Opening Night Duals - On Paper

The beginning of the 2024-25 season is finally here, and we have a jam-packed slate for Week 1. There are four ranked duals on opening night (and one Thursday) to kick off another year of wrestling. We break down those four duals here, including projected lineups and what to watch for. As always, it will be interesting to see where everyone truly is for weights in the new season. Some of these duals could also be impacted by football players not yet available due to long playoff runs (i.e. Detroit Catholic Central, Macomb Dakota, etc.)

Breakdown: There is no better way to start the season than with the biggest rivalry in MHSAA wrestling. The Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks will host the Davison Cardinals in the annual assembly dual in a potential preview of this year's state finals. DCC is the 2x defending state champs, currently ranked first in Division 1, and ranked 19th in the country. Davison kicks off the season ranked third in the state and is ranked just outside the top-50 in the country, currently listed as an honorable mention. DCC and Davison have combined to win the last 8 team state championships in D1, and there's a high likelihood that #9 in a row could come this season. There is a lot of firepower in this dual with six of the fourteen top ranked wrestlers in Division 1, as well as 19 ranked wrestlers overall. One of the most interesting potential matches of the dual could come at 120lbs, where defending state champ Steven Vaughn (106lbs) could see Jamison Gregory, who took 3rd a year ago at 113lbs. DCC could try to get #1 Sophomore in the state Grayson Fuchs on Calvin Martz in a rematch from last year's dual. While Fuchs went on to win a state championship as a Freshman, it was Martz that came out on top in that match last season. The Shamrocks may have too much firepower down low and up top, but Davison could make things interesting through the middle weights. Either way, the winner of this dual will set themselves up nicely for the top-seed for the team state tournament.

Breakdown: Another top-10 showdown in Division 1 is going down on opening night as #6 Clarkston will play host to a quad with #5 Bedford, Lapeer, and Rochester Adams. While Bedford may have a slightly more balanced lineup throughout, Clarkston has more firepower through the middle weights. For the Wolves to take down Bedford, they will look for bonus points from guys like defending state champ Ashton Anderson and returning runner-up Preston LeFevre. Two of the biggest matches of the dual could come at 144lbs and 285lbs, where there's a possibility to see ranked matches. #2 Nathaniel Carter would be the favorite at 144lbs over #10 Lucas Gerber, while returning state placer Chase Norbury would be the favorite over state qualifier Camden Neumann at heavyweight. There is a chance this dual is a 7-7 split, and bonus points would be the deciding factor. While Bedford's path to the state tournament is more clear, Clarkston will need to upset Hartland at Regionals, and a big win over the Mules would be a fantastic kickstart to that campaign.

Breakdown: Here's a dual between two West Michigan squads that made it to the semis of their state tournaments last year. While we don't expect any ranked individual matches in this dual, both teams have solid lineups from top to bottom. The heavy hitters on both sides will be looking for bonus points, like Fargo All American Layne Martin for Rockford, and state finalist #1 Case Johnson for Greenville. However, this dual will likely be decided in the unranked matches in the middle and upperweights, where Greenville will need to swing a few in their favor.

Breakdown: A big opening night dual in Division 2, as #10 Gaylord will make the two hour drive South to Cedar Springs to take on the #9 Red Hawks. This will be the first dual without legendary coach Jerry LaJoie for the Blue Devils, who retired at the end of last season. We could see some early-season shuffling off the lineups here, as Cedar Springs will likely want to get #5 Egan off #3 Bensinger and #5 Parmeter off #2 Willobee. That would give CS the most winnable matches to go along with #10 Farrell, #4 Cassiday, as well as regional qualifiers like Payne, Prins, and Winchel. On the other side, Bensinger over Egan and Willobee over Parmeter would be Gaylord's clearest path to victory, while state qualifiers Cranick and Sides will be leaned on for bonus points.

Breakdown: This is a Thursday night dual, so while it is not technically opening night, this is still a top-10 matchup between D1 and D3 schools in the opening week. Dakota is anchored by state placers Carl Nihranz and Ozia Wilson. They are also one of the tougher teams in D1 up top, with their 190, 215, and 285 all being ranked in the top-10 to start the season. Dakota will lean heavily on their four returning state placers (Nihranz, Wilson, Criteser, Hamby), as Yale has the clear advantage down low. Yale has the previously mentioned slew of talented lightweights, and if they can spread out into the middleweights, they should have a very balanced lineup with firepower spread throughout. A match to watch would be at 126lbs where we could see #3 Landon Sopha take on #6 Carl Nihranz in a battle of returning state placers.

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