Bits O’ Tid
By Dan Ward

There wasn’t a whole lot happening on the wrestling front this week. St. Johns hosted a JV Jamboree, and the varsity boys made a road trip to Three Rivers. With a slightly lighter schedule, I thought it would be fun to share some interesting wrestling trivia—facts that I definitely already knew and absolutely did not Google five minutes before writing this.

1. Wrestling is the world’s oldest sport
Wrestling dates back to before 3000 BC. Ancient cave drawings depict wrestling moves and techniques that are still used today. Some of the earliest written references appear in the Old Testament and the Vedas, an ancient collection of Sanskrit literature and Hindu scripture.
2. Wrestling was one of the original Olympic sports (and peacemakers)
Wrestling was featured in the earliest Greek Olympic Games, dating back to before 700 BC. At the time, it was viewed as a way to settle disputes and channel conflict into competition instead of warfare. In that sense, wrestling can be considered one of the original “peacekeeping” sports.
3. Wrestling is incredibly diverse
Today, more than 200 countries worldwide compete in wrestling, and the sport welcomes athletes of every size, shape, and gender. At the 2012 London Olympics, wrestlers from 71 different nations competed, and 29 countries earned medals.
4. Wrestling shows up all over mythology
Wrestling appears frequently in ancient stories and myths. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh earns the right to lead by wrestling Enkidu. In Homer’s Iliad, Odysseus wrestles Ajax. In the Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestles with an angel and is given the name “Israel,” which means “to wrestle with God.”
5. The United States dominated the 1904 Olympics
Freestyle wrestling made its Olympic debut at the 1904 Games in St. Louis, and the U.S. completely swept the field. Americans won gold, silver, and bronze in all seven freestyle weight classes.

Wrestling has also produced more than a few famous names. Notable high school wrestlers include Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle (who famously won Olympic gold with a broken neck), Shelton Benjamin, Dolph Ziggler, Mick Foley (a high school teammate of actor Kevin James), Cody Rhodes, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston. Rhodes and Woods were even high school rivals in Georgia.

Hollywood has its share of former wrestlers, too: Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael B. Jordan, Taylor Lautner, Jon Bernthal, Josh Brolin, Stephen Amell, Chris Pratt, and some old-school legends like Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. And yes, even Neil deGrasse Tyson has proudly mentioned his time as a high school wrestler.

Anyway, enough trivia—let’s get to the results.

St. Johns hosted the final JV Jamboree of the season on Monday, welcoming teams from DeWitt, East Lansing, Eaton Rapids, Grand Ledge, Sexton, and Portland. Competing for the Redwings were Elliot Lor (1–2), Johnny Infante (1–2), Noah Demo (3–0, all pins), Leo Marilla (2–1), Emery Rosekrans (2–1), Colton Robbins (1–2), Keegan Hamilton (1–2), Alex Shepard (1–2), Nathan McGillis (1–2), Santy Alamillo (0–3), Roman Berkhousen (0–3), Padden McConnell (0–3), Logan Finn (2–1), Bridger Haviland (3–0, all pins), Austin Clark (1–2), Madden Rademacher (1–2), Kael Whitaker (3–0), Gabe Osborne (3–0, all pins), Graysen Elison (0–3), and Nicholas McGillis (0–2).

On Wednesday, the varsity boys traveled south to face Otsego and Three Rivers. Three Rivers currently sits ranked No. 2 in Division 2—right behind Lowell (yes, that Lowell). In wrestling, the idea is simple: you don’t get better by wrestling teams you know you can beat. You seek out tough competition. You’re either winning or learning.

I wasn’t able to travel with the team, so this recap comes courtesy of TrackWrestling. St. Johns opened against Otsego, trading early pins with Hayden Billings earning a fall and Doug Thurston getting pinned. From there, the Redwings took control. Pins from Brady Heibeck, Will Wharton, Abram Matice, and Gavin Moreno pushed the score to 30–6. Otsego answered with a pin over Jackson Armstrong, while Annabelle Longoria won by forfeit. Otsego added another pin over Elliot Lor to make it 36–18, but Johnny Infante (12–5 decision) and Gabe Mares (pin) closed the door. Pins from Donovan Quinn and Keegan Hamilton extended the lead to 57–18 before Tristan Densmore was pinned, making the final score 57–24 in favor of St. Johns.

The second duel against Three Rivers was a tougher night. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 38-0 lead with wins over: Tristan Densmore (fall), Hayden Billings (fall), Doug Thruston (tech fall), Brady Heibeck (Major Dec), Abram Matice (fall), and Gavin Moreno (tech fall). Jackson Armstrong got the Redwings on the board with a pin. Three Rivers continued to roll, winning the next four bouts over Annabelle Longoria (fall), Elliot Lor (Fall), Johnny Infante (Fall), and Corey Heck (major decision). Donovan Quinn earned a forfeit, but Colton Robbins was pinned, and the dual concluded with a 66–12 St. Johns loss.

The Varsity B team also competed in exhibition matches, giving valuable mat time to Keegan Hamilton (1–0), Colton Robbins (0–1), Roman Berkhousen (0–2), Logan Finn (2–0), Austin Clark (1–1), Greyson Osborne (1–1), and Gabe Osborne (1–1).

That wraps up the week. St. Johns heads north to Garber High School on Wednesday to close out the regular-season duals—if you hold your hand up like a map of Michigan, Garber is right in that space between your thumb and index finger near Saginaw Bay. On Saturday, St. Johns hosts the CAAC Red Conference Championships. The girls travel to Eaton Rapids on Sunday for the CAAC Girls Championships, while the JV team wraps up its season at Lakewood for the JV CAAC Conference Championships.

After that, it’s what I like to call “Win or Go Home Season,” with Team Districts at Portland against either DeWitt or Portland.