D1 Most Improved Wrestlers

This is a category that we believe to be extremely important.  Not every wrestler can be a state champion or even all state.  But every wrestler can improve.  This comes only with hard work, dedication, discipline, listening to coaches, showing up, off season work, diet and nutrition, weight training etc.  Wrestlers who make gigantic improvements do not get there by accident.  They have worked for it!  We are not looking at in-season improvement in this list. The following are Prep's most improved wrestlers from the 2023/2024 season to the 2024/2025 campaign.

106

Jameson Wood, a sophomore from Brighton went 28-14 a year ago and did make the blood round at state with a late season push.  However, this year, Wood finished a whopping 47-3 with a state runner up finish.  Impressive!  Special mention goes to fellow sophomore Jacob Busse of Franklin who improved from 19-13 a year ago to 40-14 and an 8th place finish at Ford Field. 

113

Gavin Culloty, a sophomore from Clarkston, wins our most improved at 113.  He had a very similar path to Jameson Wood.  Culloty was 24-15 last year and was able to qualify for state at 106.  This year, Culloty’s record jumped to 44-8 for the Wolves and he achieved a 5th place finish at Ford Field.  Well done!

120

This one was a very tough call as there are so many wrestlers in nearly the same boat.

Prep’s pick is William Hayward of Flushing, a sophomore.  His freshman year he went 17-17 and this year he went 32-12 which is a huge improvement.  He was eliminated at districts as his 31-10 record at the time only got him a 5th seed.  We are betting Mr. Hayward will be seeded much higher than that in this coming year. 

126

Isaac Fandakly a junior from Stoney Creek is our pick for most improved at 126.   He went 10-6 last year before going 33-11 and qualifying for the big dance at Ford Field.  Fandakly also went 3-15 as a freshman, showing incredible resilience as well as improvement.  Congrats Isaac!

Special Mention goes to Hayden Bessinger of Grand Haven who improved from 16-11 to 35-14 and also qualified for state this year.  Another awesome job!

132

Prep’s pick for most improved at 132 is Ethan Miller, a junior from Fraser.  The previous year, Miller went 29-24, and this year he went 39-8 and qualified for the individual state championships.  That is outstanding improvement.  Well done Ethan!

138

Lucas Abro, a junior from Utica High School, is our most improved at 138.  He was 25-13 as a sophomore and finished 42-12 this year and was won with away from the medal stand at Ford Field.  He was also 5-9 as a freshman.  Congrats Lucas or your grit as well as that amazing jump in wins!

144

Ayden Mutter, a Clarkston junior, is Prep’s Pick for most improved at 144.  Mutter was 18-14 as a sophomore and wrestled this year in the blood round at state, while sporting a 32-13 record.  Congrats to Clarkston Wrestling on having their second wrestler recognized for this award and great Improvement Ayden Mutter!

150

Kaden Tindall is Prep’s pick for most improved at 150.  The junior from Brighton improved from 38-19 the previous year to 45-9 this year and a 6th place finish at Ford Field.  Excellent improvement with still a year to go for Mr. Tindall! Also this is the Bulldog's second winner in this category so a big shout out to that program and coaching staff.

Special mention goes to Anthony Najjar of Bloomfield Hills, Connor Doughty of Walled Lake Northern, and Tristan Dewitt of Grand Haven as they were all in the running.

157

The most improved recognition for the 157# weight class is Anthony Madafferi of Novi.  The junior was a 27-13  regional qualifier at 138 for the Wildcats.  This year, Maddaferi improved to 26-9 and finished 4th place at Ford Field.  Great job Anthony!

Special mention of note is Grady Rousse of Traverse City Central improved from 28-8 and an 8th place finish to 34-5 and a 3rd place finish.

165

Prep’s pick for most improved at 165 is Caiden Walker, a senior from Flushing.  Walker was 26-17 as a junior and was a regional qualifier at 138.  He then made the huge jump in weight to 165 and finished 6th on the medal stand at Ford Field.  This is Flushing's second winner of the most improved award showing that the Raider wrestling program is doing a great job of developing wrestlers. Our hat is off to you Caiden Walker for that incredible improvement!

Shout out to Zach Miracle of Temperance Bedford who was 45-8 and 1-2 at the big dance last year and was seen putting in a lot of work in the summer and fall.  This year Miracle finished 57-4 and was state runner up to Jay’Den Williams.

175

This year's edition of most improved at 175 goes to Caden Krueger of Detroit Catholic Central.  Krueger was 24-11 a year ago as a freshman and did not wrestle in individual postseason competition.  This season, Krueger finished 37-13 and finished 3rd place at Ford Field.  That is impressive.  Way to go Caden!

Special Mention goes to Seniors Mehdi Chemeissani of Crestwood and Connor Hall of Temperance Bedord as they also made excellent improvements in the last year.

190

The representative for most improved at 190 goes to Thomas Jaynes, a junior from Romeo.  He started coming on strong his sophomore year as he qualified for state and went 2 and out.  This year he exploded onto the elite scene with a 55-7 record and state runner up finish.  He also has a year left.   Well done Thomas on such massive improvement!

215

Tyler Meeuwsen, sophomore, of East Kentwood is our most improved wrestler at 215.  Last year, Tyler had a good year for a freshman at 215 finishing 11-5 at what is always a brutally tough weight class.  This year, he made plenty of waves throughout the state finishing 38-7 with a 6th place finish at the state finals.  Great job Tyler!

285

Our final pick in D1 for most improved goes to Camden Neumann of Clarkston which gives the Wolves a record 3 wrestlers on this list!  In the previous campaign, Neumann was 18-11.  This year, Camden placed 6th in the state with a 34-7 final record.  On a side note, Neumann was 11-17 as a sophomore showing tremendous grit and determination.  What amazing improvement and a great finish to his career.  Congrats Camden!