For the fourth straight season, Whitehall has produced an undefeated state champion.
Gavin Craner became the latest in that impressive Viking line Saturday, convincingly defeating Bryce Randolph of Clinton 10-2 in the championship match to earn the 175-pound Division 3 title. Craner, who was runner-up last season at Belding before transferring to Whitehall this year, capped his season with a 54-0 record.
Craner, a junior, joined Ira Jenkins (2021 and 2022) and Shane Cook (2023) as recent unbeaten champions for the Vikings. He was never seriously tested in his four finals matches, scoring two pins and winning twice by major decision. He was, in fact, rarely tested all season.
“One stat he shared on the way home, he didn’t give up a single takedown all year,” Whitehall coach Justin Zeerip said. “That’s pretty impressive. He just tries to win 30 seconds at a time at every single position. We were big on, if you give up a score, just wrestle to the next point. He’s focused in every single match.”
Craner was one of five from Whitehall to achieve all-state status. Darnell Mack, who was unbeaten until falling to 150-pound runner-up Donny Beaufait of Dundee in the team finals Feb. 24, earned third place. Mack rebounded from a heartbreaking ultimate tiebreaker defeat to eventual champion Trey Parker of Dundee in the semifinals to win two matches Saturday, securing his spot high on the podium. Mack earned a pin and a major decision during the tournament, as well as two close wins over Algonac’s David Clemons.
Mack likely would’ve beaten Parker, Zeerip said, had he won the coin flip in the semis. Because Parker won it and was able to choose the down position and score an escape point first, he received first choice in the ultimate tiebreaker, giving him the right to choose the down position and score again.
“Darnell had an awesome season and an awesome career, being fourth and third the last two seasons,” Zeerip said. “He grew up from ninth to 12th grade, and we’ll really miss him next year. He’s just so tough.”
Nolan Taranko placed sixth at 126 for Whitehall, winning three straight times after a first-round defeat. Taranko was forced to injury default out of the consolation semifinals after hyperextending his elbow and took a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match, otherwise he might have placed even higher. Zeerip said Taranko luckily avoided serious injury and will be able to play for the Vikings’ baseball team this spring.
Kolten Weiler and Jason Smith were eighth at 113 and 285 respectively. Weiler recorded two impressive consolation wins to earn his podium spot. Smith, a senior who had never wrestled before this season, won his first match of the tourney by ultimate tiebreaker against Leland Love of Beaverton and added a decision win in the blood round to pick up his medal.
“That was my first time and maybe my only time coaching a first-year wrestler who gets all-state,” Zeerip said. “He’s really athletic, really smart and moves his feet really well. He never knew this sport until this year, so that was incredible.”
The six Vikings who did not place each wrestled hard, mostly losing close decisions. Max Krukowski and Blake Morningstar each reached the blood round before bowing out, and Cody Manzo, Ryne Christensen, Liam Leeke and Ryan Goodrich each also ended the season at state.
Six of the Vikes’ 11 state qualifiers will be back next season, along with presumably Wyatt Jenkins, who was medically cleared to wrestle in February and picked up three wins at team state, so the program is in good hands going forward. However, the contributions of the senior class won’t soon be forgotten, either.
“The seniors made the finals three out of four years and really helped lay the groundwork for the team culture we have,” Zeerip said. “They worked really hard and gave their best effort all the time. We’ll really miss this senior class.”
Montague placed three wrestlers on the podium, led by junior Ava Pelton, who earned third place at 155 pounds in the girls’ bracket. Pelton was impressive in the tournament, winning twice by pin and once by major decision before securing third place with an overtime win against Allendale’s MacKenzie Maka.
“She took a lot of second and third (places) throughout the year, but we didn’t realize how many ranked opponents she was beating in the process,” Montague coach Kris Maddox said of Pelton.” I think after it all shook out, she had more ranked wins than anyone in her bracket.”
Jimmy Thommen earned fourth place, losing only to stars from powerhouse Dundee. He earned two pins in the tournament as well as a hard-fought overtime win against Maximus Pigeon of Hopkins.
“Jimmy performed excellently all weekend,” Maddox said. “He was focused and on point from the start.”
Emma Pendell, a former state champion, settled for seventh place in her final go-round at state, but in the process became the program’s first-ever four-time state placer. She earned a pin and a major decision during the tournament and closed her career with a “revenge win”, Maddox said, over Keaton Hood of Westland John Glenn, who’d beaten her twice previously.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth from her these four years and am excited to see where life takes her,” Maddox said.
Maddox also expressed pride in the Wildcats that didn’t reach the podium. Savannah Winkleblack bowed out in the blood round, falling short in her own bid to become a four-time state placer, and Abby Thommen and Trisha Beckman also reached the blood round before falling. Maddox noted that Beckman was a first-year wrestler this year, and that Thommen posted an 8-1 record against boys, including a win over a state qualifier.
The team’s first ever four-time Division 3 state qualifier, Chris Aebig, landed in a near-impossible bracket - his opening match was against Dundee star and Central Michigan commit Cameron Chinavare - and also ended his career at state.
“These six seniors are a huge loss to our program,” Maddox said. “They leave as probably the most decorated group in a long time.”
Reeths-Puffer put two wrestlers on the Division 1 podium at state. Ian Cook placed third at 132 for his third all-state honor in three years, and all six of his matches proved to be nail-biters, with none decided by over four points. Most exciting was Cook’s 7-6 win over Jake Gawlowski of Dakota in the blood round; a loss would’ve knocked Cook off the podium. Cook also earned his 150th career win during the tournament, and his only loss came to eventual state champion Dallas Korponic of Hartland.
“A lot of people will look at Ian and think this stuff comes easy to him at this point, but it doesn’t and that’s why Ian truly is great,” R-P coach Jared Fleming said.
Nathan Stafford delivered what Fleming called “the tournament of his life,” wrestling his best at the biggest moments, to close his career as a sixth-placer at 285. Fleming said Stafford entered the weekend ranked #15 of the 16 wrestlers in the bracket.
Like Cook, Stafford wrestled a bunch of heart-pounders; of his first five matches, only one (a 6-0 win in the consolation bracket) was not decided by a point or in overtime. He eked out a 2-1 win over Brad Haver of Dakota in the blood round and scored another one-point win in his next match before falling in overtime in the consolation semifinals.
“Nathan really did wrestle unbelievably well and deserves nothing but respect and admiration from all onlookers,” Fleming said.
Jake Rozycki dropped an overtime match in the first round and scored a pin in his second, but was denied a podium spot at 120 with a tough 3-1 blood round defeat to Nathan Walkowiak of powerhouse Detroit Catholic Central.
