Whitehall senior Gavin Craner is the defending Division 3 state champion and has signed his national letter of intent to wrestle at Central Michigan University.
(Photo courtesy of LocalSportsJournal.com)
By Scott Vansickle
LocalSportsJournal.com
WHITEHALL - Losing is something Gavin Craner hates to do, and the Whitehall senior hasn’t lost many times on the wrestling mat.
And that disdain for coming up short has been a constant motivator for Craner throughout his wrestling career and has helped produce extraordinary results. Craner has compiled a career record of 169-11 coming out of Christmas break between his time at Belding and Whitehall. He is the defending Division 3 state champion at 175 pounds and has signed his national letter of intent to wrestle at Central Michigan University. Craner has always found success whenever he took to the mat, but it was transferring to Whitehall before his junior year and reuniting with Coach Justin Zeerip that allowed Craner to take his game to a whole new level.
According to Craner, it was his grandfather, Anthony Moon, along with Zeerip, that got him started on the mat as a 4-year-
old in the Hart youth wrestling program. After stops in the Lowell and Greenville youth programs, Craner began his middle school career at Belding. Craner made the state meet as a freshman and sophomore at Belding before finally settling at Whitehall in the 11th grade. And teaming with Zeerip, who went 260-0 during his standout career at Hesperia before wrestling at the University of Michigan, helped flip his mentality on the mat.
“He gave me my first singlet,” Craner said of Zeerip, who had a strong relationship with Moon at the time Craner got his start. “(Coach) has meant a lot to me. I was a pretty decent wrestler, but (Zeerip) changed my whole outlook. My mindset was like, ‘I don’t want to lose.’ I was wrestling not to lose instead of wrestling to win.
“I’ve got 6 minutes (in a match) so I’m going to go all out. I just want to win.”
And Zeerip is certainly glad to have a wrestler of Craner’s caliber in the fold. Whitehall has been the top area wrestling program is recent memory. Along with sending many wrestlers to the state tournament, the Vikings have had plenty of team success with runner-up finishes recently in 2021, 2023 and 2024 to go with a couple semifinal berths as well.
“He’s been huge for us. He’s been a captain last year and this year. He leads by example and all the kids look up to him,” Zeerip said of Craner. “He outworks a lot of people, he’s ultra competitive. It’s his work ethic that sets him apart. He’s very athletic and he’s got a lot of tools, whether he’s top, bottom or neutral. He’s honed in on the leg attacks from neutral (position) and on top. As he’s gotten older, he’s perfected a lot of things.”
And the winning has seemed to come easy for Craner. Like many prep wrestlers, Craner spent many weekends at MYWAY tournaments and finished among the top 3 in the state three different years, including winning a state title. His success at MYWAY has led to Craner earning a spot on Team Michigan and he has competed nationally in Greco-Roman freestyle after his sophomore year. The state and national level wrestling put Craner on the radar of the collegiate wrestling world, especially Central Michigan. Craner had an instant connection with first-year coach Ben Bennett, a former Chippewa standout himself, and already has friends on the team, so that part of the transition to the next level should be somewhat easier.
“I had a great connection with the coach, Ben Bennett. He showed me love and was nice to me. I’ve got some friends on the team, one of my old drill partners is there and another guy I know. Plus it’s close to home, so it should be fun,” Craner said of continuing his career at CMU, where he is interested in majoring in human science, criminal science or teaching.
But for all the successes Craner has had as a wrestler, it was his last high school loss that has really fueled the fire. After 3 straight wins and outscoring his opponents 36-6 in the 2023 individual state meet at 175 pounds, Craner got pinned in the finals by Lutheran Westland’s Noah Etnyre in 2:35. Having come so close to the ultimate prize stuck with Craner in the off-season, and used that disappointment and the mental tips shared by Zeerip to turn in the perfect season as a junior.
“I thought I had a really good year (in 10th grade). I beat some pretty decent kids and it all worked (for me to get to the finals),” stated Craner. “Then I got pinned in the finals. I was thinking, ‘I could be really good, but I’ve got to get over the edge,’ and that really drove me.”
That loss, and Zeerip’s coaching, has transformed the way Craner approaches his matches. His “wrestling to win” mentality
now has Craner on the attack right from the outset. Using a physicality honed by his time on the football team combined with his relentlessness to score points, Craner is a combined 74-0 as a Viking and is a favorite to repeat as state champion.
While he can get points from any position or work his opponent into a position to be pinned, Craner is on the attack early and often with a focus on tying up the legs.
“About 80 or 90 percent of the time, the guy who gets the first points wins. I like to be physical out there,” said Craner. “I can mix it up, but I like to shoot (the legs).”
While Craner has accomplished so much already, the senior does have reachable goals remaining in his final prep season. Finishing his high school season with a win is an important goal, and finding a way to knock off top-ranked Dundee would be icing on the cake.
“I’m 20-0 so far this year, and I want to win state (again) and get that 200th win,” said Craner. “(Beating Dundee) would be one to remember. Dundee is not going to be easy to beat. They’re not only probably the best team in the state, they’re one of the best teams in the country.”
With the desire to keep winning and the dedication and talent to make it a reality, it will be hard to bet against Craner.
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