If Hartland wrestling coach Todd Cheney had hoped to put last year’s state title in the past, those hopes had faded Thursday night.
“It’s hard to put it behind you, because when you get here, everyone reminds you of it,” Cheney said by phone from Mount Pleasant, home of the Division 1 team state tournament, which begins Friday. “It’s in the program and in the paper up here tongiht. We just got here, and the paper talks about howe we have a target on our back.
“It’s interesting. everyone looking at us as the defending champs for the first time,” he added. “I guess we are the champs until we get knocked off, and it’s fun to be talked about that way.”
The Eagles, the No. 5 seed, take on No. 4 Oxford in the Division 1 quarterfinals at 2:15. Brighton, the No. 8 seed, will take on top-seeded Detroit Catholic Central in another quarterfinal.
The winners will meet Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in the Division 1 semifinals, with the championship held at 3:30 p.m.
Catholic Central is a favorite to win the title, but Cheney says a bout with Brighton “could be a lot of fun. I would love for that to happen, that’s for sure.”
As for Oxford, Hartland has an unusual history. The Eagles have regularly beaten the Wildcats during the regular season, only to see their fortunes reversed in the postseason.
Hartland has beaten Oxford only once in the postseason. That win came in last year’s semifinals.
It’s also a finale of sorts for Cheney, who has known Oxford coach Brad Keeney for a quarter-century. Keeney, now an administrator at Oxford, is coaching his final team finals.
“It should be pretty exciting,” Cheney said. “I think our lower and upper middle weights will be key. 103, 112 and 125 will be big matches for us. They’re good at the upper middle weights, 145, 152 and 160, where we’re pretty good, too. Those will be the key matches.”
The Eagles, a longtime state power in wrestling, finally breaking through last year, the first time the finals were held at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant.
“The magic happened here and now we’re back here,” Cheney said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s exciting being here at the same spot we were at last year. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be fun.”
