Red Arrows Find Target Again with Record Win
March 14, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Lowell wrestling has had more to celebrate than most teams over the last six winters.
But something a little extra has accompanied the buzz after the Red Arrows won their record sixth-straight MHSAA Finals team championship Feb. 23 at Wings Events Center.
The Division 2 back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back champion edged Goodrich 29-23 to surpass Davison 2002-06 and Hudson 2009-13 for the longest championship streak since the team match format was added to the Finals lineup in 1988.
People ask for the secret. Lowell coach R.J. Boudro isn’t sure where to start.
“It’s not one thing; it’s so many things,” Boudro said. “It’s hard work across all levels – coaching staff, obviously the wrestlers, and parents and community and administration, and our youth wrestling program is extremely strong.
“When it’s all said and done, the Lowell wrestling program is something we’re all willing to give ourselves too. We’re all better because of the Lowell wrestling program, so it’s a win-win. Whether it’s a fundraiser, reading to young kids, there are so many things people don’t see. It’s pretty cool to be a part of, and there are a lot of people willing to sacrifice to make it successful.”
Lowell is the MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for February. The Red Arrows finished 22-3, their only team losses this season to eventual Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central, Division 1 runner-up Brighton and semifinalist Davison. Lowell followed up the team title with two champions and five more placers the first weekend of March at the Individual Finals at Ford Field.
The team title streak began in 2014 under then-coach Dave Dean, when the Red Arrows ended St. Johns’ four-season hold on Division 2 with a one-point win in the Final. Boudro was an assistant to Dean and took over the program the next season.
The toughest part of continuing such a run is probably the expectation that it’s going to continue. The pressure stacks up – Boudro noticed his team wrestling a little tight at the end of this regular season. But he and his staff worked to get the Red Arrows focusing again on the postseason tournaments being the same as those the team wrestles during the regular season – which is helped because Lowell stacks its schedule with playoff-caliber competition to prepare for February and March.
The season ended with junior Austin Boone winning the individual title at 152 pounds – he’ll attempt next year to become the 27th in MHSAA history to win four championships – and senior Avry Mutchler claiming the title at 140. Senior Jeff Leach (fourth at 135), junior James Fotis (fifth at 145), sophomore Doak Dean (seventh at 145), sophomore Jacob Lee (fifth at 160), junior Tyler Delooff (fifth at 285) and freshman Ramsy Mutschler (fourth at 103) also placed among the top eight at their weights. Avry Mutschler went over 150 career wins during the season, and Leach won his 100th. Leach also clinched this season’s championship in his match against Goodrich, after doing the same against Warren Woods-Tower in the 2016 Final.
Additionally, the Red Arrows earned first-team academic all-state honors for the 13th year in a row, this time with a team GPA of 3.844.
Lowell had scheduled to celebrate Wednesday with its postseason banquet, before jumping back into planning for next season and the pursuits that will come with it.
“We don’t do the same things every year. We’re always trying to get better,” Boudro said. “We try to push the envelope so we’re not staying stagnate.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2018-19
January: Farmington United gymnastics – Read
December: Warren Woods-Tower wrestling – Read
November: Rochester Adams girls swimming & diving – Read
October: Leland boys soccer – Read
September: Pickford football – Read
August: Northville girls golf – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Lowell wrestlers congratulate Jeff Leach after he won the last and clinching match of the Division 2 Final last month against Goodrich. (Middle) The Red Arrows’ Austin Boone wrestles Melvindale’s Devin Spears for the Division 2 title at 152 pounds. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
D4 Preview: Wide-Open Field in Pursuit
March 2, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Contenders with a combined 21 appearances in MHSAA individual title matches return to the Division 4 Finals this weekend.
Eight are reigning champions, including one who won in Division 3 last season before his team was reclassified into this bracket.
Ten of those finalists past are discussed below – but with a group this deep, don’t be surprised if the 14 champions we highlight at the end of this weekend differ significantly.
Follow all matches on a subscription basis live on MHSAA.tv, and click here for results at MHSAA.com. And come back to Second Half late Saturday and Sunday as we’ll interview all 14 title winners.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
112: Noah Comar, Clinton sophomore (47-0) – After finishing runner-up to Hudson’s Jordan Hamdan last season, he might run into another Tigers contender this time – but as the top seed coming in.
112: Tucker Scholl, Hudson sophomore (30-2) – He’s the second seed at this weight to Comar after claiming the championship at 103 last winter by major decision.
119: Spencer Good, Jackson Lumen Christi senior (37-7) – Good finds himself in a tough bracket with a Division 4 champion from last season, but he was a Division 3 champion claiming the 112 title with a 6-3 decision in 2016.
119: Jordan Hamdan, Hudson sophomore (44-2) – He’s that returning champion noted above, after winning the 112 title a year ago; Hamdan is the top seed at this weight.
125: Robert LeFevre, Erie-Mason senior (43-3) – Last season’s champion at 119 also was the runner-up at 112 as a sophomore and is a combined 108-6 over the last three seasons.
130: Robert Rogers, Burton Bentley junior (39-1) – Coming off Bentley’s first MHSAA individual title in 39 years, at 125, Rogers is looking to add a second straight this weekend entering with a combined record of 87-1 as a sophomore and junior.
140: Sean O’Hearon, Springport senior (38-0) – O’Hearon improved from a fourth place as a sophomore to win 135 last season and enters this weekend a combined 87-1 over the last two winters.
152: Gerrit Yates, Hesperia junior (33-1) – He finished runner-up at 135 as a freshman and 145 last season, but enters this weekend as the top seed at this weight and one of only four in the bracket with three or fewer losses this winter.
189: Erik Birchmeier, New Lothrop senior (28-2) – Last season’s champion at 171 earned that title with one of the most dramatic finishes of the 2016 Finals, coming back from a 5-2 deficit to start the third period to win 7-5 in overtime.
215: Nick Cooper, Springport senior (37-3) – The champion last season at 189, Cooper will try to graduate with a second title and the fifth for his family (brother Nick won three); he’s unseeded but 78-4 combined over the last two seasons and also was a runner-up as a sophomore.
Other 2016 runners-up: Manchester junior Reese Fry (103, 47-1), Decatur senior Coy Helmuth (125, 40-6, 119 in 2016), Manchester senior Ethan Woods (135, 45-2, 130 in 2016), St. Louis senior Konnor Holton (145, 42-3, 140 in 2016), Bangor senior Devon Kozel (215, 44-1), Decatur senior Logan Kennedy (285, 52-2).
Also undefeated: Schoolcraft senior Spencer Fox (130, 45-0), Manistique senior Tanner Gonzalez (160, 42-0).
No. 1 seeds: Manchester’s Fry (103), Clinton’s Comar (112), Hudson’s Hamdan (119), Mendon freshman Skyler Crespo (125, 48-1), Burton Bentley’s Rogers (130), Manchester’s Woods (135), Springport’s O’Hearon (140), Decatur senior Ethan May (145, 51-1), Hesperia’s Yates (152), Manistique’s Gonzalez (160), Bronson senior David Erwin (171, 50-2), New Lothrop’s Birchmeier (189), Bangor’s Kozel (215), Decatur’s Kennedy (285).
PHOTO: Springport’s Sean O’Hearon (top) works toward a major decision during his team’s Division 4 Quarterfinal on Friday at McGuirk Arena. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)