High School team previews released
The High School season is almost here and the debates have been stirring about what schools will be crowned champions of their divisions. Michigan Grappler has released our team previews for every division, click the respective links below to view each division's preview
McFarland and Delporto featured on FloWrestling
11/6 - Martin Floreani of FloWrestling.com was in Michigan last weekend for the EMU open and he conducted interviews with EMU Head Coach Derek Delporto and UofM head coach Joe McFarland. Click the links below to view the interviews.
College season officially underway with EMU open
MSU's Wimberley, CMU's Kelto win EMU open titles
11/4 - The college wrestling season has finally arrived in Michigan as most of Michigan's colleges and univerisities were in action saturday at the Eastern Michigan Open. MSU and CMU each had a champ on the day as Jeff Wimberley of MSU won at 141lbs and Ben Kelto of CMU took home the crown at 184lbs. Some former Michigan preps placing in the top 4 were Joel Trombley of MSU at 125, Jason Brew of Olivet at 157, Abe Cross of MSU at 184, and Jarod Trice of CMU at 285. Click more for full results of the EMU open...More...
Mike Kessler wins The Citadel College Open
11/6 - Mike Kessler of Bay City Western made his college debut last weekend in Charleston, SC at The Citadel Open, where he won the 141lb title. Kessler, wrestling for Appalachian State University, went 4-0 on the day and won his finals match by major decision, 11-3 over Spencer Jasper of Duke. Kessler was a 3x Division 1 state placer in high school. Click here to view tournament brackets from Citadel Open.
Donahoe, Churella, Kish slated for NWCA All-Star meet
10/30 - The 42nd annual NWCA All-Star Classic is set for November 19th in Eugene, OR at the University of Oregon. Three former Michigan prep stars have been invited to attend: Paul Donahoe, Josh Churella, and Roger Kish. Returning
NCAA champ Donahoe, a native of Davison who currently wrestles for Nebraska, will be wrestling 4th ranked Jayson Ness of Mineesota. University of Michigan senior Churella, native of Novi, will face off with Big Ten rival Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota. Lapeer West native Kish, who is currently ranked #2 for the top ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, will be squaring off with #1 ranked Jake Varner of Iowa State. University of Michigan senior Eric Tannenbaum will also be in action, going against Pat Pitsch of Arizona State at 165lbs. To view the full lineups, click here.
Pat Wright takes 3rd in first collegiate tournament
10/29 - Grand Ledge native Pat Wright's collegiate career at the University of Missouri got off to a good start as he went 6-1 at the Lindenwood Open lasweekend to finish 3rd at 165lbs. Wright, a D1 state runner up last year, lost his first match to eventual runner up Tyson Campbell of Oklahoma Central 6-5. He then stormed through the consolations winning 6 straight including wins over the #1, #2, #5, and #7 seeds of the tournament. Another MI native in action was East Kentwood alum Randy Vanderveen, who made the semifinals at 174lbs before losing to eventual champion John Wilcox. Vanderveen, competing for Lindenwood University, injury defaulted out following the semifinals. Click more to view the full brackets...More...
Hrovat & Wechter finish 3rd at Sunkist International
10/28 - The Sunkist International Open took place this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona and featured many of the country and world's top international stars. There were a handful of athletes with Michigan ties competing, including Andy Hrovat and John Wechter, who both finished 3rd. Hrovat, a former all-american for the University of Michigan, placed 3rd at 85kg in freestyle. Wechter, a former MSU Spartan and native of Saginaw, finished 3rd at 85kg in greco-roman. Go to TheMat.com coverage for full results....More...
Hrovat earns silver medal at Medved International
10/22 - Former University of Michigan all-american Andy Hrovat finished 2nd today at the Medved International Tournament in Belarus. Hrovat lost 1-3, 1-0, 0-2 to R. Kouluv of Russia in the finals. Williamston native and MSU grad Nick Simmons went 3-2 at 121lbs, good for 5th. CMU assistant coach Casey Cunningham also competed, but failed to place at 163lbs. Click more to read TheMat.com article on day 2.
CMU adds Ohio lightweight Ben Sergent
10/25 - Coach Tom Borelli signed added another top recruit to his 07/08 recruiting class as Ohio state champ Ben Sergent verbally commited to be a Chippewa. Sergent, projected to wrestle 125lbs, joins fellow Ohio state champ Eric Cubberly (proj 165lbs), Florida champ Scotti Sentes (proj 125/133), and Michigan champ Ben Bennett of Rockford (proj 174lbs) in this stellar class. Sergent was also a Junior National freestyle champ. Go to Recruiting Central to see all the commitments.
Burge brings home the belt, hello Taylor Massa!
10/21 - The Super 32 Challenge wrapped up yesterday in Greensboro with 2 Michiganders placing. Jacob Burge of Mason won the 171lb championship with a 5-4 win over Edward Ruth of Pennsylvania. The other medal going back to Michigan is going with 8th grader Taylor Massa of St Johns, who took 3rd at 135lbs. Click more for a full recap of the Super 32s....More...
Big names show up for Spartan Classic
Bohn & Pettengill headline star studded high school division
10/22 - The Spartan Classic attracted a star studded high school field, including a number of state placewinners. One of the biggest names in attendance was Junior Greco All-American Jake Bohn of East Kentwood and reigning D2 state champ Travis Pettengill (pictured) of Flint Kearsley. Click more for full results
Top high school talent flocks to Holly Broncho Brawl
10/15 - The Borderwars Broncho Brawl was held in Holly last weekend and much like EMU Smackdown that was held weeks prior, a flock of Michigan's top prep talent showed up to compete. Among those claiming crowns were all staters Andrew Brackins (112), Bryan Rickard (119), Josh Houldsworth (130), and Jake Varilek (152). For complete results, click more.
Michigan's best staying close to home
Bennett, Weber, Dubose commit to in-state schools
10/15 -The biggest recruiting weekend of the fall is now over and Michigan's best seniors have all made their college commitments. Michigan's top 3 recruits have committed to stay in state for their college careers. Ben Bennett, Michigan's top recruit, has committed to wrestle for coach Tom Borrelli at Central Michigan.
The #2 recruit Mark Weber will be heading to Ann Arbor to compete for Joe McFaland at the University of Michigan. Not to be overshadowed by their in-state rivals, coach Tom Minkel and Michigan State landed the #3 recruit Marcel Dubose.
Go to our Recruiting Central to view the full list of commitments and recruiting rankings.
Let your voice be heard on MHSAA issues...
MHSAA online poll great way for wrestling community to be heard
10/12 - Upset with the MHSAA holding Michigan wrestlers back from competing in national events or traveling to seek competetion? Well now is your chance to let them know how you feel. The MHSAA High School sports opinion poll is up on the MHSAA website and gives you the oppurtunity to express your feelings. The wrestling community may now be heard, don't waste the oppurtunity. To take part in the online poll, click the link below.
MI Grappler's preseason individual rankings released!
Donahoe ranked #1 in preseason college poll
Slew of Michigan natives present in WrestlingReport rankings
10/8 - The first NCAA Division 1 wrestling rankings came out last week and Davison native Paul Donahoe landed the #1 spot at 125 lbs as he looks to defend his 2007 National Title. Also finding themselves in the top 2 are Josh Churella, Roger Kish, and Bubba Gritter at 149, 184, and 285lbs, respectively. Click more to see all the grapplers with Michiganties who made the rankings.
Michigan nabs Ohio stud Boyd
McFarland lands second top 30 recruit in last 48 hours
10/4 - It has been a busy week for coach Joe McFarland as his Wolverines have picked up two blue chip out of state recruits in the last 48 hours. The most recent was Ohio state champ Coby Boyd of St Paris Graham high school. Boyd is ranked as the #24 recruit in the country by InterMat and joins Californian Hunter Collins, the #29 recruit who commited to the maize & blue earlier this week.
Goto our Recruiting Central to see all the latest happenings on the college recruiting scene.
Johnson discusses hard core training in Ann Arbor
Former Jenison star training in the Big House, hanging with Zeerip & Smith
9/27 - The latest entry in our Welcome to College series comes from Ann Arbor as freshman David Johnson weighs
in on lifting, dorm life, running the Big House, and more! Read Johnson's blog to hear everything he had to say about life as a Wolverine.
Burge chooses North Carolina State
Mason senior is first to commit in 07-08 class
9/25 - The first commitment of the 2007-08 recruiting season came in this week when Mason state champ Jacob Burge commited to wrestle for coach Carter Jordan at North Carolina State University. Burge chose NC State over Michigan State and Northern Illinois. "It was a really tough choice for me between NC State and MSU," said Burge, "I really liked coach Jordan's intensity and relationship with his team."
MWA Classic set for June 2008
9/18 - The Michigan Wrestling Assoication has announced that their proposed MWA Classic dual meet is a go for this year. The event will be held for the first time this summer on June 18th, 2008 at Hartland High School. The Classic is will feature two graduating seniors in each weight class as well as honor others in the Michigan wrestling community with various awards. For full information on the MWA Classic, click more. ...More...
Bohn nabs bronze at World Grappling Championships
9/10 - Jake Bohn earned three top 6 finishes last weekend at the World Wrestling Games in Antalya, Turkey. Bohn, a senior at East Kentwood High School, earned the bronze medal in Grappling, finishing 3rd, and ended 5th in Sombo and Beach Wrestling. Bohn, who garnered Junior Greco All-American honors this summer, is currently rated as Michigan's #8 recruit. Click more to view TheMat.com's special coverage of the event...More...
Full recruiting rankings released...
9/1 - Michigan Grappler's full recruiting rankings for this year have been released. The top 70 college prospects from this year's senior class have been rounded up and ranked. The top 10 was released earlier this month, which saw Rockford's Ben Bennett (pictured) nab the top spot. Click more to see who rounded out the Top 70. ..More...
Spartans land big man to kick off recruiting season
9/11 - Michigan State got the first commitment for their 2008 freshman class last weekend when heavyweight Stephen Andrus of Kansas commited to MSU. Andrus was a 2007 Kansas state champion for Manhattan HS and is a former Cadet Freestyle national champion as well. He is ranked as the #70 recruit in the country by InterMat.
The recruting season will be heating up throughout the next month so check back with us to see who is signing where! Check out our recruiting rankings to see who the top recruits are coming out of Michigan this year.
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