Lowell 4-Peats With Win in Classic Clash
February 25, 2017
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
MOUNT PLEASANT – Lowell coach R.J. Boudro knew his wrestling team wasn't going to just show up Saturday for the Division 2 Final and walk away with its fourth straight team title.
He knew as far back as last year that there was a new team in the state trying to muscle its way to the top of the division that the Red Arrows have controlled since 2014.
Undefeated Warren Woods Tower pushed Lowell hard all the way to the end of their championship match at Central Michigan University's McGuirk Arena, before the Red Arrows proved that they were just a little bit better, winning 32-21.
"I knew from last year and how young they were that they were going to be a great team," Boudro said. "The studs they have, especially down low. They were no surprise to me that they were going to be a really good team."
The problem for the Titans may have been the starting weight.
Instead of starting in the lower weights, where Warren Woods Tower is strongest, the Finals started at 135 pounds. Lowell picked up the dual's first win when talented freshman Austin Boone won by major decision.
From there, the Red Arrows won six of the next eight weight classes to race out to a 25-7 lead with five classes to wrestle.
The Titans won the next three, all by bonus points, as David Stepanian won by pin at 103 and Chaise Mayer and Elijuh Weaver won by major decision victories at 112 and 119, respectively, to cut the Red Arrows’ lead to 25-21.
That's when the championship match took an unexpected turn, when Lowell's Jeff Leach was awarded four penalty points late in his bout at 125 when the Woods Tower wrestler, who had top control over Leach, did not bring Leach to the mat in a proper time while both were on their feet.
Leach ended up winning 7-0.
Still, Titans coach Greg Mayer – whose team finished 28-1 – knows that championships aren't won and lost in a single match.
"We wrestled hard, but there were some matches where we thought we would do a little better in," Mayer said. "We needed some more bonus points in the lower weights where we missed out on some. But that's not here nor there. I thought we wrestled hard; they are just a good team."
Boudro said his team did what it had to do to win.
"Today we fought all over the mat and fought for every point," said Boudro, whose team ended its season with a 21-2 record. "We saved some bonus points at 112 and 119, and that kind of ended up sealing the deal for us. “The way it ended … it was kind of a weird ending to the dual, but it was a great dual, and I think the fans got what they came for."
The Red Arrows earned their way to the Finals by beating another undefeated team, Marysville, in their Semifinal match. The Titans advanced to their first championship match by beating Niles in their Semifinal Saturday morning.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lowell and Warren Woods Tower wrestlers work for control during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) A Warren Woods Tower competitor defends against an attack by his Red Arrows opponent. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D4 Preview: Champ Returns as Favorite
February 25, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Division 4 Team Wrestling Finals feature the smallest schools competing in our state.
But they also included the headlining finish from last season’s championship matches at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
New Lothrop ended Hudson’s record five-year title streak by downing the Tigers 33-22 – and the Hornets return to Kellogg this weekend as favorites to repeat.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 4, listed by seed. Quarterfinal matches begin at 1 p.m. Friday, with Semifinals at 9:30 Saturday morning and the championship match at 4 p.m. All matches this weekend will be streamed live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV. For results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page. (Records below are based on those submitted for the Individual Finals.)
#1 New Lothrop
Record/rank: 26-1, No. 1
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference.
Coach: Jeff Campbell, 14th season (365-65)
Championship history: 13 MHSAA championships (most recent 2014), four runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Tommy Malloy (34-19) fr., 112 Connor Krupp (34-12) soph., 130 Dalton Birchmeier (32-9) sr., 135 Cole Hersch (46-0) jr., 140 Gabe Bennett (36-3) sr., 145 Steven Garza II (36-0) jr., 145 Trevor Copes (29-10) sr., 152 Johnny Robinson (33-11) jr., 160 Erik Birchmeier (34-8) soph., 171 Joe Fisher (16-5) sr., 189 Caleb Symons (44-1) jr., 285 David Robertson (34-19) sr.
Outlook: New Lothrop’s title last winter was its first since 2004 and keyed in large part by eventual and now-graduated individual champions Josh Wendling and Taylor Krupp. But Symons, usually unable to break into the lineup at the same weights as those two, also was a hero of last year’s final weekend. Bennett, Garza and Connor Krupp are returning Individual Finals placers, and Hersch is considered a contender next weekend as well.
#2 Decatur
Record/rank: 29-2, No. 4
League finish: Second in Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Coach: Brian Southworth, 31st season (639-206-3)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 David Helmuth (44-8) soph., 130 Ethan May (45-11) soph., 145 Elijah Luth (41-10) jr., 152 Hunter Bell (50-1) sr., 189 Cole Southworth (45-7) sr., 285 Logan Kennedy (23-2) soph.
Outlook: Decatur returns to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2012, having conquered No. 3 Lawton in their District Final after finishing behind Lawton in the SAC standings and falling to the Blue Devils in District Finals the last two seasons. Half the starting lineup is underclassmen, but Kennedy was an Individual Finals placer last season, as were Cole Southworth and Bell.
#3 Hudson
Record/rank: 21-5, No. 2
League finish: Tied for first in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Scott Marry, 27th season (713-151)
Championship history: Five MHSAA championships (most recent 2013), runner-up 2014.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Dylan Leathers (24-13) jr., 119 Roddy Hamdan (37-7) sr., 125 Tyler Roberts (26-15) sr., 130 Michael Prock (34-12) sr., 145 Mason Lopinski (34-5) jr., 152 Kyle Johnson (41-6) jr., 171 Clayton Brockway (28-16) sr., 189 Mitch Ely (28-13) sr., 189 Tylor Grames (30-17) soph.
Outlook: Hudson is capable of starting another title run with five Individual Finals placers in the lineup this weekend including Johnson, the reigning champion at 152, and Hamdan, the runner-up at 112 last season. The Tigers edged No. 5 Springport in the Regional Final to advance after sharing the LCAA championship with Division 3 top-ranked Dundee.
#4 Manchester
Record/rank: 28-7, No. 7
League finish: Tied for first in Cascades Conference.
Coach: Steve Vlcek, 25th season (500-181)
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2008.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Reese Fry (29-12) fr., 112 Brendan Abrigo (45-1) sr., 119 Ethan Woods (38-8) soph., 135 Nick Dettling (45-6) sr., 140 Brock Vlcek (45-3) sr., 145 Corey Johnson (41-7) sr., 152 Matt Cuevas (38-11) sr., 152 Garrick Ockerman (28-19) sr., 160 Trevor Humphrey (45-4) jr., 285 Stevie Suliman (33-17) jr.
Outlook: Manchester also is back in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. The Flying Dutchmen scored at least 60 points in all three of their postseason wins to get to Battle Creek after sharing their league title with No. 6 Addison. Abrigo was the Individual Finals runner-up at 103 last season, and Woods finished sixth at that weight.
#5 Leroy Pine River
Record/rank: 25-5, No. 8
League finish: First in Highland Conference.
Coach: Tim Jones, 16th season (424-95)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1991.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Nate Park (38-7) jr., 103 Andrew Park (28-7) fr., 112 Jordan Stone (44-8) sr., 119 Tony Moore (44-6) sr., 125 Tucker Fansler (36-15) soph., 135 Phil Ragatzki (27-16) sr., 171 Jeff Gross (33-11) sr., 189 Tyler McCurry (39-10) sr., 215 Dominic Garcia (25-4) jr., 215 Josh Jackson (39-8) jr., 285 Chase Morrison (37-6) jr.
Outlook: Pine River has dominated its league and District with 15 championships over the last 16 seasons at both stages. This is the Bucks’ first trip to the Quarterfinals since 2008 and has come after four tournament wins by an average score of 67-13. Stone should be an Individual Finals contender after placing eighth at 112 last season.
#6 Norway
Record/rank: 18-5, unranked
League finish: First in Mid Peninsula Athletic Conference.
Coach: Nick Burkland, sixth season (84-32)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Dylan Hoffart (39-3) soph., 140 Cole Gonzalez (40-1) sr., 152 Tanner Gonzalez (36-4) soph., 160 Taylor Bonetti (47-4) sr.
Outlook: Norway’s surge continues as it is making the trip to Battle Creek for the third straight year and is a combined 68-6 in duals over the last three seasons. The Knights have moved up one seed each of these Quarterfinal trips and return 10 wrestlers from last season’s lineup. Cole Gonzalez and Bonetti both were Individual Finals placers in 2014.
#7 Climax-Scotts/Martin
Record/rank: 22-4, unranked
League finish: Third in Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Co-coaches: Jason Wade, 10th season (N/A); Pete Boyd, 27th season (531-234)
Championship history: Martin was Class D champion in 2008, Division 4 runner-up in 2004 and Class D runner-up in 1991 and 1987.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Dayton VanderPloeg (34-8) jr., 145 Todd Myers (35-8) jr., 152 Zack Mobley (43-9) jr., 215 Ethan Simmons (37-5) soph.
Outlook: These two schools formed a cooperative program this season for the first time and finished third together in one of the toughest small-school wrestling leagues in the state. VanderPloeg finished fourth at 103 pounds at last season’s Individual Finals and brings championship experience to a lineup with only two seniors. Climax-Scotts/Martin edged both Hesperia and Kent City by a point apiece to win the Regional.
#8 Cass City
Record/rank: 40-10, unranked
League finish: First in Greater Thumb Conference.
Coach: Don Markel, 30th season (521-343-2)
Championship history: Has never finished among the top two teams in Finals competition.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 140 Darrin Dickson (38-11) soph., 189 T.J. Moore (45-7) soph.
Outlook: Cass City is making its first trip to the Quarterfinals but has won nine league and five District titles under Markel, who took over the program heading into the 1985-86 season. The Red Hawks bounced back from two straight sub-.500 seasons to make this historical run with only five seniors on the roster but 10 wrestlers total with at least 30 wins this winter.
PHOTO: New Lothrop's Caleb Symons (right) earned a major decision in last season's Division 4 Final win and will be among those counted on again this weekend. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)