Detroit — A new crop of four-time wrestling champions will reign in Michigan after five individuals won their fourth solo titles on Saturday at the MHSAA state finals at Ford Field.
Plainwell’s Madison Nieuwenhuis (girls 105), Westland John Glenn’s Nakayla Dawson (girls 115), Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Dale Gant (138), Hudson’s Nick Sorrow (132) and Detroit Catholic Central’s Wyatt Lees (132) all won their fourth titles to cap off illustrious high school careers.
“I wanted to win for my coach, for everybody that supported me,” Dawson said after her win. “Everybody that told me I could do it. That’s really what it’s about.”
Lees accomplished a first for Detroit Catholic Central wrestling, something hard to do for a program that’s won four team titles in a row and produced countless individual champions, including a number of four-timers. But Lees is the first wrestler in Detroit Catholic Central’s history to win four titles as an individual and in the team format.
It’s something Lees has been aware of, he said, but he didn’t quite feel the pressure until just before his title match.
“At first I was doing a pretty good job of blocking it out,” Lees said. “But I was kind of warming up and I felt it, it hit me. I said a prayer, I was like, ‘God, please just help me channel my nervousness to good energy.’”
Now that he’s laid down his marker, Lees hopes some of his teammates can follow in his footsteps of achieving the four-and-four title count. Junior teammate Grayson Fuchs, who won a title at 150 pounds, could pull off the feat next year.
Lees wasn’t the only wrestler to join the four-and-four club on Saturday, as Hudson’s Nick Sorrow did so, wrestling in the 132-pound Division 4 final on the mat right next to Lees during his 132-pound final in Division 1. The two had joked prior that if they both won, whoever won first would get to be first on the list. Sorrow pulled off his win in about 55 seconds, whereas it took Lees the full match.
“Now I can start a new trend of four-and-four,” Lees said.
Nieuwenhuis and Dawson are just the second and third girls wrestlers to win four state titles in Michigan, following Fowlerville’s Margaret Buurma winning her fourth last year.
Dawson, who battled a knee injury since the early stages of this season, hopes more achievements like that of her and Nieuwenhuis can continue to grow girls wrestling in Michigan.
“It means a lot,” she said. “Just from me winning the first state title and everything like that, more girls now look into wrestling, especially at my school. They wanted to learn, wanted to wrestle because of me. So it feels good.
Romeo won the girls team title, the second year the MHSAA has awarded the honor. The title was awarded to the team accumulating the most points across its various individuals competing on Friday and Saturday.
Romeo won with 80 points, nudging past Oxford in second place with 78.5 points thanks to some late victories by Belicia Manuel and Kaili Manuel, sisters who won titles at 155 and 170 pounds for Romeo, respectively. Plainwell finished in third place with 64 points.
A number of wrestlers across all four boys divisions and the girls division walked away as multi-time title winners.
Hartland saw Dallas Korponic (157) and Bohdan Abbey (138) each win a third title. Lowell’s Jarrett Smith also won a third title, winning the Division 2 120-pound crown. In Division 3, powerhouse Dundee produced a pair of three-time champions: Mason Katschor (132) and Blake Cosby (157).
A bevy of wrestlers earned a second state title, including Oxford’s Cheyenne Frank (120) on the girls side, and Roseville’s Jay’Den Williams, who won the Division 1 165-pound title for a second-straight year. He finished as runnerup as a freshman and sophomore.
The Michigan-committed wrestler tossed on a blue T-shirt with the maize block M to strut around the mat before doing a celebratory backflip.
In the girls division at 190 pounds, Carleton Airport’s Olivia Kemp won the title by upsetting undefeated Kanata Richardson from West Bloomfield.
And Detroit Cass Tech’s Cyrus Woodberry has now won two state titles in two years, winning the Division 1 title at 113 pounds after taking home the championship at 106 pounds as a freshman.
A year removed from being a relative unknown, Woodberry couldn’t hide as the top seed this year, but withstood the best efforts of Hartland’s Jase Sensor to win. Woodberry is the first Cass Tech wrestler to win a title, and just the second wrestler from the Detroit Public School League to do so.
“I feel like I’m representing all of Cass Tech, all of Detroit, showing that Detroit wrestling is on the come up and I’m here to lead it,” Woodberry said.
In Division 2, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore’s Thomas Leahy won a title at 106 pounds, and St. Clair’s Cristian Haslem won a second state title, claiming the 126-pound title.
Dundee dominated the Division 3 tournament, with the multi-time champions headlining a group of eight champions across 14 weight classes.
Hudson led the charge in Division 4, with Jaxton Kimling (106), Royce Beal (113), Sorrow and Beckett Campbell (150) all winning titles. St. Louis wrestlers also did well, as Alex Rodriguez (120) and Owen Fogel (126) each won their second state titles.
State wrestling champions
➤Division 1: Brody Compau, Rockford (106); Cyrus Woodberry, Detroit Cass Tech (113); Layne Martin, Rockford (120); Jamison Gregory, Detroit Catholic Central (126); Wyatt Lees, Detroit Catholic Central (132); Bohdan Abbey, Hartland (138); Nate Carter, Clarkston (144); Grayson Fuchs, Detroit Catholic Central (150); Dallas Korponic, Hartland (157); Jay’Den Williams, Roseville (165); Braxten Roche, Detroit Catholic Central (175); Caden Krueger, Detroit Catholic Central (190); Tyler Meeuwsen, East Kentwood (215); Logan Tollison, Grand Ledge (285)
➤Division 2: Thomas Leahy, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore (106); Dylan Nieuwenhuis, Plainwell (113); Jarrett Smith, Lowell (120); Cristian Haslem, St. Clair (126); Devan Garcia, Battle Creek Harper Creek (132); Quinten Cassidy, Cedar Springs (138); Luke Egan, Cedar Springs (144); Bryce Morrison, Hamilton (150); Jonathan Ford, Bay City John Glenn (157); Zane Willobee, Gaylord (165): Louis Smith, Three Rivers (175); Brad Meyers, Portland (190); Landon Guilford, Portland (215); Layne O’Neill, Fowlerville (285)
➤Division 3: Dylan Phillips, Laingsburg (106); Braxton Shaffer, Ida (113); Mason Haines, Dundee (120); Bryan Sterling, Dundee (126); Mason Katschor, Dundee (132); Dale Gant, Grand Rapids Catholic Central (138); Braden Broderick, Dundee (144); Stone Redmon, Dundee (150); Blake Cosby, Dundee (157); Donny Beaufait, Dundee (165); Fred Hammond, Otisville LakeVille Memorial (175); Rocco Redmon, Dundee (215); Mitch Swift, Delton Kellogg (285)
➤Division 4: Jaxton Kimling, Hudson (106); Royce Beal, Hudson (113); Alex Rodriguez, St. Louis (120); Owen Fogel, St. Louis (126); Nick Sorrow, Hudson (132); Colt Perry, Hudson (138); Wyatt Burns, Springport (144); Beckett Campbell, Hudson (150); Tyler Morales, Decatur (157); Hayden Buell, Martin (165); Jeremy Amrhein, Manchester (175); Bryce Randolph, Clinton (190); Austyn Hocter, Hanover-Horton (215); Sawyer Blaszczyk, Charlevoix (285)
➤Girls division: Lillee Denson, St. Clair Shores Lakeview (100); Madison Nieuwenhuis, Plainwell (105); Tatianna Castillo, Lowell (110); Nakayla Dawson, Westland John Glenn (115); Cheyenne Frank, Oxford (120); Adriana Murray, Yale (125); Kassie Sapp, Whitehall (130); Alexis Lazar, Brighton (140); MacKenna Webster, Three Rivers (145); Belicia Manuel, Romeo (155); Kaili Manuel, Romeo (170); Olivia Kemp, Carleton Airport (190); Halle Spears, Midland (235)
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Catholic Central’s Lees, John Glenn’s Dawson among four-time wrestling state champions
Reporting by Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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