Lowell Rides Fast Start to D2 Repeat
February 28, 2015
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – The Lowell wrestling team couldn’t have drawn up a better start to its match against Eaton Rapids in the Division 2 Final at Kellogg Arena on Saturday.
Just 14 seconds in, junior Lucas Hall whipped the Lowell fans into a frenzy when he delivered a pin, giving the Red Arrows a lightning-quick 6-0 lead. The fall ignited a 15-0 run by Lowell and paved the way to a 40-16 victory and a second consecutive title.
“I was just thinking I had to go out there and do everything in my power to get six,” Hall said. “I wanted to give us an early lead. I just didn’t think it would happen that fast.”
The quick pin was the perfect way for first-year Lowell coach R.J. Boudro to begin his head coaching experience in the Finals. Boudro formerly served as an assistant to previous coach Dave Dean, who stepped down after last season’s championship win.
“Lucas going out and getting six right off the bat was huge,” Boudro said. “It just so happened that the starting weight (119) was at Lucas’ weight class. That pin just lifted the whole team.”
Hall’s pin was one of two by Lowell in the first three matches of the dual. After a decision by Aaron Ward at 125 pounds, Lowell junior Zeth Dean added another quick pin in 1:39 giving the Red Arrows a 15-0 lead.
Bonus points were crucial for Lowell throughout the dual as the Red Arrows recorded four falls and one major decision in the nine matches they won.
Not only did Lowell pick up extra bonus points, but its wrestlers also kept Eaton Rapids from scoring bonus points of their own. Of the five Eaton Rapids wins, all but one came on a decision, and the fifth was a major decision.
“We were hoping to get more bonus points,” Eaton Rapids coach Joe Ray Barry said. “We just didn’t get them. We didn’t get the bonus points that we were looking for and they got the bonus points where they were looking for them.”
It was the performances of some young, un-sung Red Arrows that prevented Eaton Rapids from piling up those needed bonus points. One of those young grinders for Lowell was freshman Garret Pratt.
Wrestling at 135 pounds against Eaton Rapids senior Jaedin Sklapsky, an expected contender at next weekend’s Individual Finals, Pratt was able to stay off his back and surrender just a four-point major decision.
“Garret was going up against arguably one of the best 135-pounders in the state,” Boudro said. “You heard the cheers from our fans after that match. We have some of the smartest wrestling fans around, and they knew how big that was.”
Lowell upped its lead to 21-4 when Jordan Hall delivered a pin in 2:48.
Eaton Rapids reeled off three straight wins in the next three matches. All three were by decision with Lane McVicker winning at 145, Blaine Milheim at 152 and Caleb Norris at 160 pounds.
Lowell picked up a second win by a freshman at 171. George Gonzales, who came into the match with a sub-.500 record, showed just how deep the Red Arrows are as he won 5-2.
“George has stepped up all year for us,” Boudro said. “He actually weighs 160, but he has wrestled 171 and 189 for us this year. He is another one of those kids who just goes out there and wrestles hard.”
Lowell closed out the dual on a roll as it won the final four matches. Senior Josh Colegrove kept his record perfect for the season as he won by fall at 215 pounds. Senior heavyweight Logan Wilcox won by decision while sophomore Sam Russell won by a major decision at 103 pounds and junior Kyle Washburn closed out the win with a decision at 112.
The MHSAA title was the fifth for Lowell since 2002. The Red Arrows finished the season with a 29-2 record that was forged against some of the best wrestling programs in the Midwest.
“I firmly believe we have one of the hardest schedules in the state,” Boudro said. “One of our losses was to Chicago Oak Forest, who is one of the best teams in Illinois. Our other loss was to Hartland and they are in the Division 1 state finals. We also wrestled Brighton and Richmond and Hudson. We wrestled five of the eight teams in the state finals this year, and that’s the same for many of those schools also.”
The bad news for the rest of the Division 2 is that the Red Arrows may be even better next year.
“Next year we will have one of our better teams returning,” Boudro said. “We only lose four seniors out of our starting lineup and we had a lot of freshmen step up for us this year.”
PHOTO: Lowell and Eaton Rapids competitors wrestle for the Division 2 championship Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Performance: Eaton Rapids' Austin O'Hearon
February 16, 2018
Austin O’Hearon
Eaton Rapids senior – Wrestling
O’Hearon, the reigning Division 2 individual champion at 145 pounds, led Eaton Rapids to a Team District championship on Feb. 7 as the Greyhounds won their matches by a combined score of 147-3. He then went on to win his Individual District title at 160 pounds Saturday to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The Greyhounds standout claimed the Individual District title with a 6-4 championship match victory over DeWitt’s Sam York – O’Hearon is ranked No. 2 and York No. 3 at their weight in Division 2 by Michigan Grappler. O’Hearon also won their rematch this past Wednesday as No. 5 Eaton Rapids upset No. 2 DeWitt 31-26 to win a Team Regional title and advance to next weekend’s Quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. The Greyhounds are coached by Joe Ray Barry, a three-time MHSAA champion at Mason from 1997-99.
O’Hearon will bring a 176-17 career record into this weekend’s Individual Regional at Vicksburg, and he ranks third in Eaton Rapids’ illustrious history in both career victories and career takedowns with 369. He finished seventh in Division 2 at 112 pounds as a freshman and then seventh at 125 as a sophomore before claiming the title last winter at 145. He’s 41-1 this season with his only loss to Portland’s Owen Guilford after bumping up to 171 pounds; O’Hearon then handed Guilford his only loss this season in a rematch earlier this month. O’Hearon has opportunities to continue wrestling at the college level, but has planned on enlisting in the U.S. Navy – following his grandfather (Army) and father (Marines), who both also served – and would like to train to become part of the SEALs special operations force.
Coach Joe Ray Barry said: “His work ethic over the four years is what separates him from his competition – early morning workouts and late night runs. He’s in the corner for his team day in and day out, constantly pushing them to work harder than they do. He’s leading by example and stays focused.”
Performance Point: “(The season) has come along how I wanted it to,” O’Hearon said. “Everything’s falling into place. … It’s just because I work hard. There’s no substitute for hard work. I’ve just always believed that the harder I work, then success has to come with it. If you work hard at something for long enough, you’re bound to reach your goals. For me, one of the spots I lacked was strength. So my (physical education teacher) was talking to me one day, said I could come up (before school) Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and lift with him. So I was like, ‘Yeah sure, I’ll try it.’ I just liked it. It was nice. It woke me up in the morning. I noticed wrestling I was just getting a lot stronger, and so it just all fell into play how I wanted it to.”
Back to the Finals: “We knew going in (to Wednesday’s Regional) that we could win it. We were crunching the numbers, and everywhere that we crunched it looked good. We had some things that happened … but probably the biggest thing of the night was our heavyweight getting a pin against the kid he had lost to at Districts. After he got that pin, I knew that we were going to go to team states. … Everything as a team has fallen together. At the beginning of the season we were kinda distant; now it’s more team-based. We’re all trying to be better for the team. We’ve grown as a team. We’re real close right now. It’s just making everything go smooth and easy.”
We are E.R.: “My freshman year, I knew all the seniors, I knew all the juniors. I pretty much knew everybody. There were kids I’d wrestled with in the youth (programs), so we were already like family. And that’s what I think makes Eaton Rapids better than most teams, because we’re all real close and homegrown and we’re all pretty much family. We all wrestled together in the youth programs, and now we’re wrestling high school together.”
Thanks Coach Barry: “He’s just always pushed me to be the best that I can be. He helps me with technique. He still rolls around with me up at practice every once in a while. He’s getting old now and it’s hard, because he doesn’t like the beatings … (but) yeah, I love wrestling with him. He’s still quick. He’s still strong. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
My time to lead: Just the younger kids, I try to keep them motivated, show them it is possible to win a state title and to have your team be successful. You just have to stay positive. I just try to motivate the younger guys to stick with the program, because this is what a program is built on: our seniors helping out our younger guys. I remember when I was a freshman, the seniors would always help me out … so that’s just how I try to be this year.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Eaton Rapids' Austin O’Hearon (left) works for a takedown this season. (Middle) O’Hearon’s arm is raised after he earns last season’s Division 2 title at 145 pounds. (Top photo and head shot courtesy of Eaton Rapids’ wrestling program; middle photo by HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)