Sturgis Finds Place Among State's Elite
March 1, 2016
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
In his ninth year guiding the Sturgis wrestling team, Bryan Boughton still didn’t feel as if he belonged to the fraternity of accomplished coaches who also led their respective teams into the MHSAA Division 2 Quarterfinals on Friday.
Nobody paid much attention to him or his eighth-seeded Trojans, who were there for the first time in school history. Even perennial power and defending champion Lowell overlooked Sturgis in that opening matchup at Central Michigan University.
In the end, Sturgis didn’t have nearly enough firepower to overtake Lowell, which won the Quarterfinal match, 52-18, before eventually beating second-seeded St. Johns on Saturday for the championship.
“We did some damage to Lowell and actually got the coach’s attention,” Boughton said.
The Trojans, who finished the year 27-8 overall and second to Allegan in the Wolverine Conference, held an 18-10 lead through the first six weight classes against Lowell, but a gang of state-ranked wrestlers in the lower weights for the Red Arrows proved to be far more than Sturgis could handle.
After the disappointment of losing began to subside, the Trojans recognized how much of an accomplishment it was to reach the big stage.
“It was a really cool experience,” said senior Cole Campbell, a winner by pin at 189 pounds vs. Lowell. “We were already facing the number one school in D2, so our coach wasn't really on us like it was a must win. “It was more of a, 'You know what's coming; go out and wrestle,' attitude towards it.
“Our main goal this year was to win Regionals, and we accomplished that, so anything after was really a bonus. The atmosphere was a lot different than a normal match, too. A lot of eyes are on you and big swings in momentum match by match. We actually got to start in the tougher part of our lineup, so we were going back and forth through the first half of the dual.”
The 2014-15 season was integral for the Sturgis program. With a school record of 35 dual-meet victories, Boughton believed last year would be the breakout campaign for the Trojans. A Regional championship bout against Niles, however, proved to be the wrong matchup for the Trojans.
With the bulk of its lineup returning intact this winter, including strong upper weights with the likes of seniors Luke Carver (160 pounds), Campbell, Anthony Neal (215) and Jake Stevens (285), Sturgis hoped to pair its better team with a more favorable postseason path.
That all came together when Sturgis thumped Vicksburg by 69 points and topped Mattawan, 40-27, in the District tournament before eking past Stevensville-Lakeshore, 30-27, and soundly defeating Battle Creek Harper Creek at Regionals.
“Wrestling is all about matchups and how people line up,” Boughton said. “I thought we were going to have to face Niles again. But when I found out Lakeshore beat them, I was like, ‘Ooh, we might actually have a chance at this.’”
Boughton said the Trojans started to believe again. He also noticed they were “fresh, fat and happy” at a time of year when a lot of grapplers are struggling with diminished energy reserves from making weight.
“They got the fire and everybody did their job, things went our way and we were able to take advantage of it because we were prepared,” Boughton explained.
And they had more than just the “Four Horsemen,” as Boughton called his stalwarts at the upper weights. Wrestlers such as Noah Gleason (135) and Koehl Meek (145), as they had been all season, were key cogs in the Trojans’ successful march toward March.
“The experience was great,” said Carver, who along with Neal and Stevens, will compete this week at the Individual Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills. “It was something that when I was a freshman I never thought we could accomplish. We have a special group in the room, the kind of kids who might not be the most skilled or strongest, but have heart.
“I think that's what made the difference for us this year. Drawing Lowell was hard, but I think we displayed that message that we don't roll over for anyone. As a captain, I couldn't be more proud of our team and I look forward to watching them grow from here.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cole Carver works toward a win at 160 pounds Friday against Lowell in a Division 2 Quarterfinal. (Middle) Cole Campbell’s hand is raised after he wins his match at 189 pounds. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Lowell Bests Rival in Familiar Matchup
February 27, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
MOUNT PLEASANT – Lowell needed 13 matches Saturday to clinch another of what has become an annual MHSAA Finals back-and-forth with rival St. Johns.
But senior Lucas Hall, in his final high school team match, needed only 26 seconds to put the finishing pin on his team’s third straight Division 2 championship.
Lowell added a sixth MHSAA title to a body of work already ranking it among the most successful wrestling programs in state history, outlasting the Redwings 37-22 despite the teams being deadlocked with three matches remaining.
Hall’s pin at 125 pounds was sandwiched between a pin by junior Sam Russell at 119 and a decision by freshman Avry Mutschler at 130 that together gave the top-ranked Red Arrows the final 15 points of the day – literally – as the back-and-forth nature of the tussle caused it to finish last of the four Finals and multiple matches after two had concluded.
“It’s really been us multiple years going back and forth at it. It’s tough. It’s not going to be easy; everyone knows that,” Hall said. “We’ve had good times, we’ve had bad times with St. Johns. To be honest, it’s just going after it, trying to go for the win. Rivalry wins are the best wins.”
Lowell finished 22-3 and entered the weekend the top seed to go with its top regular-season ranking. St. Johns (28-5) was ranked third heading into the postseason but seeded second this weekend.
The Redwings opened a 7-0 lead after two matches, and the Red Arrows tied the score with two straight wins. St. Johns then earned a decision, and Lowell tied it again with a decision – but in doing so started a 15-0 run keyed by some deft maneuvering at the heavier weights by coach R.J. Boudro.
Junior Eli Boulton has wrestled at 215 pounds but got in at the 189-pound match and came away with a pin. After a decision win by senior Logan Blough at 215, senior Max Dean moved up two weights to 285 – giving up about 100 pounds but beating 5-4 St. Johns senior Jake Gnegy, a likely contender at next weekend’s Individual Finals.
Dean wrestled heavyweight for the first time this season in Friday’s Quarterfinal win over Sturgis.
“I like challenges. Coach came to me with the idea and I was all about it, and I was just really excited and glad I could get it done for my teammates,” Dean said. “Credit (Gnegy), he was really strong. I knew I had to wrestle the match a certain way and didn’t want to be under him or anything like that. I thought it would be a lot of fun.”
But despite Lowell’s 22-10 lead at that point, it wasn’t the end.
St. Johns battled back with back-to-back pins by sophomore Brendan Zelenka and junior Emilio Sanchez at 103 and 112, respectively, to tie the score again – setting up the closing run by Russell, Hall and Mutschler.
All five of Lowell's seniors won their matches in the Final as the Red Arrows won nine of 14 matches total.
“Everybody just expects us to do this. What no one knows is how hard these kids work and how hard it is to win a state title with the expectations that we have,” Boudro said. “Our seniors, every senior did what they were expected to do. It was just an awesome win. We wrestled above expectations, I felt like.”
The same could’ve been said for the Redwings, perhaps, for a couple of reasons. St. Johns missed Finals weekend completely last season, losing to eventual Division 2 runner-up Eaton Rapids in the Regional Final.
The Redwings had to beat both No. 7 Eaton Rapids and No. 2 DeWitt to reach CMU this weekend – and nearly had enough to finish with a fifth championship in seven seasons.
“One thing that this team has not done all year, is we haven’t given up. Things may not go our way, but it doesn’t discourage us. We keep battling hard, we keep wrestling tough,” St. Johns coach Derek Phillips said. “The way last season ended left a sour taste, so we all wanted to wrestle tough and get back here. But we didn’t talk about it much this year. This year we just focused on getting better and having fun. … We didn’t win, but I thought we had a successful season where the guys got better, had fun, and the team, we grew.”
Lowell cruised to a 52-18 win over Sturgis in its Quarterfinal on Friday, while St. Johns advanced with a 49-23 win over Dearborn Heights Annapolis. The Redwings then beat third-seeded Gaylord in a Semifinal, 55-11, while Lowell outlasted fourth-seeded Goodrich 35-27.
Hall, Max Dean, Mutschler, junior Bryce Dempsey and senior Danny Kruse all won all three of their matches on the weekend for Lowell. Zelenka, junior Bret Fedewa and senior Ian Parker won all three of their matches for the Redwings – Parker winning the most intriguing individual matchup of the Final, 3-0 over Lowell senior Zeth Dean. Both are reigning individual champions and will be in the 140 bracket next weekend.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTO: Lowell and St. Johns met in the Division 2 Final for the fourth time in five seasons Saturday. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)