Casey Swiderski walked around the mat and pointed to a section of the crowd in the aftermath of joining a very exclusive club with his third high school division championship at last weekend’s Grappler Fall Classic.

College coaches are likely pointing to the Dundee junior as one of their top Class of 2022 targets thanks to an offseason of raising his recruiting profile. 

Swiderski, No. 9 in the current 132-pound national rankings and No. 72 on the 2022 Big Board, decisioned 19th-ranked Danny Nini of Lake Highland (Florida) Prep, 4-2, in the 130-pound final.

With that, he became just the fourth wrestler to capture at least three high school division championships in the event’s 12-year history and only the second from Michigan.

Nic Bouzakis of Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, No. 6 in the latest pound-for-pound national rankings, became the only four-time champion at this year’s GFC. Other three-time high school winners are St. Johns, Michigan’s Zac Hall (2010, 2012-13) and Apple Valley, Minnesota’s Mark Hall (2011-13). 

Swiderski was hardly the only Michigan grappler catching the eye of college recruiters at the event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina which drew more than 300 wrestlers who have placed in their state tournaments, including nearly 100 champions.

Dundee teammate Braeden Davis (105), Davison’s Caden Horwath (112) and Josh Barr (160) and Detroit Catholic Central’s Manny Rojas (171) all won their first GFC high school division titles.

The tournament features college-style rules, including points for riding time and extended out-of-bounds. 

Here is a breakdown of how Michigan’s five champions finished atop podiums:

CASEY SWIDERSKI

The two-time Division 3 state champion was coming off one of the summer’s biggest upsets. Swiderski edged Iowa recruit Drake Ayala, currently No. 8 pound-for-pound, 6-5 at the Midwest Ironman Duals. Ayala, also an Iowa state champion, is the nation's top-ranked 120-pounder and No. 7 on the Class of 2021 Big Board.

The title match against Nini, a two-time Florida State champion, was a stalemate until Swiderski was awarded a point when Nini was penalized for stalling with 1:05 remaining in the second period. An escape drew Nini even 1:43 left in the final period. 

The score remained 1-1 until Swiderski was awarded another stalling point with 22 seconds to go before scoring a single-leg takedown in the final seconds to make it 4-1. Nini, who finished the last high school season 38-7, earned a point for riding time. He was third in the state as a freshman. 

Swiderski reached the championship match with a 5-3 decision over Ohio’s Dy'Vaire Van Dyke, No. 20 in the national 132-pound rankings. Van Dyke, a West Jesuit sophomore, went 31-5 last season, qualifying for the state tournament which was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Swiderski began with a 16-1 trouncing of Georgia’s Giles Turner before facing Michigan state medalist Ethan Kinch (Hartland). Kinch, a junior, was fifth at the Division 1 state tournament as a freshman before an injury prevented him from returning to last season’s state tourney. Swiderski pinned him in 3:44.

He then decisioned Florida’s Eligh Rivera (14-4) and pinned California’s Nathan Aguilar (1:48) to reach the semifinals.

Overall, Swiderski has competed in eight GFCs, winning six titles. His previous high school championships were at 119 and 105 pounds. He also captured a middle school title at 85 and elementary championships at 80 and 65 pounds. Swiderski has never finished lower than fifth.

He takes an 85-3 record into the coming season during which he hopes to help the Vikings to a fourth consecutive state championship. 

BRAEDEN DAVIS

In an all-Michigan final at 105 pounds, Davis gained a measure of revenge against Detroit Catholic Central's Drew Heethius. The match was also a clash of two of the country's top 12 at that weight. 

A year ago, Heethuis, currently ranked 12th, decisioned Davis, 5-1, for the 98-pound championship. This time, No. 11 Davis edged him, 3-2.

Davis quickly gained the advantage of Heethuis, getting behind him and spinning him around for a takedown just 26 seconds into the match.

Heethuis regained his composure, however, and match bogged down a bit. It remained 2-0 until Heethuis drew even with a takedown of his own in the closing seconds of the second period. 

Nobody scored in the final period and Davis' 1:23 advantage in riding time earned him the title, his third after also winning elementary weight classes in 2013 and 2014. 

The match ended with both wrestlers nearly out of bounds and Davis pointed at his chest following the final whistle while looking at an official as if to confirm he had won. Davis then bounced up, shook Heethuis' hand and bounded off the mat after his hand was raised.

Davis started the tournament by pinning Florida state qualifier Andrew Punzalan in 2:29 before breezing past three-time Florida state qualifier Ethan Vugman, 17-2. 

Davis then decisioned Ohio state qualifier Vinnie D'Allessandro, 12-5. He knocked off another Michigan opponent, Milford's Marcello Milaini, 16-2, in the semifinals. He was a GFC high school varsity champion last year. 

JOSH BARR

The only non-junior or senior in the 160-pound national rankings, Barr is currently No. 11. The Davison sophomore was Michigan's only unbeaten freshman state champion last season (Division 1, 152 pounds), finishing 39-0.

Barr never trailed in edging 15th-ranked Ceasar Garza, 3-2, in the 160-pound GFC final. Garza was seventh in the California State tournament last season. 

The match was scoreless through one period before Barr began the second period in the down position and escaped within five seconds for a 1-0 advantage. A takedown with 1:10 to go in the second made it 3-0.

Garza finally got on the board with an escape as the second period ended with Barr still up 3-1. He added another point in the final period, but drew no closer. 

Barr, No. 6 on the Class of 2023 Big Board, began with an easy, 19-4 win over Ohio state qualifier Nate Booth before pinning Colorado's Auden Green in 2:32. Next, he nipped Georgia state runner-up Cole Cochran, 5-4. Cochran, 46-4 last season, was also third in the state in 2019. 

Barr then bested Oren Bost, third in last season's North Carolina state tournament, by a 7-3 score. Bost was also a state qualifier in 2019 and has gone 86-10 the past two seasons. 

In the semifinals, Barr decisioned Georgia state medalist Gunner Filipowicz, 14-7.

Barr, wrestling in his sixth GFC, improved from sixth last year. He was also eighth in 2018, fifth in 2017 and third in 2016. He was elementary, 90-pound champion in 2015 and second the year before.

MANNY ROJAS

No. 10 in the 170-pound national rankings, Rojas tore through three fellow state champions on his way to the 171-pound title. 

The Detroit Catholic Central junior never trailed in knocking off Virginia state champion Domonic Baker, 7-3, in the final. Rojas, No. 32 on the Class of 2022 Big Board, opened the scoring with a takedown with 1:14 left in the first period. Baker recorded an escape 20 seconds later before Rojas added another takedown with six seconds remaining to make it 4-1.

Baker earned another escape point in the first minute of the second period, but Rojas recorded his third takedown with 1:10 left in the second. Baker's final escape point left the score 6-3 after two periods. Rojas then added an escape of his own in the final period to cap the scoring.

Rojas began the tournament by pinning Florida state qualifier Joel Rodriguez in 3:23 before decisioning fellow Michigan grappler Kael Wisler, 17-7. Wisler, a New Boston junior, finished eighth in the Division 2 state tournament at 171 pounds last year. HIs record was 35-8.

Next, Rojas rolled to a 22-7 victory over Georgia state champion Dalton Battle. He then pinned New York state champion and Cornell recruit Christian Hansen in 5:40 to reach the title match.

Rojas was Division 1 state champion at 189 pounds last season, finishing 46-1. His high school record is 71-10. Rojas was third in the 2017 GFC after placing third in middle school competition in 2015 and winning an elementary title in 2014. 

CADEN HORWATH

The 112-pound final pitted two of the nation's top 16 as 15th-ranked Caden Horwath of Davison handled No. 16 Cole Hunt, 7-1. 

Hunt went 45-0 with 45 pins in winning a Georgia state title last season, but Horwath was never really threatened. 

He jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a takedown 64 seconds into the match before Hunt earned an escape and the first period ended, 2-1.

Horwath, third at last year's GFC, scored the rest of his points within a 70-second span in the second period. He recorded an escape with 1:10 remaining before getting a takedown 25 seconds later. Horwath took Hunt down again in the final seconds of the period to make it 7-1.

The third period was scoreless.

Horwath began with a 90-second pin of New Jersey state qualifier Tamorrion Kendrick before a 14-4 win over Georgia state medalist Dominic DiTomasso. 

He then beat Ohio state qualifier Wyatt Richter by forfeit. Horwath reached the title match with a 12-1 drubbing of fellow Michigan state qualifier Anthony Walker (Detroit Catholic Central).

Horwath won a 103-pound, Division 1 state title as a freshman, finishing 43-2.

Mark Spezia is a freelance writer based in Lapeer, Michigan. He has written for ESPNW, Flohockey, Flint, Michigan-based My City Magazine, the Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit Magazine and Troy, Michigan-based Oakland Press. He previously worked for the Flint Journal, Lapeer (Michigan) County Press and Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, Michigan.