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High School Links
MHSAA Wrestling Page Includes all info regarding Team & Individual District and Regional assignments
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C&G Newspapers prep wrestling section includes feature articles from an array of different southeast Michigan media outlets
Wildmo staying close to home - picks State
8/30 - Michigan State University received their first commitment of this recruiting
season and it was a big one. 2x Division 3 State Champion Roger Wildmo of Durand informed Michigan Grappler that he will be wearing Green & White and wrestling for the Spartans following his senior season this year. Wildmo, who was 3rd at the FloNationals last Spring and 8th at the Super 32s last fall, is the ranked by InterMat as the #34 senior recruit in the country, the highest of all Michigan wrestlers. He projects at 149 for Michigan State, click more for our full story.
Rodriguez, Massa lead star-studded Junior class
8/26 - Michigan Grappler's fall class rankings continue as our list of the Top 25 pound-for-pound wrestlers in the Class of 2012 have been released. After winning Junior National titles in both freestyle and greco-roman, Freddie
Rodriguez has taken over the top spot in the class of 2012, followed close behind by 4x Fargo Champ Taylor Massa of St Johns. Click more to view the full Top 25 in a class thathas the potential to be the most nationally proven and highly recruited group to ever come out of Michigan.
Youtsey taking Military route, committs to Army
8/22 - The top recruit in Michigan has made his college plans. 2x state champ Conor Youtsey of Mason has informed Michigan Grappler that he will be taking his talent to West Point to wrestle for the Army. Youtsey, who is rated as the #55 recruit in the country by InterMat, says the Military lifestyle was the difference in making his decision. Click more for the full story.
Top 10 Recruits released; Youtsey lands top spot
8/15 - We have already received two college commitments from Michigan's Class of 2011 and more will surely be coming in throughout the coming months, therefore, it is that time of year for Michigan Grappler's Recruiting Rankings. We have released our Top 10 senior recruits, with an in-depth breakdown of each wrestler. 2x statechamp and Fargo All-American Conor Youtsey of Mason earned the top spot in this class,which features four wrestlers currently ranked among the Top 100 recruits in the country by InterMat. Click more to see the full Top 10 and check back in the coming days for the full recruiting rankings.
Jackson committs to University of Michigan
8/10 - The second member of the 2011 Michigan graduating class has announced his college commitment as Camryn Jackson of Lansing Eastern
informed Michigan Grappler over the weekend that he will be wrestling for the
University of Michigan following his senior season next year. Jackson, who was a Division 1 State Placer last year, surged onto the scene this summer with an all-american performance in Fargo, finishing 6th in Junior Freestyle at 130lbs. He projects at 141 for the Wolverines.
Grand River Rumble results and videos posted!
8/3 - The dust has now settled from last weekend's Grand River Rumble in Battle Creek, which featured stacked High School and Middle School squads from across the country, and we now have full results as well as videos posted. Click below for the results and go to the Grand River Rumble Video Page to watch matches from the Duals.
Rodriguez upsets top ranked Silver to win Fargo Double Title
7/25 - Freddie Rodriguez's magical off-season continued yesterday in Fargo as the Holt sophomore scored one of the biggest wins of his young career, knocking off the top ranked 112lber in the country, Evan Silver of Blair Academy, in the Junior Freestyle 112lb Finals. Rodriguez, who won the Greco title at 105 earlier this week, bumped up to 112 for
Freestyle and with his win has become just the second wrestler in history to win a Junior Triple Crown. Conor Youtsey (119), Cam Jackson (130), Taylor Massa (152), and Jordan Thomas earned Junior Freestyle All-American honors as well. Click more for a full recap & results and goto the Michigan Grappler Video Page to watch matches from Fargo.
Salata repeats as Natl Champ, Michigan finishes 7th
7/24 - Team Michigan finished 6th at the Junior Womens Freestyle National Championships today behind the efforts of six All-Americans. Julia Salata of Canton (pictured) repeated as National Champion, winning the title at 146lbs. Click more for a full recap and results.
Schmitt, Coon finish runner-up in Cadet Freestlye
7/24 - The Cadet Freestyle Nationals concluded yesterday in Fargo and Team Michigan finished 9th overall with five All-Americans and two finalists.Greco National Champs Jacob Schmitt and Adam Coon both fell short of winning double titles, losing to wrestlers they had beaten earlier this summer in the finals. Schmitt fell in the 105lb final to Austin Hood of Kansas in a rematch from the Greco Finals and Coon lost to Ty Walz of Ohio in the 21l5lb finals. Josh Pennell, Travis Curley, and Zac Hall rounded out the Michigan Cadet Freestyle All-Americans. Click more for a full recap and go to the Michigan Grappler Video Page to watch videos from Fargo.
Freddie Rodriguez cruises to Junior Greco Title
7/20 - Entering this week Holt sophomore Freddie Rodriguez had won just about everything, however, he had yet to win in Fargo...until now. Rodriguez used a nasty gut-wrench this afternoon to score a 6-0, 7-0 tech-fall over Vinny Moita of California to win the 105lb Junior Greco-Roman National Championship. Taylor Massa (152lbs), Alex Calandrino (112lbs), and Esteben Gonzales (119lbs) finished as all-americans as well. Click more for full recap and results.
Schmitt, Coon win Greco National Titles in Fargo
7/19 - Cadet Greco-Roman action concluded today in Fargo and with two Michiganders, Jacob Schmitt and Adam Coon, being crowned Greco-Roman National Champions. They both won handily as Schmitt won 1-0, 1-0 over Austin Hood of Kansas at 105lbs and Coon won the 215lb title with a 2nd period fall over Brett Geilenfeldt of Wisconsin. Josh Pennell finished runner-up at 125lbs, losing a three period match to Michigan native Ben Whitford of Team Illinois, and 4 other Michigan Cadets earned All-American status. Michigan finished 6th as a state. Click more for fullrecap and results and go to the Fargo Coverage Section for video, photos, brackets, and more!
Grappler Fall Classic Registration now Open!
7/14 - Early Registration for the 1st Annual Grappler Fall Classic is now open. The
Grappler Fall Classic will take place October 16th at Tecumseh High School in Tecumseh, Michigan and will be a high school event for wrestlers from all across the country to showcase their abilities in a collegiate setting. The Fall Classic will feature college style rules with college riding time, extended out-of-bounds rules, and a crew of collegiate officials. The Classic is open to any athletes Grade 7-12 for the 2010-2011
school year. Click below for more info the event and to register today!
Michigan, PA dominate Disney Duals
7/3 - The Disney Duals wrapped up last weekend in Orlando and in the end it was all Michigan and PA at the top of the standings as three Michigan squads
finished in the Top 6 and the other teams in the Top 6 were from Pennsyvania. Michigan Blue, led by 3x state champ Tyler Keselring of Greenville (pictured),
finished 3rd overall with a 7-2 final record, followed by Michigan Red in 5th and Freeze Siberia in 6th. Click more to view all of the Dual Scores as well as the Michigan wrestlers who earned Disney All-American status.
Massa, Rodriguez, Coon go undefeated at Freestyle Duals
6/30 - The Junior Duals wrapped up Monday with the final day of freestyle competetion. The event was stacked with powerhouse wrestling states like Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, New Jersey, Wisconsin and more bringing their top prep talent to battle it out. Team Michigan finished 6th overall behind the efforts of three undefeated wrestlers. 2x Fargo Double Champ Taylor Massa, former Fargo Runner-Up Freddie Rodriguez, and freshman phenom Adam Coon went undefeated in their respectiveweights. Conor Youtsey also excelled going went 10-1 in freestyle, knocking off three former Fargo All-Americans and two wrestlers currently ranked top 5 nationally. Click more for the full recap, complete results, and final records of the Michigan wrestlers.
Juniors finish 5th at Greco Duals
6/26 - The Michigan Junior National team downed Iowa in the final round to finish 5that the Junior Greco Roman National Duals in Oklahoma City, OK. Freddie Rodriguez and Taylor Massa led the way individually, finishing with 8-1 records in their respectiveweights. Click more for all the results and check out theMichigan Grappler Video Page to watch the matches.
Schmitt & Coon go perfect at Cadet Duals
6/21 - Team Michigan doubled up in Minnesota this weekend, placing in the top 6 at the Cadet Freestyle Duals just days after finishing in the top 6 in Greco. The Michigan Cadets finished 6th in Freestyle after falling to Missouri 39-34 in the final round. Two Michiganders went undefeated on the weekend to make the Freestyle All-Tournament Team: Jacob Schmitt (105lbs) and Adam Coon (215lbs). Both Schmittand Coon scored big wins on their way to the all-tournament teams, Schmitt knocked off NJ State Champ and nationally ranked Anthony Ashnault while Coon avenged previous losses to Michael Kroells of Minnesota, who beat him days earlier in Greco and this spring at the Folkstyle Nationals. Click more for a full recap.
Smith, Humes, Dorulla among big winners at MWA Classic
6/19 - Many of the top senior grapplers in the state of Michigan squared off last night in
Hartland for the MWA Classic, and the featured match of the night between Ida's Nick Smith and Swan Valley's BJ Suitor did not dissapoint.The battle of 3x state champs ended with a last second, match winning Smith takedown that gave him an 8-7 lead, and the victory. Other notable wins came from Nick Humes at 145lbs,who knocked off Division 1 State Champ Doug Eldridge 10-3, and Jake Dorulla who won a battle of state champs over Tyler Humes 5-4. Click more for a full recap and results.
Michigan Cadets finish 5th in Greco Duals
6/17 - The Cadet Greco-Roman National Duals wrapped up today in Rochester, MN and Team Michigan finished in 5th place after accumulating a 7-3 record over the past two days. Three Michiganders went 9-1 in Greco-Roman action, including returning Cadet Greco All-American Jacob Schmitt, who knocked off fellow Greco All-American Nate Thomas of Minnesota. Fowlerville state champ Adam Coon (215lbs) and 8th grade standout Zac Hall (98lbs) also suffered only one loss in the tournament. Click more for a full recap and results and check back as Freestyle action begins tommorow.
Hall's upset over Cisneros highlights Americas Cup
6/5 - The America's Cup wrapped uptoday in California with three MI wrestlers finishing 4-0. 7th gradephenom Mark Hall scored the biggest win of his career as he upset 2x California state champ Alex Cisnerosin the final dual of the weekend. Cisneros is ranked 3rd in the country at 112lbs by InterMat. FreddieRodriguez and Devin Pommerenke went undefeated as well. Rodriguezdominated the #3 ranked 103lber in the country, scoring a tech-fall over Anthony Ashnault of New Jersey. Click more for a full recap and full results of the Michigan duals.
Lamson off the board - picks Michigan State
5/24 - The final Top 10 recruit has made his college choice as Division 3 State Champion and Senior National All-American Troy Lamson of Swan Valley has signed with Michigan State. Lamson, who is the #8 recruit in this year's senior class, finished the season ranked by InterMat as the #13 152lber in the
country.
Ohio squad outguns Michigan at Midwest Challenge
5/23 - The Border Wars Midwest Grand Challenge brought some of the best prep talent in the Midwest to East Lansing this weekend as 22 teams were featured in the high school division. In the end, it was the Mat Sharks out of Tiffin, Ohio who won the tournament, edging Rampage Red of Michigan in the finals. There were a handful of notable individual matchups on the day, including a couple upsets. Lowell sophomore Gabe Dean knocked off 2x state champ Nick McDiarmid of Hartland and Dean Heil of St Edwards, Ohio out-gunned Freddie Rodriguez in a battle of nationally ranked state champs. Click more for a full recap and go to the Michigan Grappler Video page for videos of matches and interviews from the event.
Four Michigan preps win Central Regional Titles
5/23 - A strong Michigan presence was in attendance this weekend at the USAW Central Regional in Franklin, IN as five Michigan wrestlers won freestyle titles yesterday. Dundee state champ Joe Rendina (pictured) scored a dominant finals win over FILA Cadet All-American Joey Gosinski to win at 130lbs and fellow state champs Conor Youtsey and Jacob Schmitt, along with all-stater Chris Heald won Regional titles as well. Click more for a full recap.
Michigan dominates Lock Haven Duals
5/17 - MYWAY took three teams to the Lock Haven Spring Brawl last weekend
and came home with a 15-0 combined record and Middle School and High School division championships. 12 total Michigan preps went undefeated, including 2x state champ and Senior National Champ Nick McDiarmid (pictured). Click more for full results and recap.
Michigan preps shine in Brockport
5/2 - Three Michigan high school standouts won the USAW Freestyle Northeast Regional this wekend in Brockport, NY. Devin Pommerenke, Alex Calandrino, and Joe Rendina won their respective weights. Click more for full recap and results.
Class of 2011's Top Grapplers Released
4/14 - Michigan Grappler's list of the Top Juniors has been released and the top has stayed much the same as the Top 4 wrestlers in this year's group are the same exact top four from last year's Top Sophomore Class with Roger Wildmo, Conor Youtsey, Joe Rendina, and Devin Pommerenke heading the Class of 2011. Click more to view the full list as well as Recruiting Profiles for the Top 15.
Rodriguez & Trice Double Up in Akron
4/11 - CMU All-American Jarod Trice (pictured left) and Holt state champ Freddie Rodriguez (right) both won Freestlye titles today at the FILA Cadet/University Nationals in
Akron, Ohio, giving them the title of "Double Champs" as they both also won Greco titles two days ago. Three Michigan preps earned All-American honors in the FILA Cadet Division while a total of 5 Michigan collegiates placed in the University Division. Click more for full recap and results.
Best in Class: Top Seniors List Released
4/8 - Kicking off our post-season class rankings for this year we have our final set of class rankings for the Senior Class of 2010. This year's senior class marks the first ever class that Michigan Grappler has covered as Freshman thru Seniors as we launched back in 2007 when Morse, Nieman, and Dorulla were baby-faced freshman. Click below for our final list of the Top Senior Recruits for this year, as well where these guys have committed. We have a list of the top unsigned recruits below as well and Recruiting Profiles are available for the top 40 senior recruits. Class rankings for Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshman will be coming out in the next week.
2010 HS Wrestler of the Year: Jackson Morse
4/6 - The results are in and the majority agrees - Lowell senior Jackson Morse is the 2009-2010 Michigan Grappler High School Wrestler of the Year. Morse won the majority of the voting from the MichiganGrappler.com fan poll as well as our poll of High School coaches. In the fan poll,a total of 856 votes were tallied and Morse received exactly 1/2 of those votes with 431. Ryen Nieman followed with 330 votes (39%) and Nick McDiarmid racked up 95 votes (11%). Click more for our full story on this year's High School Wrestler of the Year, Jackson Morse.
Rodriguez, Foley, Hall win Folkstyle Nationals
4/5 - USA Wrestling hosted the first leg of their National Triple Crown this weekend with the Folkstyle Nationals in Iowa and three Michiganders won titles. Holt sophomore Freddie Rodriguez followed up his FloNational title with another dominant performance, beating returning Cadet Double All-American Derek Elmore of IL in the 112lb finals. South Lyon junior Tyler Foley won the Junior 105lb title and middle school phenom Mark Hall of Davison, who was a Kentucky High School State Runner Up as a 7th grader this year dominated the Schoolboy 128lb division. Click more for full results and recap.
National Champions crowned in Ohio & Virginia
3/29 - Last weekend may have been the most significant weekend of high school wrestling that falls between the State Tournament and Fargo as two premeiere national tournaments went down, the NHSCA Senior Nationals and the FloNationals. Michigan was among the top states in both tournaments, crowning a total of 6 National Champions - Nick McDiarmid and Ryen Nieman at the Senior Nationals and Freddie Rodriguez, Conor Youtsey, Taylor Massa, and Devin Pommerenke at the FloNationals. Click below for full recaps.
Morse knocks off #1 Alton at Dapper Dan Classic
3/22 - The Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic is held annually in Pittsburgh, PA and showcases the top prep wrestlers from the state of Pennsylvania against the best that the nation has to offer. Just being invited to the classic alone is a great honor and this year, for the first time in recent memory (at least dating back to 2000), the state of Michigan had two representatives in the Dapper Dan. Three time state champions Jackson Morse of Lowell (pictured) and Ryen Nieman of Bullock Creek were both selected to represent the US team in the Dapper Dan this past Saturday. Morse came away with 7-6 win over current #1 152lber Dylan Alton. Click more for full results.
Wass committs to Gardner-Webb
3/14 - Swan Valley senior Darius Wass did not wait long after wrapping up prep career to make his college plans as he recently announced his intentions to wrestle for Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. Wass, who is a 4x all-stater and 2x Division 3 state finalist, was ranked as the #10 recruit in Michigan in our fall recruiting rankings.
Postseason Power Rankings released
3/14 - Now that the 2010 High School season is officially in the books, we have compiled our Postseason Power 15 rankings, which list the top individuals in each weight class across all 4 divisions. Click below to see the rankings and check back this week for our Underclassmen Rankings.
State Champions crowned in Auburn Hills
3/11 - It has been nearly a week since the 2010 season came to an end in Auburn Hills last weekend. Michigan Grappler is your source for everything that happened at the Palace last weekend. Click below to read our 3rd Annual "Palace Awards" recap of the tournament and check out the State Tournament coverage section for results, videos, photos, and more.
The Road to Battle Creek underway!
2/12 - The winter weather posed a challenge, however, the Team Districts are now over as teams across the state moved one step closer to Battle Creek this week. Click below to see the results from the last two days and check the Team State Section to stay up to speep with all our coverage that is related to the Team State Tournament.
League Tournaments in the books, Districts coming up...
2/8 - High School conference tournaments wrapped up the regular season, which meansthat individual and team state title runs will begin this week all over the state with Districts. Check out the conference tournament results on our results page and check back this week for Team and Individual District previews!
(by Gary Williams)
Lowell takes national power Graham to the wire
2/2 - Returning state champs Lowell, currently ranked #1 in Division 1, made a statement on the national scene, winning 6 of 14 matches against the #3 ranked team in the country, St. Paris Graham of Ohio on Sunday. Graham came in fresh off a 36-21 win over the current #1 Blair Academy and will likely be the #1 when the new National High School Team Rankings out. Lowell lost the dual 38-25 but scored a handful of big wins, including Jackson Morse and brother Andrew, who both knocked off returning state champs. Jackson defeated Kyle Ryan with a dominant 10-1 major decision at 160lbs while Andrew edged Brian Stephens 9-8 at 145lbs. Click more for the full boxscore.
Michigan preps eligible for FloNationals!
1/27 - We have spoke with FloWrestling's Martin Floreani and it is official - Michigan high schoolers will be eligible to compete at the FloNationals. The
FloNationals are set for March 26-28th in Ohio. Watch the video below to see FloWrestling's announcement to Michigan preps to come challenge the nation's best at the FloNationals and click belowfor more info on the FloNationals.
Dundee takes over top spot in Team Rankings
1/27 - It has been three weeks since we have released updated team rankings and a lot has happened since then to shake up our latest rankings. Division 1, 2, and 3 all feature new #1's this week as Lowell took over the top spot in D1, St. Johns in D2, and Dundee in D3. Dundee also emerged as the new #1 in our Power 15 Rankings. Click below to view the full rankings.
St Eds rolls through Super Duals, #1 Hartland falls
1/17 - St Edwards High School of Lakewood, Ohio showed why they are the #9 team in the country last weekend, rolling through some of Michigan's top programs, including a 58-12 win over current Michigan #1 and #1 nationally ranked Hartland. Hartland lost three duals on the day, dropping close matches to Detroit Catholic Central (#3 D1), and St Johns (#4 D2) as well. Full results will be coming soon from the CC Duals and click below to watch video from the Duals.
DCC Photo Gallery (Gary Williams)
Dundee wins Sherriff, Rendina edges Smith
1/10 - The annual Monroe County Sherrif's Invitational went down yesterday and the #2 ranked team in Division 3, Dundee, came home with allthe hardware as they ran away with the team title, nearly 100 points ahead of 2nd place Bedford (#9 D1). In addition, Joe Rendina of Dundee edged 2x state champ Nick Smith of Ida in the highlight finals match and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Dundee's Justin Heiserman won the most falls and fastest falls award. Click below for all the results from the weekend.
New Year, New Rankings....
1/7 - It has been three weeks since we have released a batch of individual rankings as we head into the new year, our most recent rankings feature some major shakeups after an action-packed holiday season of major tournaments and big time matchups. One of the new #1's this week is Clarkston senior Matt Dietz (pictured) who moved to the top spot in Division 1 at 140lbs after winning the Oakland County and Goodrich Tournament of Championships. Go to the rankings page to see all the new rankings in each division as well as the new team rankings.
Lowell edges rival Greenville on Tie-Breaker
Greenville's Bonner knocks off 2x state champ Jackson Morse
1/7 -With Lowell moving up to Division 2 this year you would expect the drama of the Lowell-Greenville OK-White Rivarly to die down, at least a little, but apparently the Red Arrows and Yellow Jackets missed that memo as their conference dual last night turned into an all-out war that ended in a 28-28 tie. Lowell won the 8th tiebreaker criteria, however, Greenville junior Adam Bonner scored the biggest win of the night, knocking off Lowell senior, 2x state champ, and nationally ranked Jackson Morse 8-7 at 171lbs. Click more for the full story from the Grand Rapids Press.
Greenville out-guns Lakeshore for Kent Title
Jake Dorulla edges Jordan Thomas in showcase final
12/13 - The Kent County Classic pitted three of the best teams in the state against one another yesterday in Grand Rapids and in the end it was Greenville, ranked #4 in Division 2, who edged #2 ranked Lakeshore by 3.5 points. Top ranked Rockford (D1) was over 30 points behind Greenville, however, Rockford senior Jake Dorulla (pictured) scored one of the biggest individual wins of the day with a finals victory over a fellow nationally ranked wrestler in Jordan Thomas of Greenville. Click below for full results of the Kent County Classic and check out our video page to watch the matches.
Shelby, Ida, Onsted jump into D3 rankings
12/8 - Michigan Grappler's latest High School Team Rankings were released today and Division 3 saw the most change from our Early Preseason Rankings, which were released back in September. Three new teams (Shelby, Ida, Onsted) emerged into the rankings. Ida won the Brooklyn CC Duals last weekend, with wins over Tecumseh (ranked D2) and Durand, who was #6 in D3. Onsted knocked off Durand as well. Click below to see the full team rankings and check out our recap of how the top 10 teams in each division fared in their opening week.
St. Johns, Hartland among strong starts
12/6 - The opening weekend of the 2009-2010 High School Wrestling season is now in the books here in Michigan and among the highlights of the weekend was St. Johns (ranked #3 in D2) dominating the Don Johnson Invitational, Hartland (#3 D1) outgunning Holt (#5 D1) at the Lake Orion Invitational, and unranked Ida knocking off two ranked teams in Tecumseh (#7 D2) and Durand (#6 D3) at the Columbia Central Duals. Click below for results from the Lake
Orion Invite, Rocket Duals, as well as the rest of the weekend dual meets. More results will be posted as they come in.
GRAPPLER VIDEO - Don Johnson Lansing Eastern Invitational
Michigan Grappler's 2009 High School Previews
11/27 - The 2009 High School season kicks off next week all over Michigan....check out what the top teams in each division are working with this year in our 2009 High School Previews.
Border Wars brings postseason feel to Kellogg
Youtsey, Houldsworth, McDiarmid among champs
11/8 - The high school and 13-14 divisions wrapped up yesterday at the Border Wars Nationals in Battle Creek with 5 Michigan preps bringing home Border Wars titles. The action felt more like March then November as a numerous of state champs and placers from all over the Midwest battled it out. Click more for our full recap and go to the Michigan Grappler Video Page for videos of the event.
Rizgallah wins Preseason Nationals
11/1 - 5 Michigan preps took home Preseason National All-American Honors by placing in the Top 8 in their weights last weekend in Cedar Falls, IA. John Rizgallah of Allegan won the 189lb title while Nick McDiarmid of Hartland and Matt Smith of Allegan finished runner-up at 215 and 145lbs. Click more for a full recap,
Rizgallah picks Spartans
10/29 - Michigan State coach Tom Minkel received his third verbal commitment from a Top 15 recruit in Michigan this week as Division 3 State Runner-Up John Rizgallah of Allegan committed to the Spartans. Rizgallah, who ranks as the #11 recruit in this year's senior class within Michigan, has been a multiple-time Disney Duals medallist and placed in both styles at the Western Junior Regional last spring in Las Vegas. He is projected to wrestle 184lbs for Michigan State.
Morse outguns Massa for Super 32 Title
10/24 - The 2009 Super 32 Challenge lived up to the hype with loaded weight classes and barn burner matches from start to end. For the third straight year a Championship Belt will be traveling north to Michigan, and for the second consecutive year it is strapped to the waist of Lowell's Jackson Morse. Morse downed Taylor Massa in an epic battle that was one of the highlight finals matches of the day, while Holt sophomore Freddie Rodriguez fell in overtime to Cadet National Champ Joey Dance of Virginia in the 103lb finals. Joe Rendina of Dundee, Roger Wildmo of Durand, and Nick McDiarmid of Hartland also placed in their respective weights. Click more for a full recap and check out the Michigan Grappler Video Page for videos of matches from the tournament.
Rockford duo commits to Eastern Michigan
10/6 - Rockford's senior duo of Jake Byers and Jake Johnson will be sticking together in college as the tandem informed Michigan Grappler today that they have both committed to wrestle for Eastern Michigan University. Byers (pictured right) and Johnson (pictured left) were both Division 1 state finalists last year, finishing 2nd at their respective weights. Byers is the #11 senior recruit and Johnson is #21 according to our Recruiting Rankings. Go to Recruiting Central to see all the commitments.
District/Regional Pairings released
10/5 - The MHSAA released the 2009-2010 Team and Individual Postseason
assignments last week. The team District and Regional pairings this year were slightly altered with a few big time teams changing divisions. Click more to see our breakdown of the District and Regional assignments and their implications on the 09-10 season.
Prep stars come out for EMU Smackdown
9/28 - The Border Wars EMU Eagle Smackdown attracted an array of state placers in it's high school division. Among those winning titles was Matt Smith of Allegan who knocked off D4 state champ Derrick Marry of Hudson in the 145lb finals. Click more for full recap & results.
3x state champ Suitor commits to Boston Univ.
9/27 - B.J. Suitor of Swan Valley informed Michigan Grappler today that he has verbally commited to attend and wrestle for Boston University. Suitor, who will be gunning for his 4th state championship this year, is ranked as the #7 recruit in Michigan this year. He is projected to wrestle 119lbs this year and compete at 125lbs for the Terriers. Click more to read our feature story on Suitor.
Preseason Individual Rankings Released
9/22 - Michigan Grappler's first individual high school rankings of the 2009-2010 season have been released. The rankings include the Top 5 wrestlers in each weight class among all 4 divisions. Click more to view the full rankings.
Early Preseason Team Rankings Released
9/7 - Wrestling season is just a couple months away and with that Michigan Grappler has
released our Early Preseason Team Rankings. Two returning State Champs received
the top spot in their respective rankings as reigning D1 champs Rockford and the returning D4 champs Hudson (pictured) both earned #1 rankings to start out the year. Check back later this fall for a revised edition of the Preseason Team Rankings as well as our in depth High School Team Previews.
Humes commits to Michigan State
9/2 - The 4th commitment of the fall came in today as Stevensville Lakeshore senior Nick Humes informed Michigan Grappler that he has given a verbal commitment to coach Tom Minkel and Michigan State University. Humes, who is a 3x Division 2 state placer and 2009 State Runner-Up, went undefeated last summer at the Disney Duals and is currently ranked as the #12 senior recruit in Michigan. He is the 2nd Top 15 recruit for the Spartans, who also received a verbal commitment from Nick McDiarmid (#6). Click more for thefull story on Humes.
Lowell Fair Coverage
Junior Olympics Recap
Grand River Rumble Coverage
Annapolis Wins Milan Duals
Fargo Cadet & Junior Nationals Coverage
Disney Duals Recap
Junior Freestyle Duals Recap
Cadet Freesyle Duals Recap
Michigan Elite finishes runner-up at Northern Exposure
Big wins highlight MWA Classic
Trio of Cadets win Central Regional
MI Grizzly knocks off Ohio, Jersey squads to win Challenge
The Midwest Grand Challenge attracted 19 teams from all over the Midwest to Jenison Fieldhouse this weekend for a great day of wrestling. After nearly 12 hours of wrestling action with some of the best wrestlers from Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, and more, the 1st place trophy will not be leaving the state of Michigan. Team Grizzly stormed through their pool with three dominant wins before knocking off all-star teams from Ohio and New Jersey to win the tournament handily. Click more for a full recap and results from the semifinals and finals.
Massa, Yates, McClure, Morse ranked top 5 nationally
5/5 - InterMat's final 2009 high school national all-class rankings were recently released and 8 Michiganders earned top 20 honors, including four Michigan grapplers who were ranked in the top 5 of their respective weight classes. Taylor Massa of St. Johns and Dan Yates of Hesperia are both ranked #2 at 145 and 160lbs, respectively, while Michael McClure of Holland West Ottawa is ranked 3rd at 285lbs and Jackson Morse of Lowell is #5 at 152lbs. Click more to see all the Michigan wrestlers who are featured in the rankings.
Rought & Leyrer announce out of state plans
5/5 - Two more Top 50 recruits signed on the dotted line this week as 2x Division 3 state champ Calib Rought of Fremont and Division 1 runner up Koort Leyrer of Holt solidified their college plans and both will be heading out of state next fall. Rought, the #17 ranked recruit in Michigan, will be wrestling for NAIA Bacone College in Oklahoma while Leyrer signed with Cleveland State University. Both Rought & Leyrer wrestled 152 this season and plan on wrestling 157 in college. Read below for other recent commitments and go to Recruiting Central to see all the recruiting news.
CC Weber repeats at Body Bar with FILA Junior title
5/4 - The future of USA Women's wrestling was on display this weekend in Colorado Springs at the Body Bar FILA Cadet and Junior National Championsips. Three Michiganders came away with all-american status, including Goodrich senior and female phenom C.C. Weber, who continued her recent success by winning the FILA Junior title at 48kg. The win was Weber's 2nd in a row at the tournament as she won in the FILA Cadet division last year. Also placing was Julie Salata of Canton and Sherri Berube of Escanaba, who both earned FILA Cadet All-American honors.
Salata was runner up at 65kg while Berube finished 5th at 49kg. Click more for a full recap.
2009 DREAM TEAM UNVEILED!
4/30 - Michigan Grappler's third annual High School Dream Team has been released. Click more to read bios of the 1st team Dream Team and to view all of the Dream Team selections.
Dan Yates wins 2009 MI Grappler Wrestler of the Year
4/27 - The votes are in and it is now final - Hesperia senior Dan Yates is the 2009 Michigan Grappler High School Wrestler of the Year. Yates, who won his 3rd state title and the NHSCA Senior Nationals last month, is the third wrestler honored by Michigan Grappler.com as High School wrestler of the year. He edged fellow finalists Taylor Massa and Mike McClure for the award. Click more to read the full
story on 2009's Michigan Grappler wrestler of the year. The 09 Dream Team will be released later this week.
Massa & Rodriguez win FILA Cadet Freestyle Crowns
4/26 - Taylor Massa and Freddie Rodriguez won their final bouts today at the FILA Cadet Freestyle National Championships in Akron, OH. Massa won the 152lb title with a 6-5, 7-1 win over Kaleb Friedley of Missouri while Rodriguez scored a 7-0, 7-0 tech fall over Kevon Powell of Illinois at 101lbs. Alec Mooradian of DCC was the only other Michigander to place, finishing 5th at 119lbs. Click morefor a full recap
Rodriguez among greco placers at FILA Cadets
4/24 - The FILA Cadet and University Nationals got underway today in Akron, Ohio with Greco-Roman action. Thirteen Michiganders competed in all and three came away with all-american honors. Leading the way was Division 1 state champ and returning Cadet greco-roman all-american Freddie Rodriguez of Holt (pictured) who finished 3rd at 101.25lbs. Highland Park freshman Martaz Crutchfield finished 3rd at 275lbs while Joe Rendina of Dundee finished 6th at 127lbs. Click more for full recap of the Greco action.
Academic All-State Selections announced
4/24 - The Michigan Wrestling Association recently revealed the 2009 Acamdemic All-State teams. Leading the way with the highest team GPA was Division 2 State Champions Lowell with a 3.8 overall GPA. Click more to view the full Academic All-State Teams.
MWA Classic just over a month away! - The 2nd Annual MWA Classic is slated for June 17th in Hartland. Nominations are still being accepted to compete in the event, which is a dual meet featureing top seniors from different divisions squaring off. Go to the MWA Website for more info.
Schutt and Jeske sign on the dotted line
4/21 - Senior National All-American Andrew Schutt and 2009 Division 3 State Champion Jake Jeske of Swan Valley both signed this week. Schutt, the #13 recruit will be heading to New York to wrestle for Buffalo next fall while Jeske will be staying close to home and wrestling for the Chipps at Central Michigan.
Lake Orion State Champ picks Air Force
4/18 - Lake Orion senior Evan Gros announced his college plans this week. The Division 1 state champ and #14 recruit in Michigan has commited to attend the Air Force Academy and wrestle for the Falcons. Gros was a 4x Division 1 state placer and 2x finalist, including his state title this year. He is projected to wrestle 184 or 197 for the Air Force. Go to Michigan Grappler's Recruiting Central to stay up to date on all the recruiting news.
Massa, Thomas lead impressive Freshman class
4/17 - One of the major story lines of the 2008-09 wrestling season was the immediate impact of this year's freshman class. This year's freshmen made an unprecedented instant impact on the high school wrestling scene, including a number of state champions and nationally ranked wrestlers. Click below to view the full list of Michigan's top freshmen.
Zeerip named Dave Schultz Award Winner
4/16 - Hesperia senior and 3x state champ Brandon Zeerip was honored today as one of the 49 state winners of the prestigous Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award. Zeerip was the award recipient for the state of Michigan. The High School Excellence Award is named in honor of Olympic and World Champion Dave Schultz. Each award recipient is evaluated on excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service. Click more to view the full list of Award Winners.
Rendina, Youtsey, Wildmo, Pommerenke...who's #1?
4/15 - Michigan Grappler's Top Sophomore rankings for 2009 have been released. Among the top sophomores this year are Devin Pommerenke, Joe Rendina, Roger Wildmo, and Conor Youtsey (pictured above left to right). Click more to check all the Super Sophomores who made the cut.
Morse, Dorulla, Nieman among Michigan's Top Juniors4/13 - Michigan Grappler's annual lists of top wrestlers by grade are being released this week, starting with the Top Juniors in the state. 2x state champion and Super 32 champ Jackson Morse sits atop the group. The Top Juniors list is a preview of who the top senior recruits will be heading into next fall. Click more to view the full list. The top sophomore's will be coming out later this week.
Updated Top Recruits list released
4/9 - With the 2009 State Tournament and Senior Nationals in the books, the College Recruiting should begin to pick back up in the coming months. Michigan Grappler has released our updated Top Senior Recruit lists and Dan Yates of Hesperia, behind his Senior National title last weekend, has now moved to the #1 spot in the Recruiting Rankings. Go to our Recruiting Central to stay up to speed with all the recruiting news throughout the spring.
Top 100 Senior Recruits (Spring)
Rendina wins Western Junior Regional
4/10 - Joe Rendina opened some eyes this weekend in Vegas. The Dundee sophomore went a combined 12-2 in the past three days of wrestling at the Western Junior Freestyle and Greco Regionals, including a three period win in today's freestyle finals over Jesse Hillhouse of Wyoming to win the 125lb title. Three Michiganders, Conor Youtsey (119), Andrew Morse (135), and Jordan Thomas (145), fell in the finals to finish runner-up at their respective weights. Click more for a full recap.
Massa wins Western Junior Greco Title
Rendina & Osterman finish Runner-Up
4/8 - St Johns freshman Taylor Massa continued his impressive streak of wins on the national circuit today as he scored a dominant technical fall over John Thompson of Washington to win the 145lb Western Junior Greco Roman Regional Title today. 8 other Michiganders placed in the top six of their respective weights, inlcuding Joe Rendina (125) and Dan Osterman (130), who finished runners up in their weight classes. Click more for a full recap.
Lyon and Yates win Senior National Titles
8 Michiganders earn All-American leading state to 3rd place finish
4/6 - For the second year in a row a pair of Michanders are coming home from Virginia as Senior National Champions. Brenan Lyon of Ithaca and Dan Yates of
Hesperia won their final matches last night to claim titles at their respective weights. In all, there were 8 Michigan wrestlers who placed top 8 in their weight, earning all-american status, and Michigan finished 3rd overall as a state behind California and New York. Click more for a full recap.
2009 Observerland Review
3/24 - MI Grappler is pleased to publish Charles Rothwell's review of the 2009 Observerland Conference wrestling season review. Rothwell, an avid follower and fan of the conference, reviews this season while taking a glimpse at what next year has to offer for the Observland teams. Click more to read his review.
State Champions crowned in Auburn Hills
3/17 - After three days of intense wrestling action in Auburn Hills 56 high school wrestlers across 4 divisions walked away as "state champions". Michigan Grappler was there all weekend with live session notes, and now that is all over we are giving you the rundown of what happened. Click below to read our recaps of each division as well as the Palace Awards.
Champions crowned in Battle Creek
3/7 - After an action packed weekend of intense team wrestling the 2009 state champions were crowned this evening in Battle Creek. Rockford barely edged Holt in a thrilling Division 1 final 30-29 while Lowell out gunned Oxford for the D2 title, Goodrich came back against Dundee to win their 2nd straight D3 championship and Hudson upended Hesperia to win the school's first ever D4 state championship. Click below for a full recap.
Team State Finals pairings announced
3/1 - The MHSAA seeding committee released the quarterfinal pairings for next weekend's Team State Championships today. The #1 seeds were as follows: Rockford (Div 1), Lowell (Div 2), Goodrich (Div 3), Hesperia (Div 4). Click more to view the pairings.
Palace Bound! State Finals trips earned at Regionals
2/29 - In an action packed day of wrestling 896 prep grapplers across the state of Michigan stamped their tickets to compete for a state championship in two weeks at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Individual Regional Tournaments wrapped up this evening and the Individual State Brackets will be released early next week. View the Regional Results as they are posted and stay up to speed with all the happenings pertinent to the State Tournament with our special coverage section.
Lowell dethrones Greenville in thrilling Regional Final
2/26 - Top ranked returning D2 state champs Greenville suffered their only loss of the season last night to #2 ranked arch rival Lowell 33-25, ending their bid to repeat as
state champs. Along with Lowell, 31 other teams around the state kept their
championship hopes alive as well with Regional Titles. One of the bigger surprises
was unranked Eaton Rapids knocking of #5 Fowlerville and #6 Tecumseh en route to the D2 quarterfinals. Another unranked team pulling off a big upset was Westland John Glenn, who downed #5 Temperance Bedford en route the Division 1 quarterfinals. Click below for all the results.
Video Highlight of Greenville-Lowell (From Grand Rapids Press)
Greenville & Lowell put on a show; Greenville survives
2/5 - The matchup of Division 2's top two teams did not dissapoint last night as #1 Greenville and #2 Lowell went back and forth in a rollercoaster dual. The returning
state champs prevailed as Greenville won 31-28. All-state senior Nick Bogue of Greenville sealed the deal at 125lbs in the second to last match of the night with an overtime win over Lowell freshman Gabe Morse. Click below for a box score of the dual. Click the video to the right for a video recap of the dual from the Grand Rapids Press.
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