If you love wrestling and don't have another tournament you "have" to attend, then you have to head over to Catholic Central on Saturday. Last year's Super Duals turned out to be perhaps the most competitive team tournament in Michigan - including the team state finals in Battle Creek.
This year the talented field will be even better. Along with the host Shamrocks, which are ranked No. 14 in the country, the list of teams is amazing. St. Edward (St. Ed's, Ohio) is ranked No. 2 in the country. St. Johns, ranked No. 12 in the country and the three-time defending Division 2 state champion, will be wrestling. Montini High School, ranked No. 1 in Illinois (2A) is there. So is Solon HS (#7 in Ohio).
Oh, and some of the best teams here in Michigan will be there too. Davison (#2 in D1), Temperance-Bedford (#4 D1), Clarkston (#9 D1), Dundee (#1 D3), Richmond (#2 D3) and Hudson (#1 D4). With 11 teams competing in five rounds of wrestling, not all will face each other. Catholic Central will not see St. Johns - the two wrestled each other earlier this season with the Shamrocks winning 33-31. But both schools will face St. Ed's. Those matches should prove to be great tests for CC and SJ.
The cost of admission is just $5. The first round begins at 10 a.m. The complete schedule is below:

 

Win two before you lose two. For every individual regional qualifier, those words mean the world. Win two matches before you lose two and you're moving on to the biggest wrestling spectacle in the country, the MHSAA Individual State Finals at The Palace on March 1.
I've covered a lot of high school events, state finals in hockey, tennis, bowling, baseball, softball, basketball and football. And, to me, nothing compares to this event. To see 896 of the state's best wrestlers entering The Palace to "We are the Champions" is awesome.
But that's a week away. First, we must decide which teams are the best of the best at this week's MHSAA Team Finals in Battle Creek.

Team states - who wins?
Oakland County's Catholic Central, Oxford and Holly punched their team tickets to this weekend's finals in Battle Creek. The brackets for the eight qualifying teams in each Division used to be predetermined heading into the tournament. But now the MHSAA seeds the teams. For Catholic Central, that means it's the top-seed for a second-straight year. The Shamrocks, ranked No. 1 all year long in Division 1, are the overwhelming favorite heading into this weekend's tournament.
A year ago, Oxford was the No. 2 seed and won its way into the final, where it upset top-ranked CC. This year the road to the final will be a bit more difficult for the Wildcats, who are the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 Davison in Friday's quarterfinal round. CC will face No. 8 Roseville, No. 2 Brighton will wrestle No. 7 Grand Haven while No. 4 Temperance Bedford will take on No. 5 Hartland in the opening round.
Quarterfinal predictions: No. 1 CC over No. 8 Roseville, No. 2 Brighton over No. 7 Grand Haven, No. 3 Davison over No. 6 Oxford and No. 5 Hartland over No. 4 Bedford. Semifinals: CC over Hartland, Davison over Brighton. Final: CC over Davison.

In Division 2, Holly is facing the same predicament as Oxford. The Bronchos are ranked No. 6 in the state, but are seeded No. 7 at the finals. The top seven teams all reached the finals. So Holly will have to pull off something special. The Bronchos will face No. 2-ranked Lowell in the quarterfinals. No. 1 seed St. Johns and Lowell, who along with Catholic Central, are widely considered among the three best teams in the entire state, regardless of division. Somehow the seeding committee went against the state rankings and flip-flopped the Bronchos and Stevensville Lakeshore. Not exactly what coach Don Pluta was hoping for before the pairings were announced Sunday night.
Quarterfinal predictions: No. 1 St. Johns over No. 8 Mason, No. 2 Lowell over No. 7 Holly, No. 3 Allegan over No. 6 Lakeshore, No. 5 Greenville over No. 4 Tecumseh. Semifinals: St. Johns over Greenville, Lowell over Allegan. Final: St. Johns over Lowell

Though Oakland County has no horses in Divisions 3 or 4, I'll still offer up my predictions. Like Divisions 1 and 2, the usual suspects made it to Battle Creek. And there's no reason to believe the annual powerhouses won't walk away as champions.
Division 3 quarterfinal predictions: No. 1 Richmond over No. 8 Roscommon, No. 2 Dundee over No. 7 Caro, No. 6 Whitehall over No. 3 Chippewa Hills, No. 5 Otsego over No. 4 Birch Run. Semifinals: Richmond over Otsego, Dundee over Whitehall. Final: Richmond over Dundee
Division 4 quarterfinal predictions: No. 1 Hudson over No. 8 Holton, No. 2 New Lothrop over No. 7 Rogers City, No. 3 Shelby over No. 6 Decatur, No. 4 Manchester over No. 5 Constantine. Semifinals: Hudson over Manchester, New Lothrop over Shelby. Final: Hudson over New Lothrop

People drove from all over the state to get a chance to catch the most-anticipated wrestling match of the season between St. Johns and Catholic Central. And it certainly did not disappoint.
As I told our wrestling beat writer here at The Oakland Press Marvin Goodwin, Saturday's battle between the Redwings and Shamrocks felt like it should have been in Battle Creek. The stands were packed on both sides of the gymnasium at CC.
Catholic Central led for the first 11 matches, only to see that lead dissipate and crumble as Jordan Wohlfert and Taylor Massa, St. Johns Michigan State-Michigan bound seniors pinned, back-to-back, to give them the victory.
CC jumped out to a 12-0 early lead thanks to wins by Kevin Beazley (pin), Jay Peterson and Trevor Zdebski. But as is most oftentimes the case, it was the "good losses" that kept the Shamrocks afloat and in charge of the match.
Myles Amine, giving up just four points to Zac Hall at 112; T.J. Fagan giving up just three to Logan Massa at 119; and Riley Hanson giving up just four to nationally-ranked Ben Whitford at 145. All three were Shamrock losses. But it could have been a lot worse for CC. Instead, they helped give the Shamrocks a chance at the end.
Ken Bade's 4-3 win over Jacob Schmitt at 125 was the highlight of the day for CC. Schmitt came in as the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the state (all divisions). Bade was No. 2. Like their teams, both will be favorites to win individual titles come March.
As much as CC did its best early to build and maintain a solid lead, I thought the turning point actually came during a win for the Shamrocks. At 152 pounds, I'm sure CC was hoping for more than a 1-0 win from senior stud Alec Mooradian. But St. Johns' Travis Curley, ranked just behind the No. 2 Mooradian, didn't give up much, falling 1-0.
Bonus points would have given CC as much as a nine-point lead heading into the last three matches. Wohlfert's ensuing pin at 160 was also key for the Redwings, who were expecting six from Massa, the nation's top senior wrestler. Payne Hayden's 7-2 win over Drew Garcia wrapped up the match, which again, lived up to the hype.
I learned today that the St. Ed's (Ohio) tournament in two weeks is a team tournament and these two teams are expected to see each other again. I'm not sure the outcome will be any different, but just to get a chance to see a rematch would be worth the trip south.

For a complete match story, CLICK HERE.

ST. JOHNS 31, NOVI DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL 21
103 — Trevor Zdebski (CC) d. Drew Wixson 9-2; 112 — Zac Hall (SJ) d. Myles Amine 16-8; 119 — Logan Massa (SJ) d. T.J. Fagan 6-0; 125 — Ken Bade (CC) d. Jacob Schmitt 4-3; 130 — Malik Amine (CC) d. Rory Bender 4-2; 135 — Brant Schafer (SJ) d. Andrew Thompson 8-3; 140 — Josh Pennell (SJ) d. Logan Marcicki 6-2; 145 — Ben Whitford (SJ) d. Riley Hanson 22-14; 152 — Alec Mooradian (CC) d. Travis Curley 1-0; 160 — Jordan Wohlfert (SJ) p. Nick Mason 1:10; 171 — Taylor Massa (SJ) pinned Nick Giese :40; 189 — Payne Hayden (SJ) d. Drew Garcia 7-2; 215 — Kevin Beazley (CC) p. Blake Cooper :34; 285 — Jay Peterson (CC) d. Ben Proctor 2-0.
RECORDS — St. Johns 13-0; Catholic Central 13-1