Kalamazoo — Detroit Catholic Central. Lowell. Dundee. Hudson.
Those four schools — the top ranked seeds in their divisions — are once again Michigan team high school wrestling champions. In fact, the last year any of the four divisions had a different champion was 2022, and it’s been longer than that in Divisions 2 and 3. And as a testament to the dominance, none of the matches was decided by fewer than 25 points.
But no matter how many times a trophy gets lifted, the feeling has yet to get old for Mitch Hancock and his Detroit Catholic Central boys, who defeated No. 2 seed Hartland, 43-16.
“It’s different, right?” Catholic Central head coach Mitch Hancock said. “You guys ask the same question every year, ‘Does it get old winning?’ Absolutely not.”
Detroit Catholic Central entered the title matchup after a lopsided semifinal victory over No. 5 seed Rockford, 52-18, whereas Hartland battled No. 3 seed Brighton to a 39-30 victory to advance to the finals.
Catholic Central pulled out to a 16-0 lead through the first four bouts. Collin Payne and Caden Kreuger won by technical fall in the first two bouts, at 190 and 215 pounds, respectively, before an impressive comeback performance by Paxton Heitsch in the heavyweight round, snagging enough points to win the decision.
Payne is one of several wrestlers for Detroit Catholic Central who wrestled out of his usual weight class on Saturday, giving flexibility to get the best possible lineup.
Payne went from wrestling in the 215 pound class to 190. He found out Tuesday it would be the plan and, while not all of 215 pounds, cut weight to make it at 190 pounds in the state finals. Alex Buskirk also wrestled out of his usual weight class at points. Heitsch also got a shoutout from Hancock for filling in a key spot in the lineup and taking points.
“It’s the standard in our program,” Hancock said. “Continuously hear ‘The standard is the standard.’ The standard isn’t winning titles. It’s being selfless, it’s making sure that you work extremely hard, you treat each other with respect, you’re not afraid to lose, you challenge yourself.”
Gavin Boller won the 106-pound match for Catholic Central before Hartland took some points.
Hartland got on the board when Jase Sensor won a marathon match against Gabe Ryzi, as two of the top three wrestlers in the division at 113 pounds faced off. Sensor held on to win by decision. Hartland went on to win the 120-pound matchup, as Jonah McPherson outlasted Brent Coak for a comeback victory. The score sat at 16-6 at that point, with Detroit Catholic Central leading, and that was about as close as it would get.
Catholic Central got back to pulling away, as Jamison Gregory and then Ryan Totten, both highly ranked, won technical falls at 126 and 132 pounds, respectively.
Hartland’s Bohdan Abbey, one of the top wrestlers in the state, dominated his match at 138 pounds, but it was otherwise slim pickings for Hartland in challenging Catholic Central the rest of the match.
Catholic Central won the next two bouts, with Wyatt Lees and Grayson Fuchs winning, and had scored enough points to know they’d won. The final three matches all went Catholic Central’s way.
“Every team is really different,” Hancock said. “I joked with these guys all year, I called them the zoo. These guys, their quality, their character, they’re just wild young men. It was a lot of fun to be with them. They drove me nuts at times. So to see them succeed on this stage tonight wasn’t a surprise to me because of how hard they work.”
And now the Catholic Central seniors, many of whom are competing at individual finals at Ford Field on March 6-7, will graduate with a title every year.
“It’s hard to describe it,” Buskirk said. “It’s a big part of history. People are going to look back and notice this team, that we won four times. I just hope it gives inspiration to the underclassmen below us to keep going.”
In Division 2, No. 1 seed Lowell overcame a slow start against No. 6 seed Eaton Rapids, winning 62-4. It’s the 13th title in a row for Lowell at Division 2.
Another dynasty reigned in Division 3 in a rematch of the 2025 title matchup, as No. 1 seed Dundee faced off with No. 3 seed Yale and won, 60-6. Dundee has now won nine titles in a row and 12 of the last 14 in Division 3.
And in Division 4, top seed Hudson won, besting No. 3 seed Clinton, 50-15. Hudson has now won five Division 4 titles in a row, part of a run of 13 titles in the last 18 seasons.
MHSAA team wrestling results
FINALS
Division 1: Detroit Catholic Central 43, Hartland 16
Division 2: Lowell 62, Eaton Rapids 4
Division 3: Dundee 60, Yale 6
Division 4: Hudson 50, Clinton 15
SEMIFINALS
Division 1
Detroit Catholic Central 52, Rockford 18
Hartland 39, Brighton 30
Division 2
Lowell 55, New Boston Huron 15
Eaton Rapids 39, Three Rivers 30
Division 3
Dundee 63, Lake Odessa Lakewood 6
Yale 56, Whitehall 8
Division 4
Hudson 65, Decatur 9
Clinton 46, St. Louis 27
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit C.C. wins fourth straight, dynasties reign at Michigan wrestling finals
Reporting by Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
