Lowell Title Run Grows to 7 Straight

February 29, 2020

By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half

KALAMAZOO – When talking about a dynasty, Lowell wrestling coach R.J. Boudro says the cause and effect of his program’s reaches far outside of his wrestling room.

Boudro and Red Arrows added to their dynasty Saturday at the Wings Event Center when they won their seventh straight – and 10th overall – Division 2 team championship with a convincing 53-4 victory over previously-unbeaten Gaylord.

The win extended the team’s MHSAA record for consecutive Team Finals championships, which Lowell took over alone with their sixth in a row in 2019.

"Dynasty is a community; it's all about community," Boudro said. "It's about the kids. You see all of the young kids here today. It's about parents, it's about community, and Lowell is a great community and I am lucky to be involved. We are lucky to be involved.”

It didn't take long for Lowell to muscle control away from the Blue Devils on Saturday. 

Starting at the 119-pound weight class, Red Arrows senior Nick Korhorn won by technical fall, 15-0. 

From there, Lowell won 13 of 14 matches, and there was never a doubt which team would finish on top

During that stretch, there were some very big individual matchups – like the one at 145 pounds.

There, Lowell three-time Individual Finals champion Austin Boone scored a major decision victory over two-time individual champion and three-time finalist Chayse LaJoie, 11-3.

Boone reiterated his coach's sentiments on what it means to be a Lowell Red Arrow, and that he is a product of great people around him.

"We picked up where our old teammates left off, and we all get to carry on what they started," Boone said. "It is nice to see our seniors finish this off, and now it just moves on to the next guys. 

Boone could write his name in the state's wrestling history book again next weekend at Ford Field as he will try to become just the second wrestler in the state to win four individual and four team titles. 

If accomplished, he will join former Davison legend Brent Metcalf in earning that achievement. 

"Lowell has given me so much." said Boone, who will be wrestling at Penn State University next year. "I have had (practice ) partners for so many years that have made me better than I ever thought I could be. I wouldn't be as good as I am today without them."

Gaylord's lone win came from John Henry Sosa at 130 pounds.

This was the second time in the past three years that the Blue Devils lost to Lowell in the Final.

"They are good, they are a well-coached team," Gaylord coach Jerry LaJoie said. "We had a couple of things that did not go right for us, so we had to adjust our lineup. So that forced our kids to wrestle up a weight or two." 

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PHOTOS: (Top) Lowell and Gaylord wrestlers work for control at the start of a match during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Red Arrows celebrate their seventh-straight Division 2 championship. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Inaugural Wayne County Championships Builds On Girls Wrestling's Rapid Growth

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

January 16, 2025

WAYNE — Dave Kobel said he is a dreamer, but even this was something he probably couldn’t have envisioned.

Greater DetroitThree years ago when Kobel took over as head coach of the Wayne Memorial wrestling program, Kobel said female participation was limited – to say the least.

“We had one for half the season, and then she quit,” Kobel said. “And then we had another girl join up for the second half of the season.”

Fast forward to last Saturday, and it was quite a statement of growth for girls wrestling not just for the Wayne Memorial program, but an entire county.

Kobel and Wayne Memorial hosted the first Wayne County Women’s Wrestling Championships, an event solely for girls that featured 77 participants representing 20 schools.

Even though there were some registered wrestlers who backed out and some weight classes had only four wrestlers, it still was a great seed planted for the future and an example of just how much wrestling has caught on with girls in the area.

The idea was born among Kobel and other coaches in the area last winter as a platform to give the girls a major event in preparation for league and MHSAA Tournament rounds coming up next month.

“It’s something to compete for,” Kobel said as his team was rolling up mats and closing up the gym after the event. “It feels like there are stakes when it’s the county tournament or the (state) Regional tournament. There are some other really big and high-quality wrestling tournaments, but we wanted something where Wayne County schools could fight for a title.”

Participants representing 20 schools stand for a photo.

So the wrestlers descended upon Wayne Memorial, where there were championships decided in all 14 weight classes, and with a majority of classes having six competitors.

“I felt glad to be here and to get the opportunity,” said Wayne Memorial junior Guadalupe Chaparro, who finished first at 190 pounds. “I feel like the atmosphere was different than a usual tournament. I felt like there was more caring and everyone was more spirited.”

Arguably the most high-profile final came at 155 pounds, where a pair of wrestlers who competed at the MHSAA Finals last year – Marissa Richmond of Plymouth and Brooklyn Sage of Southgate Anderson – battled for the title, with Richmond prevailing.

A team champion also was crowned, with Allen Park accumulating 116 points to best second-place Wayne Memorial (81) and third-place Plymouth (78).

Other individual winners were Tierra Taylor of Gibraltar Carlson at 100 pounds, Catherine Warlick of Dearborn Heights Annapolis at 105, Alyssa Campbell of Allen Park at 110, Trinity Munoz of Detroit Voyageur College Prep at 115, Melody Carr of Southgate Anderson at 120, Kerrington Fields-McCurdy of Livonia Stevenson at 125, Brynna Alwell of Allen Park at 130, Adeline Tuccini of Allen Park at 135, Nanda Kibi of Plymouth at 140, Rihanna Venegas of Riverview Gabriel Richard at 145, Blessing Bongi of Westland John Glenn at 170 and Mya Brandenburg of Allen Park at 235 pounds.

The Allen Park girls wrestling team poses with the championship trophy after winning the team title.The big winner was the sport of girls wrestling and its skyrocketing popularity.

Chaparro said she didn’t start wrestling until last year as a sophomore when a friend encouraged her to try out for the team, and she loved the sport immediately.

“The hardest part to learn was the discipline that came with wrestling,” she said. “It’s made me a better wrestler and made me better at school. A lot of things.”

Each winner received a trophy, while all participants received medals.

Of course, Kobel and other coaches hope for bigger things next year and beyond when conducting the event – namely more wrestlers and brackets that can be filled a little more completely.

But you have to start somewhere, and no doubt it was a successful first event for girls wrestlers in the community and the sport as a whole.

Kobel isn’t sure if other counties will replicate it and host girls-only county wrestling championships. (Macomb County hosts one but welcomes schools from other counties to participate.). But he hopes the Wayne County event served as an example.

“I’d love to see other counties follow suit,” Kobel said.

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at keithdunlap78@gmail.com with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS (Top) A pair of wrestlers compete during Saturday’s Wayne County Women’s Wrestling Championships at Wayne Memorial. (Middle) Participants representing 20 schools stand for a photo. (Below) The Allen Park girls wrestling team poses with the championship trophy after winning the team title. (Photos by Devin Markowsky, The Picture People LLC.)