Michigan's All Time List - #31 to #40

40. Joe Warren (East Kentwood)

The Baddest Man on the Planet hailed from East Kentwood where he was a three-time state placer (5th, 3rd, 1st) and won it as a senior in '95.  He held national records for most takedowns in a season and in a career when he graduated until 2008.  

Warren continued competing at Michigan and qualified for NCAA's in each of his final three seasons, capping it off with a 3rd place finish in 2000.  He placed top-three at Big Tens in each of those years and was a runner-up in '98 and '99.  

While at Michigan he competed in Greco-Roman at the University Worlds in 2000, placing 6th, and won the 1998 University Nationals.  He won US National titles in Greco from 2005 to 2007 and made Senior-level World Teams in 2005 and 2006.  In '06 he won the World Championships in Guangzhou, China.

Warren continued competing after the Senior level but inside the cage, when he transitioned to MMA and fought for Bellator.  He won titles at Bantamweight and Featherweight in that organization and is the oldest fighter to win a championship at nearly 38 years old.  

39. Ben Whitford (St. Johns)

Whitford was one of the most dominant high school wrestlers in the state's history.  He started off his prep career winning two state titles for Marmion Academy in Illinois before coming back home to Michigan and winning two more for the St. Johns.  

Nationally, he won it all as well.  He went 4-for-4 in Cadet finals appearances, earning three titles and a runner-up at Fargo in 2009 and 2010.  He followed that up with a double Junior title performance the next summer and a Super 32 title later that fall.  Following his senior year he won the FILA/UWW Junior Freestyle title.

Whitford was a two-time Asics/Tiger 1st Team All-American and was WrestlingUSA's Wrestler of the Year in 2013.  He also was selected to Team USA to compete at the Dapper Dan, where he was victorious.

Whitford made a comeback to the sport during the 2020 Olympic cycle, training at Northwestern University and competing on the Senior level.  He picked up a championship at the Cerro Pelado in Cuba in 2019, where he pinned 2017 NCAA Champ Cory Clark.  Whitford was also 3rd at the Dave Schultz International.

38. Taylor Massa (St. Johns)

Equally as dominant as his St. Johns teammate above, Massa put together a 231-0 career record en route to four state championships. As a senior he was named Asics Wrestler of the Year, was the national recipient of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, and a WrestlingUSA Dream Teamer. He was an Asics 1st Team All-American twice, 3rd Team once, and Honorable Mention once.

Massa's national prep accolades are wild to look at.  He won the Cadet Triple Crown twice (08, 09), meaning he won national titles in Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco.  In 2009 he also won FILA Cadets.  A year later, he'd win FILA Juniors and Flonationals and was a double Junior All-American (3rd FS/4th GR).  As a junior, he won FILA Juniors again and made the Junior World Team, which competed in Bucharest, Romania.  Finally, Massa placed five times at Super 32 - all inside the top three - including three finals appearances and a title.

Massa chose to stay in state and compete for Michigan, where he qualified for the NCAA tournament twice.  Injuries hampered his career, but his best season came as a true freshman when he went 27-10 and lost in the bloodround at NCAA's. Without injuries in college, Massa was on pace for a college and Senior-level career that could have had him toward the top of this list.

37. John Hartupee (Mt. Pleasant)

A Mt. Pleasant native, Hartupee won three straight Class B state titles from 1974-1976.  He was named a WrestlingUSA All-American as a senior and stayed close to home for college, wrestling for Central Michigan.

Hartupee earned two MAC titles at 118 lbs and was an NCAA finalist as a senior in 1981.  Seeded 10th, he pinned Barry Davis of Iowa in the second round, propelling his finals run.  Davis would go on to win three NCAA titles.  In the finals, he fell to Gene Mills, who was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

College coaching would follow as he made stops at Clemson, Michigan, and Pittsburgh before getting the head coaching gig at Duquesne in 1997, which he held until they dropped the program in 2010.  Hartupee was inducted into CMU's Hall of Fame in 1997.

36. Jarod Trice (Highland Park)

One of the most entertaining personalities in state history, Doughboy was a three-time state finalist for Highland Park, winning titles in his junior and senior seasons.  He had a ton of success on the national scene as well, winning double FILA/UWW Cadet titles in '06, placing 3rd in Cadet Greco in '05, 4th in Junior Freestyle in '07, and wining Senior Nationals in '07.

At CMU, he won a MAC title in 2011 and racked up three NCAA All-American honors - 8th in 2010, 4th in 2011, and 6th in 2013.  He also won the Midlands Championships twice. Trice added three University National titles, doubling up in 2010 and winning Greco again in 2015, which earned him OW honors as well.

Trice continued to compete in his post-collegiate career in both Freestyle and Greco, and then made a transition into fighting.  He went 4-0 fighting for Bellator.

35. David Morgan (Ferndale)

Morgan prepped at Ferndale HS, where he won a Class A state title in 1993 after placing 3rd as a junior and 4th as a sophomore.  He then began his collegiate career wrestling for Morgan State University in Baltimore, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 1994.

A year later he would transfer back to his home state and finished out his career at Michigan State.  Morgan was a three-time All-American for the Spartans, placing 3rd in 1996, 5th in 1997, and 2nd in 1998.  He also won three Big Ten titles and compiled a record of 129-10 over three years.  His 129 wins put him 3rd all-time for MSU, and he holds the top spot for most wins in a season (44), which he accomplished twice.

34. Alec Pantaleo (Canton)

One of just a handful of guys on the list who are still active, Pantaleo was a two-time finalist and state champ as a sophomore for Canton. Despite missing his junior season to injury, he compiled a 177-9 record for the Chiefs.  He placed 6th at Flonationals in 2013 and went to U of M following high school.

At Michigan, Pantaleo placed top-four in the Big Tens each year and was a champ in 2018.  He captured three All-American honors by placing 6th, 5th, and 3rd, respectively, in his final three years for the Wolverines.  Pantaleo also made the Junior World Team in 2016 and the U23 World Team in 2019.  

Still training with Michigan at the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, Pantaleo has put together a great Senior level resume. He won a Pan American gold in 2021 and was a US Open champ in 2022.

33. Rod Severn (Montrose)

One of five Severn brothers who won state titles for Montrose in the 70s/80s, Rod won three championships for the Rams from 1981-1983.  As a senior, he won the Junior Freestyle title in Fargo and added a 3rd place finish in Greco.  WrestlingUSA named Severn an All-American and he was chosen to wrestle for Team USA at the Dapper Dan Classic.

He headed west for college, competing at Arizona State, as did three of his brothers.  Severn lost in the bloodround as a true freshman at heavyweight and then went on to place three times at the NCAA tournament - 7th in '85, 6th in '87, and 5th in '88.  In 1988, he helped the Sun Devils win their first team title in history.   Coach Bobby Douglas credited the signing of Severn, a blue-chip recruit, as a turning point for the ASU program.

32. Ryan Cunningham (Fulton-Middleton)

Cunningham was also a blue-chip prospect in high school, compiling a 200-3 record en route to four finals appearances and three state titles for Fulton-Middleton.  He won 146 straight bouts to close out his career.  In 1993, he was a double Cadet All-American, reaching the finals in freestyle and placing 5th in Greco.  The next year he would place 3rd in Junior Freestyle as a sophomore.  Cunningham also placed 5th at Senior Nationals in 1996.  He was twice selected to the Asics/Tiger All- American team - 2nd Team in 1995, HM in 1996.

At CMU, he put together one of the best careers in school history.  He won the MAC, was named MAC Freshman of the Year, and qualified for NCAA's as a true freshman in 1997.  Two more MAC titles would follow, as would three NCAA All-American finishes - 4th in 1998, 7th in 1999, and 3rd in 2000.  Cunningham was named MAC Wrestler of the Year in 2000 and finished his Chippewa career with 104 wins.

31. Doug Wyn (Grandville)

Wyn was a three-time All American for the former Western Michigan University wrestling program, winning the NCAA 167lb championship in 1974 and going 30-0 on the year. He also took 5th and 2nd at 167lbs in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Overall, Wyn had a 89-15 career record and set school marks for wins and pins (29). Wyn was the only Western wrestler ever to win three Mid-American Conference titles and was outstanding wrestler of 1973 and 1974 tournaments.