To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat The Man
Dan Ward- Guy yelling things from the corner

I’m not afraid
To take a stand
Everybody
Come take my hand
We’ll walk this road together through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just lettin’ you know that you’re not alone
Holla, if you feel like you’ve been down the same road

The theme this week was never backing down from a challenge. Wrestlers, as you can imagine, are tough guys. My friend recently told me, “Wrestling is a tough sport played by tough people, and if you aren’t tough, you don’t belong.” St. Johns had a tough week, facing challenges on the mat and off, honoring a fallen teammate, and facing ranked wrestlers at every turn. JV went to Lakewood on Monday, Varsity wrestled a double dual on Wednesday, JV was in Laingsburg on Friday, Varsity split and went to Hudson and Ithaca on Saturday, and the girls were in Owosso on Sunday. So settle in, get some popcorn and a beverage; this will be a long one.

So, let’s jump right into some JV results. Some might not realize it, but these JV Jamborees are new to wrestling this year. In the past, JV wrestling was a catch-as-catch-can thing on Wednesdays and the occasional tournament on Saturdays. That didn’t leave a lot of room for the JV to gain experience. With wrestling growing in popularity and the introduction of girls wrestling, JVs were often an afterthought on Wednesdays. For us, with approximately 32 JV wrestlers at the start of the season, some of our kids weren’t going to wrestle much. With every new concept, some refining must be done, and next year, we will have some of the bumps ironed out. This week, the JV team traveled to Lakewood and gained valuable experience.

The results were:
Dray Findlay went 2-0
Colton Robbins went 2-1
Logan Banner went 1-2
Noah Demo went 2-1
Owen Parker went 3-0
Garrett Bloom went 1-2
Keegan Hamilton went 2-1
Roman Berkhousen went 2-1
Ayden Scheffler went 1-2
Cam Lange went 0-2
Bennett Ward went 1-2
Austin Clark went 2-1
Fletcher Whitford went 2-1
Aedin Besonen went 1-1
Jesse Mason went 1-2
Bridger Haviland went 2-1
Michael Grow went 2-1
Oliver Nobis went 0-2

Wednesday was Senior Night for the Varsity. Five seniors were honored, and I’d like to take a minute to share some thoughts about them.
First, we have Bennett Ward. Bennett has been on the wrestling team for four years. He was injured in practice his freshman year and required knee surgery to repair the injury. Consequently, I’m no longer allowed to wrestle with him. Bennett’s favorite memory from wrestling is going to McDonalds after winning Districts and being 2x District Champs (so far). Bennett also played Football this fall. Bennett will be attending Ferris State University to study Pre-Med.

Gianni Tortorella is our next senior. Gianni has been wrestling for 3 years. It seems like every year, the injury bug has bitten Gianni. This year, he was injured in the first dual of the season and is just now getting back to being able to wrestle with full contact. His favorite wrestling memory is watching Ryan Dimmick and Sean Pettigrew qualify for the State Finals. In the summer, Gianni started his own business, Tortotella’s Tinting, doing custom window tinting, and he plans to pursue that after high school.

Next, we have Jesse Mason. Jesse is new to wrestling this year. He told me that the only other organized sport he had participated in was T-ball. He says wrestling is pretty cool. He enjoys the hard work and meeting new people. His favorite memory is, of course, winning his first match. Jesse plans to move to South Carolina and pursue a career as an electrician.

Next up is Tyler Riedel. Tyler is also a four-year wrestler for the Redwings. He also spent his entire freshman year injured. Tyler said this season is going by very fast, making him grateful for the memories he is creating. Still, it’s bittersweet that it’s coming to an end. Tyler’s favorite memories are goofing off and playing pranks with his friends. Tyler also ran Cross Country this fall. He is looking forward to wrestling in college but is unsure where he will go.

Lastly, we have Tryston Bancroft. This is going to be a tough one, so strap in. I met Tryston when he came out for youth football in the fourth grade. Tryston was a loud bundle of energy, and I liked him the minute I met him. He was always the loudest kid when we “broke down”; honestly, he could be a little much at times. However, he was one of the hardest workers on the team, and he had a motor that wouldn’t stop. He would do anything for anybody and liked everybody he met. Youth football obviously has a limited period. I coached him from Fourth through Sixth Grade, and then he moved on to Middle School. Then, in Tryston’s Sophomore year, he came out for the wrestling team. He took to wrestling instantly. He was consistently looking for somebody to wrestle with after practice. He was constantly pestering the coaches for advice on what he could do better. He was still a bundle of energy, and his work ethic was as strong as ever. He would constantly be sweating through his sweatshirts.

Last year, he worked and worked to cut some weight, and he finally broke through to the Varsity line-up. He started tearing kids up. Like I said earlier, Tryston never met anybody he didn’t like. He would beat a kid in a match or lose to a kid in a match and instantly start talking to them about anything and everything. I don’t mean this as a negative, but he reminded me of a Golden Lab. Just a big, silly, friendly kid. He was also highly forgetful; he always borrowed some piece of equipment. A headgear, maybe a singlet, once it was his shoes, and we had to scramble to find him a pair of shoes. He always smiled like this was the best thing ever through it all, win or lose. I’m sure everybody already knows that Tryston passed away this summer due to a motorcycle accident. I’m not going to ever be able to forget the day my son texted me and asked me if I had heard and didn’t want to tell me while I was at work. I’ll never forget what seemed like the entire Senior Class and wrestling team at his funeral. It’s utterly senseless that he isn’t wrestling this year. If Tryston had a favorite memory of wrestling, I think it would be somehow related to a certain traffic cone that had a place of honor at Senior Night. So Tryston, I miss you despite how often you drove me crazy; rest in peace, ya, big goofball, and find your shoes.

From Left to Right- Tyler Riedel, Gianni Tortorella, Jesse Mason, Bennett Ward
Not Pictured Tryston Bancroft. Photo Credit- Glen Armstrong (Click for Senior Night Photos by Glenn Armstrong)

OK, here’s how the matches went down. We were scheduled to wrestle Lansing Eastern and Waverly on Wednesday Night. However, Lansing Eastern was hit with the flu, injuries, and exams, so they forfeited. Giving the Redwings a win. Grand Ledge was scheduled to wrestle Waverly and Lansing Eastern since they also received a forfeit. They agreed to wrestle us. Grand Ledge is currently the Division 1 #10 ranked wrestling team with several ranked wrestlers, so this was a big challenge. But as Coach Pettigrew said, “Never back down from a challenge. If we want to be a top team, we must wrestle top teams.”

The night started with Waverly and Grand Ledge wrestling each other, and Grand Ledge made quick work of Waverly. The dual highlight came in the 285 lb weight class with Grand Ledge’s D1 #1 ranked Logan Tollison vs Waverly’s D2 #2 Ranked Cayden Bell. Tollison took the match up with a 12-5 decision.

Next up, St. Johns took on Waverly. It’s always a close match when the Redwings and the Warriors meet, and this was no different coming down to the final weights. We started at 150 with Hayden Billings getting the win over Jaleel Roland in an exciting 10-9 decision. Giving St. Johns an early 3-0 lead. Doug Thurston took a decision over Caden Hutchins 10-7, and Brady Heibeck scored important bonus points with a Tech Fall over Ayden Toomey, giving St. Johns an 11-0 lead. Will Wharton fought hard but was pinned by Cedric Jackson, who put Waverly on board 11-6. Jarell Bowers got a decision over Greyson Osborne 15-8, and Cayden Bell got a Tech fall over Gavin Moreno, giving Waverly the lead 14-11. Joshua Phifer got a pin over Jackson Armstrong, putting Waverly up 20-11 at the turn. Connor Skaryd took a void at 106, giving St. Johns some much-needed points, and Donovan Quinn followed quickly with a 0:43 pin over My’ Sean Yewah, giving St. Johns a 12-point swing and putting the Redwings out in front 23-20. However, the lead was short-lived as Waverly would take the following 2 weights with Isaiah Keck getting a fall over Jameson Halsey and Justin Niyubudhobozi getting a decision over Reagan Ward 10-7. That gave Waverly the lead with a score of 29-23. That was as close as the Warriors came to winning as Tristan Densmore got a Tech fall over Quintell Griffin, Roman Berkhousen took a void, and Tyler Riedel put a bow on it with a fall at 1:12 over Jeremy Alvardo, making the final score 40-29 St. Johns over Waverly.

The Redwings didn’t fare as well against the Grand Ledge Comets. We started this one with Grand Ledge taking the first four weights from the Redwings. Jack Bull got a fall over Doug Thruston, Jacob Crofut pinned Jackson Densmore, and Ashton Delaney got a Tech Fall over Will Wharton, putting the Comets up 17-0. Abram Matice took a void, giving the Redwings 6 points. However, Grand Ledge tacked on 12 more, with Logan Tollison pinning Gavin Moreno and Alex Duprest pinning Connor Skaryd. This put the Comets up 29-6. Grand Ledge voided to Donovan Quinn and Gianni Tortorella, giving St. Johns 12 points and pulling them a little closer 29-18. Toby Buckland got a tech fall over Reagan Ward, pushing Grand Ledge’s lead to 34-18. Tristan Densmore scored St. Johns final points with a tech fall over Marcus Schamehorn, making the score 34-23. Tyler Riedel fought hard but gave up a pin as time expired. Maddoc Taszreak’s tech fall over Logan Finn and Timmy Hubert’s fall over Hayden Billings made the final score 57-23. Grand Ledge took the win over the Redwings.

Click for SJSportsPage.com gallery from Waverly/Grand Ledge

Friday Night, the JVs traveled to Laingsburg for a Friday Night Invite. The Redwings wrestled well, with several wrestlers placing.
The results were:
Dray Findlay placed 2nd, going 1-1
Colton Robbins placed 3rd, going 1-2
Logan Banner placed 1st, going 3-0
Noah Demo placed 3rd, going 1-2
Owen Parker placed 3rd, going 1-2
Garrett Bloom placed 4th, going 0-3
Keegan Hamilton placed 3rd, going 1-3
Timothy VanLake placed 1st, going 3-0
Bennett Ward placed 3rd, going 1-2
Fletcher Whitford placed 1st, going 3-0
Austin Clark placed 2nd, going 2-1
Aedin Besonen placed 2nd, going 2-1
Bridger Haviland placed 3rd, going 1-2
Ayden Marchek placed 2nd, going 2-1
Michael Gro placed 4th, going 0-3
Jesse Mason placed 3rd, going 1-2
Oliver Nobis placed 3rd, going 0-2

The Varsity split up on Saturday, with St. Johns sending 6 wrestlers to the Hudson Super 16.
The Super 16 is an elite tournament featuring a ridiculously loaded field, with as many as a dozen ranked wrestlers in some weights. In total, there were 135+ ranked wrestlers across 14 weights, including 18 wrestlers ranked #1 in the state. Ranked teams in attendance include 10 teams in the Fab 50: D4 #1 Hudson, D3 #1 Dundee, D3 #3 Algonac, D4 #8 Gabriel Richard, D4 #5 Lakeville, D4 #3 Manchester, D4 #4 Martin, D1 #9 Oxford, D4 #2 St. Louis, D1 #4 Hartland.
St. Johns Weight Classes looked like this.

106- Donovan Quinn
D3 #1 Ayden Ringler (Grand Rapids CC)
D2 #3 Donovan Quinn (St. Johns)
D3 #7 Scott Kohlman (Dundee)
D4 #2 Jaxton Kimling (Hudson)
D1 #5 Jase Sensor (Hartland)
D3 #6 Braxton Shaffer (Ida)
D4 #3 Mason Thurber (Springport)
D4 #7 Ryker Kleinschmidt (Manchester)
D3 #8 TJ Landrum (Algonac)
D4 #9 Reese Parkinson (Leslie)
D4 #10 David Wenkel (Benzie Central)
D4 #14 Jacinto Lopez (Martin)

132- Tristan Densmore
D1 #1 Bodie Abbey (Hartland)
D1 #9 Chase Beall (Oxford)
D4 #2 Colt Perry (Hudson)
D3 #1 Braden Broderick (Dundee)
D4 #1 Colin Kuhn (St. Louis)
D3 #3 Christopher Galiana (Imlay City)
D4 #6 Cole Reitz (Martin)
D4 #8 Mason Hawthorne (Union City)
D4 #9 Adam Hoch (LakeVille)
D4 #13 Genaro Soto (St. Louis)
D4 #14 Keegan Tinkey (Leslie)
D4 #15 Carson Playford (Jonesville)

138- Tyler Riedel
D4 #2 Beckett Campbell (Hudson)
D3 #2 Lucky Gartin (Algonac)
D4 #3 Luke Harrington (Gabriel Richard)
D1 #9 Ashton Jewell (Hartland)
D3 #6 Lukas Leonard (Madison)
D4 #7 Jayce Ritchie (Martin)
D4 #9 Carter Foster (Leslie)
D1 #16 Lucas Abro (Utica)
D4 #15 Andrew Tundevold (Union City)
D2 #5 Blaine Anspaugh (Northwest)

165- Brady Heibeck
D3 #1 (157) Donny Beaufait (Dundee)
D3 #3 Jalonn Borders (Madison)
D4 #8 (175) Drew Challender (St. Louis)
D3 #4 Julian Walker (Algonac)
D3 #7 Rocco Redmon (Dundee)
D4 #4 Connor Wenkel (Benzie Central)
D2 #11 Brady Heibeck (St. Johns)
D4 #8 Gavin Bodnar (LakeVille)
D1 #23 Finnegan McDevitt (Oxford)
D3 #10 (175) Kaden Powers (Imlay City)
D4 #16 Jakub Tomyslak (Martin)

190- Brody Abendroth
D4 #4 (175) Rowan Bradford (Decatur)
D4 #4 (215) Lane Sanchez (Benzie Central)
D2 #5 Isaac Kemp (Airport)
D3 #7 Owen Motylinski (Dundee)
D4 #3 Malcolm Smith (Martin)
D4 #5 Barron Mansfield (Hudson)
D4 #7 Aiden Tucker (LakeVille)
D2 #13 Brody Abendroth (St. Johns)

215- Gavin Moreno
D3 #1 Reid Hiltunen (Algonac)
D2 #5 Holden Otter (Airport)
D3 #4 John Petersen (Hillsdale)
D4 #3 Nathan Fletcher (Manchester)
D4 #6 Sam Bleeker (Martin)
D4 #8 Ray Frye (St. Louis)
D4 #12 Kenny Sledge (Hudson)
D4 #14 (190) Jake Hascall (LakeVille)

With only 6 wrestlers, St. Johns finished 12th overall as a team. Four St. Johns wrestlers knocked off state-ranked opponents. Donovan Quinn beat the #1 ranked kid in Division 3 in the finals.
Donovan Quinn placed first, going 4-0 and beating the D4 #3 ranked wrestler by a pin, the D3 #7 ranked wrestler by a pin, and the D3 #1 ranked wrestler by Decision 6-3.

Tristen Densmore went 2-2, beating the D4 #6 ranked wrestler. and losing to the D1 #1 and D3 #3 ranked wrestlers.
Tyler Riedel went 0-2, losing to the D4 #7 ranked wrestler.
Brady Heibeck went 2-2, beating D4 #10 and D4 #8 ranked wrestlers and losing to the D3 #3 ranked wrestler.
Brody Abendroth placed 4th going 2-2, beating the D4 #5 ranked wrestler and losing to the D4 #4 and D3 #7 ranked wrestlers.
Gavin Moreno went 0-2, falling to the D4 #3 and D4 #6 ranked wrestlers.

Phew. As Bon Jovi said, “We’re halfway there.”

The rest of the Varsity traveled to Ithaca for the Ithaca Wrestling Invitational and Bake Sale. Seriously, every year, they fundraise by having a decent bake sale during the tournament.
St. Johns placed 5th despite not having a full line-up.

Click for photos from Ithaca Invite by Glenn Armstrong

Jameson Halsey went 0-1 and had to default out due to injury.
Reagan Ward placed 2nd and went 3-1
Roman Berkhousen went 1-2
Logan Finn placed 2nd and went 3-1
Hayden Billings placed 6th and went 3-2
Doug Thurston went 2-2
Jackson Densmore placed 1st and went 3-0
Will Wharton placed 6th and went 3-2
Greyson Osborne placed 2nd, going 3-1
Jackson Armstrong went 1-2
Connor Skaryd went 0-2

And finally, the Girls wrestled in Owosso on Sunday. They placed 7th despite only having 4 girls.
Haley Prohaska Placed 3rd, going 1-2
Olivia Pettigrew placed 4th, going 2-2
Lori Morris placed 2nd, going 4-1
Addyson Ney Placed 2nd, going 0-2

Coach Ward (yep, I’m going to quote myself) said, “This was a challenging week. Some wrestlers had to make weight three times this week with three practices. There were ranked wrestlers at every tournament and dual we wrestled at. I’m proud of the way we handled it. It only gets tougher from here as we approach the ‘Win or Go Home’ season. We have to maintain our work ethic and our discipline.”

That’s it, faithful readers, have met your challenge of tolerating my ramblings for another week. I appreciate you.

This week, the JV travels to Mason on Tuesday (not Monday). The varsity is at home on Wednesday and come over on Saturday and watch as we host a six-team dual meet tournament. Also, the girls travel to O-E on Sunday.

Phew…