Wrestling Banquet Article

Wrestling Team Concludes Year With Banquet

Five senior wrestlers, in addition to the team's senior managers, concluded their high school careers with Lowell Wrestling, ending it at Sunday’s banquet held in Alto.

The evening opened with a taco-themed spread and desserts provided by both the club and parents, then Lowell Wrestling Head Coach R.J. Boudro opened up the banquet discussing the year with the team.

A variety of topics were discussed including having Indiana Wrestling Coach Angel Escobedo in for a practice earlier this season, how officials this season noted the sportsmanship of the bench during competition, as well as the energy they brought each dual. Also noted were some of the struggles the team persevered through this season including illness, injury, alumnus and team parent Beau Wilder’s death, and a challenging schedule en route to what was a very successful season with a team state title, 12 state placers, and four individual state champions.

“When you think about this program and community, it’s special,” Boudro said. “It’s easy to appreciate all the good times, but it’s important to understand being a part of something bigger than yourself when the going gets tough,” he added.

Boudro also noted how proud he was of his team at various times of the year for not just how well they performed, but for showing character throughout the season. After wrestling Wayland, the Holland wrestlers who were hosting started to put away mats. “Our kids didn’t skip a beat jumping into help, and the administration at Holland was so appreciative.”

Coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin watched Lowell wrestle Oxford at Michigan State, prior to their dual with the Spartans. Their primary interest was scouting Jackson Blum for recruiting, but they noted to Boudro about Lowell’s bench energy, wrestlers pumping up their teammates, picking eachother up. The next morning Lowell wrestled Dundee and Boudro was excited with the team’s mentality the night before and they would go in to beat Dundee, a nationally ranked team that has been a thorn in Lowell's side the last few years.

For the freshman group, assistant coach Ross Pennock talked about the goal of retention for that freshman class. “My challenge for this group is to be above 50% retention, to push one another and do the right things as much as possible. Take the advice you get tonight and run with it.” Of the ten freshmen on the team, one finished as a state runner-up (Cole Cichocki) and two were members of the girls wrestling team this year.

The sophomore class is by far the largest of the classes for the wrestling team. “This group faced a lot of adversity this year, but there was a ton of growth,” noted longtime assistant coach Josh Cooper. Two sophomores that were noted that faced adversity this year was Seth Harvey and Cody Foss, who both battled illness as they wrestled in the individual postseason, didn’t advance to the state tournament, but bounced back on team state weekend to score big wins as the program secured their eleventh straight state championship. “Almost every one of the guys in the individual tournament climbed higher, and the level of progress in this group was phenomenal,” added Coach Cooper.

Foss, who holds a 4.03 GPA, was also given All In All The Time award along with Owen Segoski (3.89 GPA). Both were noted as great wrestlers and great students who battled through adversity in the postseason.

Assistant Coach Cody Dennis introduced the junior class who had three state champions; Carter Cichocki, Jackson Blum, and Owen Segorski, who each also won their 100th win this season, the three Lowell wrestlers to achieve that honor this year. “These guys are about to be leaders next year, not just on the mat, but in the classroom, the community, and their households. These guys show up to everything, training, community service, and the future is bright for them,” said Coach Dennis of the entirety of the juniors on the team.

Assistant Coach Chris Ebrom presented the two most improved wrestlers of the year, sophomore Seth Harvey and junior Braddock King, who both showed remarkable improvement this season and King found himself in the individual semifinals. Harvey, who nearly didn't wrestle this year, found himself just a takedown away from the individual state tournament.

Six seniors spoke, managers Aubree Lee and Charlie Lyons, along with wrestlers Chase Wilder, Tacho Gonzales, Ari McFarland, and Kenny Kinyon.

Both Lee and Lyons became managers watching their older brothers wrestle along with Lili Hare. They help manage apparel inventory, manage social media, run clocks, record film and stats, and help keep coaches organized. “Cherish the atmosphere the wrestling community has created,” said Lee.

For any high schooler, sports aren't always easy. A lot of dedication goes into a sport like wrestling, not just during the season, but the postseason as well. Kenny Kinyon, who wrestled at heavyweight for Lowell this year was vaulted into the starting lineup because of an injury and was forced to step into the A lineup.

“I wrestled great in the Gary Rivers and I took that and kept going with it,” said Kinyon referring to Coach Nate Vaught helping him through a difficult practice prior to Gary Rivers, then he bounced back to finish his career as a conference champion one of the 15 Lowell wrestlers that competed in the postseason. He noted how exciting it was to see family members react to his matches.

It is a small senior class for Lowell wrestling but impactful with all five senior wrestlers; Wilder, Gonzales, McFarland, Kinyon, and Jared Boone all wrestled significant time and Boone and Gonzales finished as all-state wrestlers.

The Gary Rivers Award was presented by assistant coach Matt Dood who spoke highly of the former coach, who he knew during middle school. “He instilled a lot of values that we hold closely every day,” said Dood. Jackson Blum and Chase Wilder were given the Gary Rivers Award for embodying those values.

“Wrestling is tough, but no matter how you perform it teaches you what grit is in both physical and mental aspects which I think is critical when facing adversity throughout life,” said Ari McFarland who played football and wrestled during his time in high school and was named the team’s scholar athlete.

The banquet closed with a senior video and photos, as the club looks forward to continuing not just strong performances on the mat, but also developing leaders off the mat.