Michigan's All Time List - #41 to #50

Photo by David Troppens (Tri-County Times)

We are counting down the top-50 wrestlers all time from the state of Michigan. This list was originally created in 2020, and we have now updated it to include some of the top wrestlers that were not yet eligible for the list. We will be releasing 10 wrestlers per day for the rest of the week.

Here's how the list was determined.  High school, college, and international careers were all taken into account.  The only real stipulations to make the list are you must be done with college, and we tried to narrow it down to the last ~50 years.  So guys like Josh Barr, Casey Swiderski, etc... who are no-brainer picks won't be on this quite yet. Is it a definitive list?  No.  Could've missed some people, may not be in the correct order, but it's mores an appreciation of all the great talent that has come out of Michigan over the years.

Note: We will also be curating a list of the top girls all time from the Mitten state. Stay tuned following the boys countdown for a girls list!

50. Shane Camera (Rochester)

Hailing from Rochester HS, Camera was a three-time state finalist in Division 1.  He won titles as a sophomore and senior, sandwiching a runner-up finish as junior when he fell to Roy Hall.  Following graduation in 1989 he continued his career at North Carolina.

Camera was a two-time All-American for the Tar Heels, placing 8th in 1991 and 6th in 1994.  He also qualified for the tournament in 1992.  In all three trips to the NCAA tournament, he was seeded (Only top-12 at the time).  Camera helped lead UNC to three ACC titles and he netted 100+ victories.  In 2002, he was named the ACC's 50th Anniversary Team.

Below is some classic footage from his YouTube channel - one of which is the 1994 NCAA quarterfinals, and the other appears to be from the 1987 Class A state tourney held at Lansing Eastern high school.  

49. Don Whipp (Eaton Rapids)

On the prep scene, Whipp was a two-time state finalist for Eaton Rapids in 1987 and 1988.  He was a runner-up at 185 lbs before winning a state title his senior year at 198 lbs.  In the summer of '88, he was 5th at the Junior Freestyle Nationals.

Whipp would go on to nearby Michigan State for his collegiate career, where he made three trips to the NCAA tournament at 275 lbs, culminating in a runner-up finish as a senior.  He was one match away from All-American honors as a sophomore as well and lost first round to Rulon Gardner, 7-6, his junior season (no wrestlebacks if your first round loss did not make it to quarters).  

His 119 career wins ties him with Franklin Gomez for 6th all-time in MSU history, and he was named Most Oustanding Wrestler for the Spartans three times in his career.

48. Mike Amine (Warren Lincoln)

Amine won a state title for Warren Lincoln in 1984 before heading of to the University of Michigan for his collegiate career.  There he would qualify for the NCAA tournament three times and was an NCAA finalist in 1988 at 167 lbs.

The '88 finals run saw him enter the tournament unseeded before knocking off the #4, #8, and #12 seeds en route to the championship bout.  He scored a 0:35 fall in the semis, which is the second fastest fall ever by a Wolverine at the NCAA's.  He was nearly on the podium in his other two trips as well, falling in the bloodround both times.

47. Justin Zeerip (Hesperia)

A 4x state champ for Hesperia, Zeerip racked up numbers that likely will never be touched again in Michigan.  He compiled a career record of 260-0 with 203 falls, still holding national records for consecutive wins and career falls.  He was also 3rd at Senior Nationals and was named Mr. Wrestler for the state while also receiving the Dave Schultz Award.

He competed in college for Michigan, where he was a four-time NCAA Qualifier and won 100 matches for the Wolverines.  In 2012, he lost in the bloodround at NCAA's to close out his career.  Zeerip was twice named to the NWCA Academic-Team and was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection as well.

Unintentionally, he may have had the biggest impact on wrestling by being involved in a match that really caused replay to be instituted in college wrestling.  A double OT match with OSU's Nick Heflin was scored incorrectly and caused a stir across the country.  The next season, replay was in place and has been there ever since.

46. Jackson Morse (Lowell)

Morse won three state championships for Lowell and was a four-time state finalist.  He also won a pair of titles at Super 32 in 2008 and 2009.  At the Dapper Dan, he defeated #1 ranked Dylan Alton and was subsequently rated as the top recruit in the nation by Intermat and the #2 recruit by Amateur Wrestling News.  Additionally, he was the 2010 Wrestler of the Year by MIG and a 2nd Team Asics/Tiger All-American

He continued his career at Illinois where he qualified for the NCAA tournament three times.  As a senior Morse finished 4th at 165lbs, wrapping up a career in which he picked up 106 victories for the Illini.

45. Erich Harvey (Allegan)

In high school, Harvey was a three-time finalist for Allegan and capped off his prep career with back-to-back state titles for the Tigers.  He would head off the Michigan State where he left his mark on the Spartan program.

He qualified for the NCAA's all four seasons and was an All-American as a junior, placing 5th at 177lbs.  Two other years he was a match away from the podium and he scored 12 career wins at the national tournament.  Harvey helped MSU pick up a team trophy in '95, when the Spartans finished 3rd in the nation.  He is the all-time wins leader for the school (147) and is 6th all-time in falls (35).

44. AJ Grant (Clarkston)

Grant was a two-time state champ for Clarkston and also placed 3rd as a sophomore for the Wolves.  He placed at Fargo seven times - three on the Cadet level and four on the Junior level - and won a Cadet Greco title in 1996.  As a senior in 1999, he placed 4th at the Senior Nationals at 119 and was named an Asics/Tiger All-American Honorable Mention selection.

At Michigan, he was a four-time NCAA qualifier and placed inside the top five at the Big Tens in each year.  He reached the podium twice, placing 4th as a sophomore and as a senior.  Grant won a total of 116 matches for the Wolverines and was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2000.

He stayed in the D1 scene for the better part of a decade as he was an Assistant Coach at North Carolina for nearly ten years.

43. Matt Brink (Fruitport)

Brink is without question one of the top heavyweights from Michigan of all time.  A four-time state finalist, he won state titles as a freshman, junior, and senior.  He was 5th at Fargo in Junior Freestyle and was named a WrestlingUSA All-American and a 2nd Team Asics/Tiger All-American.  Brink also wrestled for Team USA in the first Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic, where he won his match, 6-2.

At the University of Michigan, he qualified for the NCAA tournament all four seasons and placed twice - 7th as a sophomore, 8th as a junior.  Brink racked up 106 career victories for the Wolverines.

42. Bubba Gritter (Grandville)

Gritter was a three-time state champion at 285 lbs for Grandville during his high school career.  A 4th-place finish at Senior Nationals and an Honorable Mention selection to the Asics/Tiger All-American team would follow and he'd head off to Central Michigan for college.

At CMU, he won a pair of MAC titles and was a two-time All-American, finishing 5th in 2007 and 7th in 2008.  He was the MVP of the 2007 Chippewa squad and picked up 105 career wins, good for 15th all-time.  He was inducted into the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

41. Trent Hillger (Lake Fenton)

Hillger has had one of the best careers in recent history, starting it with reaching the podium 4 times at Lake Fenton HS, including winning 3 consecutive state titles. His 182-8 career record in HS led him to being ranked top-5 in the country as a Senior.

Hillger continued his career at Wisconsin where he was a 3x All American, taking 8th as a Freshman, 6th as a Sophomore, and 8th as a Senior. Hillger was one of the few wrestlers in NCAA history to qualify for the national tournament 5x. After qualifying in 2020, the NCAA tournament was cancelled due to Covid, and he was named a NCWA All American. Hillger also qualified for the national tournament in his Junior year.

Hillger is still competing on the Senior level, winning the Bill Farrell Memorial tournament in 2024. Most recently, Hillger took second at the 2025 US Open to reach the Final X, with a spot on the World team on the line. Although competitive, he would fall in two matches to NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson.