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EspañolWinning or defending state championships is no guarantee for Michigan's returning state champions and/or those who bring unblemished records into the state tournament on March 6-7 at Ford Field in Detroit.
That's especially true when unbeatens or returning state champions end up in the same bracket.
Here is a look at Michigan state tournament brackets featuring more than one defending state champion, more than one unbeaten wrestler or both.
Division 1
120 pounds
This loaded bracket contains two of Division 1's five undefeated wrestlers -- Rockord's Layne Martin (43-0) and Traverse City West's Matthew Quigley (48-0).
There is also Saline's Brice LaFleur (43-2), a senior and three-time state medalist after finishing second at 113 pounds last season, sixth at 113 as a sophomore and second at 106 as a freshman.
Martin, a junior who recently committed to Michigan State, defeated LaFleur in last year's title match at 113. Quigley, a senior, finished third at 120 last season and placed second at 113 as a sophomore.
LaFleur, who will continue his career at NCAA Division 2 power Grand Valley State, has lost only to returning Division 3 state champion Mason Haines (Dundee) and Westland John Glenn's Khalil Linnear in a match contested at 132 pounds.
Quigley and LaFleur are in the same side of the bracket and could meet in the semifinals with the winner likely taking on Martin in the championship match.
Division 2
120 pounds
Lowell's Jarrett Smith is seeking a third state championship, but will have to contend with returning state champion Pilot Swab (Stevensville Lakeshore) and unbeaten Branlun Simon (Portland).
Smith, a senior, was also third in the state as a freshman before winning titles at 106 and 113. The Stanford commit is 42-2 this season, but unbeaten against Michigan wrestlers. He was slated to face Swab in the regional title match, but Swab forfeited.
Swab, 106-pound state champion last season, has been limited to 14 matches this season. The junior is 12-2 and his only loss on the mat to a Michigan wrestler this season was a 2-1 decision to returning Division 4 state Jordan Zambon (Riverview Richard).
Swab was also fifth in the state as a freshman.
Simon, a junior, is 48-0 this season after placing second in the state at 106 pounds in Division 3 last season. Portland moved up to Division 2 this season.
Swab and Simon are the same side of the bracket and would meet in the semifinals with the winner facing Smith in the title match.
144 pounds
Unbeatens Luke Egan (Cedar Springs) and Jeffrey Miller (Jackson Northwest) could clash in the championship match with one of them capturing their first state title.
Egan (42-0) was second in the state at 144 last season, seventh at 120 as a sophomore and fifth at 120 as a freshman. He has committed to Grand Valley State.
Miller (47-0) missed the state podium last season after finishing second at 144 as a sophomore and seventh at 126 pounds as a freshman.
190 pounds
This bracket loaded with three unbeaten wrestlers all in search of their first state titles -- North Branch's Martin Knight (43-0), Detroit King's Don Spillers (44-0) and Portland's Brad Meyers (48-0).
Knight, a senior, was second at 190 last season and eighth at 175 as a sophomore while Spillers, a junior, took sixth at 175 last season and seventh at 165 as a sophomore. Meyers, a senior, was fourth at 175 in Division 3 last season and sixth at 165 as a sophomore.
Meyers and Spillers are same side of the bracket and would meet in the semifinals with the winner likely facing Knight in the title match.
Division 3
120 pounds
Dundee's Mason Haines and Erie Mason's Danny Vaneeckhoutte are both in this bracket and seeking their second straight state titles, but Haines is a clear favorite.
The senior, who is the defending 120-pound champion, beat Vaneeckhoutte, 15-2, in the district championship match. Haines, who has committed to Grand Valley State, has gone 33-7 against the Vikings' loaded schedule this season.
He also placed third in state at 106 as a sophomore and second at 106 as a freshman.
Vaneeckhoutte, a junior and 106-pound champion last season, is 39-8. He fell to freshman William Baese (Ovid-Elsie), 18-13, in the regional semifinals before Baese lost by technical fall to Haines in the title match.
Also in the mix is Grand Rapids' Catholic Central senior Ayden Ringler (31-1), who was fifth at 106 last season and third as a sophomore. He has committed to NCAA Division 3 Adrian College.
Vaneeckhoutte, Ringler and Baese are all on one side of the bracket. Vaneeckhoutte and Ringler could meet in the second round and one of them could face Baese in the semifinals. Barring a major upset, Haines should be waiting in the championship match.
138 pounds
Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Dale Gant (36-1) is seeking a fourth state championship after winning titles at 126, 120 and 113 and racking up a 159-10 career record.
The Michigan State signee, 36-1 this season, handed Constantine's Bear Geibe his first loss of the season, 12-8, in the regional final.
He could be challenged, however, by unbeaten Aiden Durham of Grass Lake (43-0).
The sophomore has progressed from going 1-2 in this same bracket a year ago to beating last season's state champion in this bracket -- Dundee's Wyatt Burns -- earlier this season. Durham also decisioned Geibe in last year's regional final. Burns is now wrestling for Division 4 Springport.
Geibe, a senior, is 49-1 and finished fifth in this bracket a year ago. He was eighth at 132 as a sophomore.
Durham and Geibe are on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the semifinals. Gant should be waiting in the title match.
Division 4
126 pounds
Manchester's Sammy Stewart is seeking a third state championship in four years while Owen Fogel of St. Louis is going for a second straight state title.
They clashed at the Blackhawk Invitational last month with Fogel taking a 6-5 decision. However, Stewart beat Fogel by technical fall in the same tournament last season.
Fogel, a senior, was 113-pound state champion last season after placing third at 106 as a sophomore and sixth as a freshman. He is 48-3 this season.
Stewart, a senior, won titles at 120 last season and 113 as a freshman. The Michigan State signee was second at 126 as a sophomore. Stewart is 42-3 this season.
Also in the mix is Houghton Lake junior Mason Langlois (45-1), who is enjoying a breakout season after going a combined 56-35, including 1-4 at the state tournament, the previous two seasons.
Fogel and Langlois are on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the semifinals. Stewart will likely be waiting in the championship match.
150 pounds
Defending state champions Beckett Campbell (Hudson) and Blake Sloan (Manchester) appear on a collision course to face off in the final which would be their third meeting this season.
Campbell (49-0) has won both matchups by decision in the regional final and at the Hudson 16 tournament. The sophomore, who won a state title at 144 pounds last season, has already built a career record of 99-3.
He also decisioned Springport's Wyatt Burns, who won a Division 3 state title while wrestling for Dundee last season, at the team regional tournament. Burns is wrestling at 144 in the individual state tournament.
Sloan (51-2), a Grand Valley State signee, was 150-pound state champion last season. He finished second at 144 as a sophomore and second at 138 as a freshman.
175 pounds
This bracket will likely come down to a pair of wrestlers who captured 157-pound state championships last season.
Manchester's Jeremy Amrhein (Manchester) won a Division 3 title while wrestling for Dundee while Beaverton's Eli Roe was Division 4 champion.
Amrhein, a senior, is 49-0 and was third at 138 as a sophomore. He will continue his career at NCAA Division 2 Davenport University.
Roe, a junior, is 45-1 and was also sixth at 150 pounds as a sophomore. He has not lost since dropping an 8-5 decision to unbeaten Louis Smith (Three Rivers) at the Grappler Gold Invitational in early December.