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Final State Wrestling Rankings – Lowell earns top spot after St. Johns is upset; Brighton the top D1 team

By: Jeff Chaney, February 19, 2015, 11:18 am

 

Grand Rapids – The participants have stamped their ticket, the field for this year’s Team Wrestling Finals at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek is set after Wednesday’s team regionals across the state.

And the results of those team regionals have caused some changes in the State Champs Power 15 rankings, including a huge upset involving the top team.

Eaton Rapids, a tradition-rich program that has been off the radar in recent times, knocked of top-ranked St. Johns in Division 2 action, raising eyebrows across the state.

So this week a former State Champs top-ranked team reclaims the top spot.

1. Lowell – The Red Arrows made easy work of the Division 2 regional at Middleville High School, whipping Zeeland West in the semifinals, then topping Byron Center in the finals. The D2 defending champs appear to have a clear path to defending their title, but anything can happen. Look at St. Johns.
2. Brighton – The Bulldogs look to be the top seed at the state finals in Division 1. Coach Tony Greathouse’s team has wrestled strong all year, and did again Wednesday night pounding Portage Northern and Holt to win the regional title at Holt High School.
3. Hartland – Many of Hartland’s adoring fans were a little nervous with a potential matchup against Walled Lake Central at regionals, but coach Todd Cheney’s team came to wrestle, and beat Central in the finals, 34-25, to advance past the regionals for the 14^th consecutive time.
4. New Baltimore Anchor Bay – The Tars can be a factor in the Division 1 finals this year, and will most likely be the No. 2 seed thanks to a win over Hartland during the first week of the season.
5. Detroit Catholic Central – Coach Mitch Hancock has the Division 1 defending champs wrestling well again. The Shamrocks were totally dominant at the team regional at Westland John Glenn.
6. Davison – An interesting scenario can play out Feb. 27 in a Division 1 quarterfinal in Battle Creek. It is possible Davison and Detroit Catholic Central, state finalist the past two years, will meet in a No. 4 versus No. 5 seed match. That match would be worth the price of admission for Friday by itself.
7. St. Johns – A six-spot drop for the Redwings after dropping a 34-27 decision to Eaton Rapids. St. Johns still stays in the top 10 after a solid season, but Kellogg Arena will not be the same without the Redwings’ faithful in attendance.
8. Dundee – The Vikings outscored their opponents 133-9 at the team regional they hosted Wednesday. Dundee, the defending Division 3 champs, will be hard to beat in Battle Creek.
9. Richmond – If a team can beat the Vikings, it just might be Richmond. The Blue Devils hosted their own region as well, and outscored Algonac and Croswell-Lexington 135-13.
10. New Lothrop – We here at State Champs just can’t see a team beating the Hornets in Division 4 this year. They beat two solid teams in Dansville and Carson City-Crystal for their regional title, and look primed to defend.
11. Eaton Rapids – How can you not put the Greyhounds in the Top 15 after what they did Wednesday against St. Johns?
12. Niles – Things open up for Niles now that St. Johns is out. The Vikings could be the No. 2 seed and could make it to the finals now. But we have a feeling that they will have to beat Eaton Rapids to get there.
13. Walled Lake Central – Central put up a good fight against Hartland in the regional finals, but fell to a more seasoned team that is use to wrestling this far in the state tournament.
14. Grand Haven – Just beat Grandville 33-26 to help win the OK Red Conference title. Then the Buccaneers came back and beat the Bulldogs again, 31-30, to win the regional title.
15. Grand Rapids Catholic Central – The Cougars earned a huge win against Allendale in the regional finals. It’s the second year in a row that the Cougars have had to do that against a great program.