The Sun and News, Saturday, March 11, 2023/ Page 15TK seniors excited by Miller’s blood round win
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Without fail, one thing
popped into the minds of the
Thornapple Kellogg seniors
at Ford Field when asked
about the coolest thing they’d
seen a teammate do at the
MHSAA Division 2
Individual Wrestling Finals.
“Christien [Miller], a
sophomore, he placed,”
Austin Chivis said. “No one
really expected that. That
was really nice.”
“Miller’s blood round
match was easily the coolest
thing that I have seen,”
Kyron Zoet said. “The whole
match was good, because
earlier in the year he got
pinned by [St. Joseph sopho-
more Joseph Lowry]. I
thought he was down and
out, but he kept going for it.
He got the double-leg in the
end and after that his cele-
bration was really cool to
see.”
“I liked Christien’s match
in the blood round,” Zack
Gibson said. “I loved that,
when he placed. [Coach
Dyane] Fletke carried him
right off the mat. That was
my favorite moment right
there.”
Lowry tapped Miller on
the head a couple times at the
start of a one-minute sudden
victory overtime period in
their Division 2, 106-pound
blood round match Friday.
The blood round at the state
finals is the second round of
consolation where the win-
ners are guaranteed a spot on
the state medal stand and
their opponents’ see their
state tournament run come to
an end. At the second touch,
Miller shot for Lowry’s left
leg and then kept driving
through for a quick take
down that earned him a 7-
win and his first state medal.
“It was amazing,” Miller
said once his tournament was
through Saturday. “I was
slapping the mat. I felt like,
I’m overpowered now!”
At the whistle, Miller
raised both hands in the air
and then squatted down and
slapped the mat with both
hands. He shook Lowry’s
hand, had his arm raised by
the official, pointed to his
fans in the stands, shook the
St. Joseph coach’s hand and
then skipped off into Fletke’s
arms.
Miller went on to place
eighth, finishing his season
with a record of 32-12. He
was one of three state medal-
ists among the six TK state
qualifiers. Chivis (22-5)
earned his first state medal
by placing sixth at 175
pounds. Gibson (48-5)
earned his fourth state medal
by placing fourth at 144
pounds.
Miller rallied from a 3-
deficit in the second period
to lead 5-4 in the third thanks
to a take down of Lowry with
32 seconds remaining on the
clock. Lowry fought his wayout with 11 seconds to go to
force the sudden victory
overtime period.
“It was exciting. It was
awesome,” Miller said. “I
lost to the kid before, a while
ago, and then I came back
and beat him, which was
exciting for me. I just had to
get more energy in me. I
couldn’t be tired in the sec-
ond period. I just had to push
through it. It’s all mental.”
TK senior Jackson Curtis
(37-14), wrestling in the 150-
pound weight class, andsophomore Emma Gibson
(17-8), wrestling in the girls’
120-pound weight class, both
won one match over the
weekend at the finals.
Chivis was happy to get
his first state medal. He felt
left out a bit a year ago, qual-
ifying for the finals but miss-
ing out on a top eight finish
while teammates like Zack
Gibson, Zoet and Curtis fin-
ished the 2022 finals on the
medal stand.
“It was full of ups and
downs. I think they did a
really good job coming in
here,” TK head coach Dayne
Fletke said. “Austin Chivis,
the first time on the podium
after last year coming up one
match short. He took sixth
place today, which is awe-
some. It’s a good way to
finish his senior season,
especially coming off that
elbow injury especially not
knowing if we were going to
get him back or not.”
Zack Gibson was hoping
to be higher on the medal
stand at the end of his senior
season this time around, but
didn’t let the disappointment
of a tough 8-7 loss to
Mason’s Dylan Granger in
the first round of the finals
Friday keep him from bat-
tling through the next six
rounds to place as high as he
could. He even avenged that
loss to Granger in the conso-
lation semifinals with a 4-
win that put him into the
match for third place.
“That was a hard way to
start off the weekend,” Fletke
said, “but he’s got that men-
tal toughness and was work-
ing through that things aren’t
done yet. That’s a hard way
to start it in your senior year,
but you overcome and hope-
fully it ends well and ends on
a positive note.”
Gibson took a 3-2 win
over Petoskey’s Brendan
Swiss in the first round of
consolation, defeated
Jamarion Richards form
Kearsley 6-2 in the blood
round and then moved onto
Saturday’s placing roundswhere he started with a 5-
win over Adrian’s Braxton
Tindall.
In the match for third,
Gibson was pinned by Lake
Fenton’s Ty Johnson in a
tough ending to the tourna-
ment for the TK senior.
Gibson had a 2-0 lead in the
closing seconds. He scored
the only points of the bout
with a reversal midway
through the second period.
After a restart with 12 sec-onds to go in the third period,
Johnson managed a reversal
of his own and he stuck
Gibson as the time expired.
Chivis took an 8-4 win
over Fowlerville’s Layne
O’Neil in his blood round
match Friday. The Trojan
senior scored the initial take
down 15 seconds into the
bout, but was only in control
for about 15 seconds before284 N BRIGGS ROAD - MIDDLEVILLE, MICHIGAN 49333
269-795-9091 / FAX 269-795-1956672023 MARCH
BOARD OF
REVIEW
MEETING
SCHEDULE
Yankee Springs Township Barry CountyThe Yankee Springs Township Board of Review for March 2023
will meet at the Yankee Springs Township Office at 284 N.
Briggs Road, Middleville, MI 49333 on March 15 and 16, 2023.
The Yankee Springs Township March Board of Review
will meet on the following dates: Appeals are by
appointment. Please call 269-795-9091 to schedule
an appointment.- Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at 1 PM- Organizational
Meeting - Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 1-4 PM and 6-9 PM -
Appeal Hearing - Thursday, March 16, 2023, 9 AM – Noon and 1:30-
4:30 PM - Appeal Hearing
The Board of Review will meet as many more days as deemed
necessary to hear questions, protests, and to equalize the 2023
assessments. By board resolution, taxpayers are able to protest
in person, by letter sent to Dan Scheuerman at Yankee Springs
Township, 284 N. Briggs Rd., Middleville, MI 49333, or email
[email protected]., provided protest is
received prior to 4 PM on March 16, 2023.
The tentative ratios and the estimated multipliers for each class
of real property and personal property for 2022 are as follows
Agricultural .............43.08%.........1.
Commercial.............49.46%. 1.
- Industrial.................49.06%. 1.
Residential..............47.47%. 1.
Personal Property...50.00%. 1.
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contact Mike Cunningham, Clerk, at 269-795-9091.
Rob Heethuis, Supervisor Dan Scheuerman, Assessor
See TROJANS, page 16Thornapple Kellogg senior Zack Gibson (right) fights to try and get Lake
Fenton’s Ty Johnson down to the mat during their match for third place in Division
2’s 144-pound weight class at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals Saturday.
Johnson rallied for a last second pin in the bout, putting Gibson in fourth place.
The TK senior ends his varsity wrestling career as a four-time state medalist
(Photo by Brett Bremer)
Thornapple Kellogg 106-pounder Christien Miller works to try and turn Brother Rice’s Joe Hakim during
their consolation match Friday, March 3, at the MHSAA Division 2 Individual Wrestling Finals in Detroit. Miller
pinned Hakim and went on to place eighth at his weight class. (Photo by Valerie Slaughter)