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." 

Click for full results.

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.)

Whitehall Pair Making Memorable Marks

March 2, 2016

By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
 

Reiley Brown has three brothers of his own.

But the returning MHSAA champion wrestler at Whitehall High School said it might be more accurate for this article to include his fellow senior teammate Jwan Britton as a fourth sibling.

“We are the closest thing to brothers,” said Brown of his good friend and daily training partner – referring both to their time together on the Whitehall High mats and also the makeshift mat which Brown has set up in the pole barn behind his house.

“We really go at it and push each other to get better every day. I owe a lot of my success to him.”

Brown, 47-1, is seeking a second straight Division 3 individual championship, this time at 135 pounds, at this weekend’s MHSAA Individual Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The only thing that would make such a repeat sweeter is if Britton, who is 47-2 and a Regional champion at 140 pounds, could follow right behind him with a Finals championship of his own.

“At this point, it’s really hard to mention Reiley and his accomplishments without talking about Jwan,” said Whitehall coach Cliff Sandee, who is in his 10th year and has guided the Vikings to the Team Semifinals three of the past six.

Rare back-to-back championships for teammates would be a fitting end for Brown and Britton, who have been the backbone of a tremendous four-year run for the Whitehall wrestling program.

As a team, the Vikings achieved all of their goals this winter, including their 10th consecutive Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Wrestling title. Whitehall, which finished 26-2 in duals, won its fourth straight West Michigan Conference and District titles, and then added a Regional championship.

The culmination of this season’s work led last weekend to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, which hosted the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals and also happens to be the school where Brown will wrestle next year when he becomes the first Whitehall wrestler to go on to a Division I college program.

It was almost “one and done” at CMU, as things looked mighty bleak against Richmond in Friday’s Quarterfinal match.

Richmond built a seemingly insurmountable 29-9 lead before the Vikings came roaring back to score the final 28 points, winning the final six bouts for an emotional 37-29 win. Whitehall’s victory was significant as Richmond and Dundee have dominated Division 3 team wrestling over the past decade, combining to win eight of the past 10 Team Finals titles.

“That was a huge win for us on a state level, because Richmond is such a great program,” said Sandee. “We want to be at team state every year; that’s the kind of program we want. I have six seniors this year, but we also have our most talented middle school group coming in, so we’re excited.”

Fittingly, unheralded junior Dominick Haynes started the comeback, pinning state-ranked Graham Barton at 130 pounds. That stunning six points led right into the strength of the Vikings’ lineup, with a pin from Brown and a major decision for Britton.

The Vikings dug another big hole in Saturday morning’s Semifinal. But a second miracle comeback was not in the cards against powerful Dundee, which raced out front 27-3 and held on for a 39-18 victory. Dundee then dispatched Remus Chippewa Hills 40-16 in the Final for its ninth team wrestling title and third in the past four years.

However, buddies Brown and Britton certainly got the attention of the Dundee faithful and many other wrestling gurus with big wins near the end of that dual. Brown rallied for a last-minute, 3-2 win over Tylor Orrison at 135, and then Britton used a takedown in the waning seconds to beat Zach Blevins, 4-3, in what could end up a preview of this weekend’s individual title match at 140 pounds.

Whitehall has two other Regional champions in JoJo Dowdell (145) and Hunter Bower (103).

Brown is the best known of the Vikings on the state level, taking second at 103 in his freshman year and third at 119 as a sophomore before breaking through for the 125-pound Division 3 championship as a junior. He comes into this weekend with the pressure of great expectations to go with a 181-12 career record.

“I try to use that pressure as a positive and feed off of it, to prove myself,” said Brown, who plans to study human resources at CMU. “I actually felt way more pressure going into team state, because my match there affects a lot more than just me.” 

Besides, he has always felt right at home on a wrestling mat.

While many kids have basketball hoops in their driveways, how many can say they have their very own wrestling mat – along with an exercise bike and a heater – in a pole barn out back?

“My dad set it up out there when I was going into high school,” said Brown. “I’ve had some great battles out there with Jwan and my brothers over the years. Hopefully that extra work I’ve put in at home will pay off this weekend.”

Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Whitehall's Reiley Brown works to gain control in his match Saturday against Dundee's Tylor Orrison. (Middle) Jwan Britton (right) lines up to start his match against Zach Blevins during the Division 3 Team Semifinal. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)