Lowell Breaks Tie, Regains D2 Title

February 22, 2014

By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half

BATTLE CREEK – To say every point was worth its weight in gold would not be much of an overstatement for Lowell Red Arrows during its MHSAA Division 2 Team Final against four-time defending champion St. Johns on Saturday.

In a dual that ended in a 34-34 deadlock, the Red Arrows ended up with the championship trophy as they won the dual on the fifth criteria – or tie-breaker – total six-point wins.

The victory gave Lowell its first MHSAA Finals team title since 2009 and sent veteran coach Dave Dean out with the second title during his tenure.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” said Dean, who earlier this season accepted the position as head of the Olympic Development Program at Cornell University. “Right now I’m just feeling so happy for my kids and staff. They worked so hard for this. I might think about what it means to me later, but right now I’m so happy for the kids.”

The phrase `total team effort’ can sometimes be overused. But in the case of Lowell it was truly the deciding factor.

The final match was at 215 pounds, and Lowell senior Garrett Stehley won by disqualification. Stehley needed a six-point win to tie the dual and create a situation where the winner came down to criteria.

“I just went out there to wrestle,” Stehley said. “I knew if I just go out there and wrestle and not think about a pin or anything that something would open up.”

Stehley kept the pressure on the entire match, and after a succession of stalling warnings on his opponent, won the six-point disqualification.

For Stehley and the other Lowell seniors, the MHSAA title ended three years of frustration against their rivals from down the road on M-21. St. Johns had ended Lowell’s seasons the past three years, including the last two in MHSAA Finals.

“We’ve been here every year, and it has come down to us and St. Johns,” Stehley said. “We knew what we had to do. Everybody knew what they had to do.” 

What the Red Arrows needed more than anything was to win as many points as possible while giving up as few as possible in matches they lost.

“It was a point here and a point there, and it all added up,” Dean said. “In the end everybody contributed. Every match was big. (Dan) Kruse not getting pinned against Zac Hall was big. Everybody stepped up.” 

Dean’s son, sophomore Max Dean, also did his part. Going up junior Angus Arthur, a returning MHSAA individual champion, Max Dean gave up only three team points as he dropped an 8-6 decision. 

“I just wanted to give (Arthur) the worst six minutes of his life,” Max Dean said. “I knew the pressure was on. This (team title) means everything. This is what we’ve been working for.”

Both teams won seven matches during the dual that went back and forth from beginning to end. The deciding factor was six-point wins (earned by pins or disqualification), and Lowell had four while St. Johns recorded three. 

Lucas Hall (103 pounds), Jordan Hall (135) and Kanon Dean (171) earned pins while Stehley earned the disqualification.

St. Johns received pins from Ian Parker (112), Drew Wixson (152) and Logan Massa (160). 

“I feel sad for the guys, but hats off to Lowell,” St. Johns coach Derek Phillips said. “They wrestled a great match. Our guys have a lot to be proud of. They were the ones who put in all the blood, sweat and tears. At the end of the day we are still second in the state.”

St. Johns had crucial wins of its own. The Redwings grabbed the early momentum when Ty Wildmo won an 8-4 decision against Josh Colegrove in the first match of the dual at 285 pounds. 

The two teams traded pins in the next two matches with Lucas Hall winning at 103 pounds for Lowell and Ian Parker winning at 112 for St. Johns.

At 119 pounds, Zeth Dean, brother of Kanon and Max’s cousin, won a major decision putting Lowell up 10-9. The Red Arrows then methodically added to the lead with decisions from seniors Derek Krajewski (125) and Bailey Jack (130). 

For those seniors, the win over St. Johns was extra sweet.

“I can’t describe this feeling,” Jack said. “It’s surreal. It’s better then winning individual state last year. Winning individual state is nothing compared to this.” 

Jordan Hall’s pin at 135 put Lowell up 22-9, but the lead was short-lived as St. Johns came roaring back. Senior Zac Hall, a three-time individual champion who will be looking to win a fourth straight next weekend, won by technical fall at 140 pounds. Mark Bozzo added a technical fall at 145 pounds to trim the Lowell lead to 22-19.

St. Johns then surged ahead when Drew Wixson (152) and Logan Massa (160) came through with pins giving the Redwings a 31-22 lead. 

With their backs against the wall, Kanon Dean came through with his pin at 171 to bring the Red Arrows to within three points at 31-28.

Arthur followed with his decision against Max Dean at 189, putting St. Johns up by three points. That set the stage for Stehley coming through with the deciding final six points. 

“We were on a mission,” Stehley said. “We want to send the seniors out with a win and we wanted to send Coach Dean out on top.”   

Click for full results. 

PHOTOS: (Top) Lowell wrestlers celebrate their first MHSAA team championship since 2009. (Middle) A Lowell wrestler focuses on his St. Johns opponent during Saturday’s match. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

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February 27, 2012

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Wrestling

We are the Champions: MHSAA powerhouses in all four divisions continued their recent successes at Saturday’s Team Finals at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena. Hudson became the third program to win four straight MHSAA team titles by outlasting Shelby in Division 4. Richmond in Division 3 and St. Johns in Division 2 both won third-straight championships. Detroit Catholic Central avenged last season’s Division 1 Final loss to Oxford by beating the Wildcats 47-9 – the Shamrocks' second championship in three seasons. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2) (Second Half D3) (Second Half D4)

Competitive Cheer

Stoney Creek goes 10 to 1: Rochester Hills Stoney made the biggest move up among teams that qualified Saturday for this weekend’s Finals at the Grand Rapids Delta Plex. Stoney Creek entered the postseason ranked No. 10 in Division 1 – but won its Regional by just more than a point, and in doing so finished ahead of No. 3 Rochester, No. 5 Southgate Anderson and No. 9 Lake Orion. Stoney Creek, the 2010 Division 1 Final champion, will try to make it two titles in three seasons beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.(Rochester.Patch.com)

Girls Bowling

Oxford stuns: The Wildcats won the closest and arguably most competitive girls or boys Regional on Friday, finishing 14 pins ahead of Fair Haven Anchor Bay and Macomb Dakota at Sterling Heights’ Star Lanes. Oxford rolled four Baker games of 180 or more, and a 918 team game to tie for the highest of those three rounds. The kicker: Oxford entered the postseason unranked; Dakota was No. 10, and No. 9-ranked Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, No. 2 Sterling Heights Stevenson and No. 7 Macomb L’Anse Creuse North all finished outside the top three and failed to qualify for this week’s Division 1 Final. (MHSAA.com)

Boys Basketball

No. 1 in Lansing: Occasionally, the No. 1-ranked teams in Class A and B play each other. Rarely does that happen with both from the same city and located only a few miles apart. Top-ranked Class B team Lansing Sexton’s only loss this season was by a point last month to Detroit Pershing – No. 1 in Class A until losing to Detroit Martin Luther King two weeks ago and falling from the top spot. The Doughboys were replaced by Lansing Eastern, which like Sexton is in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. They met Friday – with the Big Reds winning 75-58 to finish a season sweep of the Quakers. (Lansing State Journal)

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