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MHSAA Wrestling State Champions
Round Table Interview By Matt Fields
What does it take to be a state
champion? Reaching the pinnacle of
high school wrestling is a goal that
many have attempted, and few have
achieved. For local prep wrestling
standouts DJ Daniels of Caro, Brock-
ton Cook of Birch Run, Chris Lilly of sacrifices in wrestling. I really only youth wrestlers that aspire to be state
Croswell-Lexington, and Logan Ryan
of Sandusky, that journey began
between the ages of 4 and 7. “I have
been around wrestling my whole life
because of my dad (Joe Lilly, head
18 • Sports Finest Magazine Mar 2019 sportsfinestMagzine.com 989 545 0735 kelly@sportsfinestmagazine.com
coach of Cros-Lex). I actually started
when I was 7 years old” said Lilly.
For Logan Ryan of Sandusky, a
freshmen state champion in the girls
division, that journey started at the
age of 4.
The sacrifices made to reach the
top of the podium have been end-
less. While Daniels, Ryan, and Lilly
all noted lost free time with friends
and family, Cook had a different
perspective, “I didn’t really make
use all my time in the wrestling room. champions, Daniels said “The sky’s
I would walk out with coach so I was
the last one to leave the room. I
would always ask coach how to get
out of stuff and help and would al-
ways stay after. Daniels (a two-time
champ) added that it was all worth it in
the end.
Being a state champion also means
being a role model. When asked what
advice they had to give to current
the limit. A big key to success is being
great on your feet and having a great
stand up from bottom”. Cook added “
Set your goals high and put your heart
into what you want and work hard”.
Lilly echoed those sentiments “you get
what you put into it…”
Many people shared their sacrifice
along the way and were very influ-
ential in their success. “The biggest
influencer in my life has been my
mother” said Daniels. “My biggest
influence has been my mom and my
dad, my dad is also my coach” noted
Ryan. Cook added “My biggest influ-