Wrestling’s Next Big Thing
August 13, 2013
“The next big thing” is what marketers often seek. But it’s what school sports administrators usually dread because the “next big thing” is routinely a problem.
And so it is with the sport of wrestling which, at the high school level, has had an admirable record of solving the big issues that have threatened the sport’s existence.
School-based wrestling addressed unhealthy practices for weight loss, first with rules about what could not be done – e.g., rubber suits were banned from practices – and then with rules about what must be done, including a weight management program.
Twenty years ago, MHSAA member schools became one of the early adopters of policies and procedures that include the training of skinfold assessors who are employed to do measurements of all wrestlers, from which each wrestler learns his/her lowest allowed weight and the rate at which he/she may descend to that weight and still remain eligible to compete. These rules, and a nutrition education program, saved interscholastic wrestling from much public criticism and, possibly, from continuing drops in participation.
In addition, the Wrestling Committee has been unique among MHSAA sport committees in recognizing that a season that is too long is neither healthy for nor desired by student-athletes; and the committee has reduced the length of season and number of matches. All of this, combined with the MHSAA team tournament, have greatly increased the sport’s popularity among both participants and spectators.
But in spite of all this, the sport of wrestling is “one communicable skin disease outbreak from extinction,” according to those discussing the state of high school wrestling at a national meeting in June. We’ve already seen an outbreak lead to the suspension of all interscholastic wrestling for two weeks in Minnesota during the 2006-07 school year.
To avoid this next big thing, the rule makers have banned taped headgear, because tape can’t be properly cleaned. The NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, which is the MHSAA’s advisory body as well, is urging schools to mandate that all participants shower or perform an antiseptic wipe-down after every match.
The MHSAA will make this issue a point of special emphasis in its online, print and face-to-face communications this fall. In addition, an excellent free webinar is provided by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Click here for the webinar.
Running Finals Streak to 9, Lowell Keeps D2 Dominance in 'Family'
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2022
KALAMAZOO -- When asked about his team's unprecedented success, Lowell wrestling coach RJ Boudro admits that the recipe for success is not that hard.
It's all about family.
Boudro's Red Arrows won their ninth straight Division 2 championship, and 12th overall, by defeating Goodrich in the 46-16 in Saturday’s Final at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo.
"I have coached these guys since they have been knee-high," Boudro said. "I have been coaching at Lowell for 15 years; some of the guys on this team weren't even born when I started. It just starts getting more personable, and that is what coaching is really about. Making relationships, and relationships grow stronger. I love these kids, and I love their families – they support you a lot."
You could tell the closeness of this year's Lowell team all weekend in Kalamazoo, as the Red Arrows marched through Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in the Quarterfinal and then Gaylord in the Semifinal to set up a rematch with the Martians in the championship match.
Starting at the 189-pound weight class, Goodrich got on the scoreboard first with Cameron Macklem’s pin in 1 minute, 36 seconds.
Lowell got on the board thanks to one of its senior leaders, as Carter Blough – the top-ranked 215-pounder in Division 2 – won by technical fall, 22-7.
Lowell went on to win six of the next seven matches after Blough's impressive victory, setting the tone for another team title heading back home to Lowell.
"Last year we didn't have the energy, the people here, like we did this year," Blough said. "We didn't have that stage, but this year we had our crowd here, we secured the dual and we are super excited."
Last year, in the middle of the pandemic, Lowell beat Goodrich 59-7 for the championship. This year would be a bit tougher, but the Red Arrows continued to show the dominance in the division they have displayed over the past decade.
"Lowell is a good team. I don't know what else to say," said Goodrich coach Kenneth Sirignano, whose team ended its year with a 31-3 record. "They were better than us today, by quite a bit."
Sirignano said momentum swung on some tight matches throughout the Final.
"We lost three close matches, and we gave up bonus points," Sirignano said. "In those tight duals, you have to win the close ones and you can't give up bonus points."
Those three sway matches came at 112 pounds – an 8-7 win by Lowell's Landon Musgrave – at 125 with a 3-0 win by the Red Arrows’ Owen Segorski, and at 145 with a 3-0 win by Lowell's Jared Boone.
"Even during COVID we found a way to work around it and get better," Blough said. "That's how this team is – we always find a way to get better no matter what's in front of us."
Lowell, which finished this winter with a 23-3 record, will wrestle for a 10th-straight championship next season. No other team in the state, no matter the division, has won more than five consecutive titles.
"This is ridiculous," Boudro said. "It's hard to put into words."
PHOTOS (Top) Lowell celebrates Saturday’s Division 2 championship win over Goodrich, which ran its title streak to nine seasons. (Middle) Lowell and Goodrich wrestlers work to gain control during their match. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)