Mattawan (9)
#8 Brandon Meek, Niles (11) – 2X SQ
#9 Brandon Arend, Stevensville Lakeshore (10) – SQ
Mitch Coon, BC Harper Creek (10) – SQ
3 returning SQ’s, but none are the favorite. Dempsey has had an awesome freshman season, and is riding a win over Meek last week. Arend transferred to Stevensville Lakeshore over the summer, so he only just become eligible a couple weeks ago. He lost a close 7-5 bout to Meek in one of his return matches, but I have to imagine he will continue to get better the more he is able to compete.
Prediction – Arend, Dempsey, Meek, Coon
D3 112 @ Michigan Center
#1 Kanen Storr, Leslie (10) – State Champ
#3 Ken Reinhart, Dundee (11) – State 5th
HM Robert Grysko, Grass Lake (12) – 2X RQ
HM Hunter Lajness, Monroe Jefferson (10) – RQ
HM Ethan Woods, Manchester (9)
Rumor has it Storr may be up at 119 for the postseason, but as of know he remains the odds on favorite at 112. Reinhart is having a terrific season, and will challenge for a title if Storr is indeed up at 119. Woods broke onto the scene last week with a win over HM Grysko, but there is talk he may down at 103.
Prediction – Storr, Reinhart, Lajness, Woods
D1 119 @ Grand Haven
#2 Stephen Jendritz, Rockford (12) – State 8th
#3 Cam Bertucci, Grand Haven (11) – 2X State Placer, 1X RU
HM Austin Tomko, Grand Rapids FHC (11) – SQ
Brad Stubbefield, Hudsonville (12) – RQ
Max Postlewait, Grand Rapids FHC (10) – RQ
Austin Falbe, Jenison (10)
Keenan Hoezee, Grandville (10)
Jendritz and Bertucci are surefire contenders to win state gold this march, and there is plenty of depth beyond them. Tomko had his struggles up at 125 this season, but recently the made move back down to weight he qualified at last year.
Prediction – Bertucci, Jendritz, Tomko, Stubbefield
D1 119 @ Portage Northern
#1 Romeo Riley, Kalamazoo Central (11) – State 8th
#4 Jay Brickley, Grand Ledge (12) – 2X SQ
Jackson Renicker, Brighton (10) – State 8th
Javuis Cunningham, Kalamazoo Central (12) – SQ
JC Tasic, Pinckney (11) – RQ
Dante Latora, Portage Central (9)
Jaycob Bechtol, Holt (10)
Garnett Potter, Brighton (9)
Sawyer Hughes, Howell (10)
Like the Grand Haven district, Portage Northern has 2 serious contenders to win it all, and depth to boot. Next weekend, the two will cross over to form a chart that may end up being the best across the entire state. Renicker was a surprise state placer as a frosh, but he will need to be on top of his game just to make it out of this killer group.
Prediction – Riley, Brickley, Latora, Renicker
D1 119 @ Saline
#7 Mo Youssef, Plymouth (12) – State 7th
HM Chris Brown, Belleville (10)
HM Hunter Grasso, Brownstown Woodhaven (9)
HM Josh Perez, Livonia Churchill (12)
Chase Spanos, Westland John Glenn (11) – SQ
Tim Way, Wayne Memorial (12)
This is as deep as it gets. Youssef is a lock to make it through, but the other 3 spots are totally up for grabs. All 6 of the guys listed have had SQ type seasons, but only four will be getting out of districts.
Prediction – Youssef, Grasso, Brown, Perez
D2 119 @ Byron Center
#3 Logan Welcher, Hamilton (12) – SQ
#4 Jake Busing, Byron Center (11) – 2X State Placer
#7 Chris Poland, Middleville TK (11) – 2X State Placer
#8 Brandon Tresemer, Zeeland East (12) – State 8th
Austin Eldred, Eaton Rapids (11) – SQ
Austin Schwensen, Charlotte (11) – RQ
This is an unreal top 4, and all can be considered legitimate title contenders at the Palace. Welcher beat Busing in a tight one last weekend, but I could see these 4 finishing in pretty much any order.
Prediction – Poland, Welcher, Busing, Tresmer
D3 119 @ Michigan Center
#2 Alex Martinez, Ida (10) – State RU
#3 Zach Blevins, Dundee (10) – State 8th
#5 Kyle Hughes, Monroe Jefferson (10)
HM Anthony DeLaRosa, Jackson Lumen Christi (12) – 2012 SQ
Not the deepest of districts, but some crazy firepower. Blevins is having a breakout year. Martinez majored him early in the season, but Blevins has emerged as a dangerous guy who will put just about anyone on their back at a moments notice.
Prediction – Martinez, Blevins, Hughes, DeLaRosa
D4 119 @ Blissfield
#1 Logan Griffin, Erie Mason (11) – 2X State Finalist, 1X Champ
#4 Tyler Roberts, Hudson (11) – 2X SQ
#5 Jason Richardson, Addison (11) – 2X State Placer
Terry Burns, Sand Creek (10) – SQ
Griffin is the guy to beat at this weight in D4, and Roberts and Richardson are safe bets to stand on the podium in March. Burns is tough as well, but he may the odd man out as Voss, #8 at 125, has been down at 119 this season, and may be there Saturday.
Prediction – Griffin, Roberts, Richardson, Burns
D1 125 @ Saline
#7 Kevin Huynh, Westland John Glenn (12) – RQ
HM Austin Koehler, Belleville (12) – 2X RQ
HM Austin McCarty, Ypsilanti Lincoln (10)
HM Brad Stewart, Temperance Bedford (10)
Spencer Schiftar, Plymouth (10)
Devin McClain, Brownstown Woodhaven (12)
Huynh has had a breakout year and is probably a half step ahead of the competition here. After that, Koehler, McCarty and Stewart are all SQ caliber kids, and Schifter has some big wins to his name as well.
Prediction – Huynh, Koehler, McCarty, Stewart
D3 125 @Portland
#4 Kole Krauss, Grand Rapids CC (10) – State 4th
#6 Nate Cooley, Belding (11) – SQ
#8 Jackson Lamdin, Allendale (11) – 2X SQ, 1X Placer
#10 Dylan Felt, Shelby (11) – SQ
HM Dan Sayfie, Grand Rapids CC (12) – SQ
HM Jwan Britton, Whitehall (10)
Wesley Jurney, Shelby (11)
Insane depth, but I gotta believe a couple of guys will move up to 130. Regardless, Krauss is a legit title contender, and which ever guys end up filling the other 3 spots will have good shot to place at the Palace.
Prediction – Krauss, Cooley, Lambdin, Felt
D1 130 @ Portage Northern
#2 Ben Calandrino Howell (12) – State 5th
#7 Nate Hughes, Hartland (12) – 2X SQ
#8 Mino Trevino, Holt (11) – 2012 SQ
#9 Dylan Steward, Grand Ledge (10) – SQ
HM Adam Crego, Jackson (12) – RQ
HM Justin Rollins, Hartland (12) – 2012 SQ
Calandrino should win this by a mile. All of the others are relatively comparable, and whoever steps up to fill the remaining 3 spots will verify their status as a contender for all-state status
Prediction – Calandrino, Hughes, Trevino, Steward
D2 130 @ Gaylord
#3 Luke Spotts, Fremont (12) – 3X State Placer
#5 Will Parmalee, Greenville (12) – RQ
#10 Mike Rojas, BC Western (12) – 2011 SQ
HM Jacob Wibirt, BC Western (12) – 2012 SQ
Rumor has it Wibirt may be down to 125, but either way Spotts and Parmalee are strong bets to place at the Palace, and Rojas and Wibirt are capable of doing so as well.
Prediction – Spotts, Parmalee, Rojas, Wibirt
D2 130 @ Fowlerville
#9 Aaron Young, DeWitt (12) – SQ
HM Bret Fedewa, St. Johns (9)
HM Kam Melton, DeWitt (12) – RQ
Kyle Roberts, Fowlerville (10) – RQ
Mitchell MacArthur, Flint Kearsley (12) – 2012 SQ
Luciano Sanchez, Lansing Eastern (10)
Extremely deep without much separation. This could unfold in quite a few different ways, and things will get even more chaotic when they cross with the equally stacked Gaylord district next weekend.
Prediction – Young, Fedewa, MacArthur, Melton
D3 130 @ Michigan Center
#1 Brendan O’Connor, Dundee (12) – 3X State Placer
#2 Dakota Ball, Ida (11) – 2X State Placer, 1X Champ
#8 Brock Vlcek, Manchester (11) – 2012 SQ
Christian Poupard, Monroe Jefferson (11) – RQ
Garrett McEllis, Grass Lake (12)
O’Connor and Ball are the favorites to meet in the state final at this weight, and they already have 3 meetings on the season. O’Connor has won the first and the last of their matchups, but there could be as many as 3 more over the next month. Vlcek is a strong candidate for all-state status as well.
Prediction – O’Connor, Ball, Vlcek, Poupard
D4 130 @ Bangor
#3 Kyle Barkovich, Lawton (11) – 2X State Placer
#6 Lucian Parish, Decatur (10) – SQ
Victor Moranchel, Niles Brandywine (11) – 2012 SQ
Austin Beach, Lawton (11) – SQ
Savion Willis, Bangor (11) – RQ
Ethan May, Decatur (9)
This has the potential to be a dynamite weight class, but a lot of that hinges on the status of Moranchel and Beach. Both have missed a lot of time due to injury, and I’m unsure whether they will be in action this weekend, or what weight they will be at. Barkovich is having a dominant year. He’s posted TF’s in his past couple meetings with Parish, so I don’t foresee him being challenged to strenuously.
Prediction – Barkovich, Parish, Willis, Moranchel
D4 130 @ Blissfield
#2 Carter Ballinger, Jonesville (12) – 3X State Placer
#9 Carlos Randall, Hudson (12) – SQ
HM Colin Haag, Addison (12) – SQ
HM Michael Prock, Hudson (11)
HM Robert Standlick, Sand Creek (11) – RQ
Ballinger should run away this, and that leaves 4 kids with SQ aspirations to fight over 3 spots on next weekend’s regional chart.
Prediction – Ballinger, Randall, Haag, Prock
D1 135 @ Rochester
#5 Thomas Keyes, Troy Athens (12) – State 7th
#7 Eddie Schlickenmeyer, Oxford (12) – 3X SQ, 2X Placer
HM Evan Bryant, Romeo (11)
HM Jack Dionne, Clarkston (12) – RQ
HM Mike Wells, Uitca Ford (10) – RQ
Keyes beat Schlickenmeyer soundly in the Oakland County finals, but Shlickenmeyer seems to be wrestling much better, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he were to reverse that result. That leaves 3 evenly matched HM’s to battle it out for 2 spots.
Prediction – Schlickenmeyer, Keyes, Wells, Dionne
D2 135 @ Yale
#6 Collin Lieber, Croswell Lexington (9)
#9 Sam Johnson, Holly (10) – SQ
HM Ethan Douglas, Ortonville Brandon (10)
HM Donald Janice, Warren Woods Tower (12) – RQ
Brady Bischer, Yale (10) – RQ
Lieber has flown under the radar this season, but the frosh has yet to lose, and has a good shot to keep that streak intact for another week. Johnson recently came down from 140, and is a strong bet to meet Lieber in the finals. However, I like what I’ve seen from Janice as well, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he crashed the finals either.
Prediction – Lieber, Johnson, Janice, Douglas
D4 135 @ Bangor
#1 Brock Thumm, Watervliet (12) – 2X State Placer, 1X Champ
#2 Hunter Bell, Decatur (11) – 2X State Placer
#5 Cole Menck, Lawton (11) – State Placer
Nick Hall, Bangor (12) – RQ
A 2012 state champ who missed last season with injury, Thumm is the favorite to get back on top of the podium. This district will present him with a tough, albeit familiar challenge. Thumm beat Bell by a point in their league final last week, and Bell beat Menck by a point in the semis beforehand.
Prediction – Thumm, Bell, Menck, Hall
D2 140 @ Gaylord
#3 Chris Schoenherr, BC Western (11) – State RU
#4 Kaleb Rahoi, Escanaba (11) – SQ
#6 Nick Strobel, Petoskey (12)
HM Dylan Nichols, Ogemaw Heights (11) –RQ
Rich Los, Mt. Pleasant (11) – RQ
A breakout state finalist last season, Schoenherr is just now making his return to the mats after missing nearly the entire season with injury. However, you wouldn’t know it by looking at league meet performance; a convincing win over D1 RU Matt Miller. Rahoi has been great this season as well, and I expect him and Schonherr to put on a show in the finals.
Prediction – Schoenherr, Rahoi, Strobel, Nichols
D2 140 @ Fowlerville
#1 Zac Hall, St. Johns (12) – 3X State Champ
#2 Mark Bozzo, St. Johns (12) – 2X SQ, 1X Placer
#7 Chris Root, Bath (12) – 2X RQ
HM Matt Dewyer, Clio (10) – RQ
HM Nick Folglio, Goodrich (10)
Nick Bignell, Owosso (10)
From the sounds of it Hall will be at 140, so that likely means Bozzo moves up to 145 for the postseason. Even so, there is plenty of additional talent here. This group will combine the previously mentioned Gaylord district to form one of the state’s best charts next weekend.
Prediction - Hall, Root, Dewyer, Bignell
D3 140 @ Oscoda
#2 Josh Flores, Swan Valley (12) – 2X SQ, 1X Placer
#5 Hunter Gasper, Standish Sterling (9)
#6 Adam McCann, Bullock Creek (10) – State 8th
#10 Charlie Ferens, Freeland (12) – SQ
Chance Eremia, Caro (11) – SQ
This is as stacked as it gets. 2 returning state placers, 2 more returning SQ’s, and a stud frosh who may just be the best of the bunch!
Prediction - Flores, Gasper, McCann, Ferens
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Well since you don't have it on here, D2 103 @ Vicksburg
1st Micheal Higley
2nd Andre Flick
3rd David Smith (me haha)
4th Evan Griffioen
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Oh and Hayden Larochelle AND Brendan Stevens advanced, taking 2nd, and 4th respectively
Any thoughts on D4 individual districts at Rogers City for 112?
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Any thoughts out there about Brendan O'Conner (Dundee) or Dakota Bell (Ida) bumping to 135 in the D3 District at Michigan Center? Or Vlcek for that matter?
D3 130 @ Michigan Center
#1 Brendan O’Connor, Dundee (12) – 3X State Placer
#2 Dakota Ball, Ida (11) – 2X State Placer, 1X Champ
#8 Brock Vlcek, Manchester (11) – 2012 SQ
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In case you guys haven't noticed, he's posting the districts that may be the toughest. Leave the guy alone and let him do his work.
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D3 Richmond district???? At 112 both Kilburn and Nemecek wrestled 125, anyone know why an if they'll be staying there or 119? They can't go back to 112 right after bumping 2 up if they've met their lowest weight can they?
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If they weighed in at 119 and bumped to 125, then they can still go 112 as long as their Alpha says they can go 112.
Where is 125 Gaylord at?
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Where is the Dakota District Projections?
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