Over the years, Whitehall’s wrestling team has been tough to beat. The Vikings are difficult to pin down, but we’ve got them where we want them: As guests on the VanDyk Mortgage Power Hour at North Grove Brewers in Montague.
Whitehall wrestling coach Justin Zeerip, senior standouts Ira Jenkins and Nick Blanchard, and others join longtime radio personality Mike Taylor and CatchMark’s Scott DeCamp at 6 tonight (Jan. 13, 2022) for the live weekly show.
Come out to North Grove, 8735 Water St., to meet the accomplished coach and star wrestlers for the fifth-ranked team in the state. Enjoy some food and beverage as Taylor and DeCamp chat with the Whitehall wrestling contingent, with whom the crowd is encouraged to engage.
If you cannot make it to North Grove, then no worries. You can watch the show for free, either live or on a replay on our YouTube channel (feel free to subscribe for free) or by clicking on the video embed at the top of this story.
Jon Russell, one of the Power Hour’s regular co-hosts, will not be there tonight as he is calling the nearby Shelby at Montague boys basketball livestream, which also is free.
On Wednesday, Whitehall’s wrestling team improved to 10-0 overall in dual meets this season and 4-0 in the West Michigan Conference as the Vikings defeated Montague (58-16) and Oakridge (72-12). Get full coverage of that event here.
Prior to this season, Zeerip earned a couple of statewide coaching awards. See more details on that here.
Last season was a historic one for Whitehall wrestling. For the first time, the Vikings advanced to the state championship match. They lost to nationally ranked Dundee, but still finished state runner-up in Division 3.
One week later, Whitehall sent a school-record 11 wrestlers to the individual state finals. Five Vikings earned all-state honors, led by state champions Jenkins and Max Brown. Blanchard was state runner-up.
Jenkins left a wake of destruction in the 215-pound weight class last season. He finished 39-0 and established a state record for shortest time spent on the mat in his state-tournament run.
This season, Jenkins is wrestling up in the heavyweight division and he’s the state’s No. 1-ranked competitor at 285, per MichiganGrappler.com. After two more wins Wednesday night, the University of Michigan signee is 22-0 on the season. He’s 152-11 in his career with 120 pins and 146 total bonus-point wins.
