Wrestling Team State Article
Elevencredible - Lowell Wrestling Leaves No Doubt On Way To Eleventh Straight Title
There’s this concept in sports people call an announcer’s jinx. You say something, with certainty will happen, it doesn’t and it’s completely your fault. Same thing goes with reporters.
The truth that I wouldn’t have dared put in writing, Lowell Wrestling was always going to win the 2024 team state title. That much was evident ever since Lowell defeated Bay City John Glenn in January, who at the time was ranked third in the state, and the final result was 46-13. Just a huge gap between the two sides.
Lowell left no doubt this past weekend in Kalamazoo, beating the three opponents standing in their way of glory for an eleventh straight year. A week that started with heartbreak ending with ecstasy. Here is the weekend that was.
Quarterfinal - #1 Lowell 56, #8 Brother Rice 15
Three straight times, no problem. Lowell’s wrestling team continued their quest for 11 straight state championships by beating Brother Rice by a score of 56-15 in Friday’s state quarterfinal at Wings West in Kalamazoo.
The Red Arrows started off the night at 106, where Jarrett Smith put Lowell on the board with a first period fall. LHS, the one-seed, had plenty to be excited about on Friday night. Match highlights included LHS junior and top-ranked Jackson Blum, who came out with a dominant technical fall over Brother Rice’s lone top-ranked wrestler Rico Saenz.
Lowell was wrestling with heavy hearts as alumnus Beau Wilder passed away this past week. His son's Chase and Sawyer are on the wrestling team this year. In an emotional moment, Chase took the mat on Friday night, and though he lost by fall, it was amazing for him to even be out there competing.
“I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like,” Coach R.J. Boudro told the Ledger after the match. “It just goes to show there’s more to life than wrestling. To see the importance of being part of something bigger than yourself, and seeing the program to rally around him. The strength for him to go out there tonight and compete was impressive.”
Lowell as a team went to the funeral on Thursday to support their two teammates and the family. On Friday, Chase, Sawyer and the rest of the Red Arrows left LHS to the cheers of their fellow students and even a marching band escort to board the bus and head to Kalamazoo.
“This being my senior year, I knew that it’s what my dad wanted me to do,” Chase said. “I wasn’t going to miss the last part of my wrestling career. This is too special for me and people have been telling me how tough I am to still be here. It makes all my thoughts go away when I wrestle, and when we all come together, it’s crazy what this team can do. It’s just a very special team,” Chase told MLive’s Matthew Ehler.
Kenny Kinyon closed the match for Lowell with a pin at heavyweight as Lowell moved on to Saturday’s semifinal.
Quarterfinal Match Summary
106 - Jarrett Smith (Lowell) over Christopher Eschrich (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Fall 0:51
113 - Richard Davis (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) over Braddock King (Lowell) Dec 5-3
120 - Mason Saylor (Lowell) over Sebastian Abro (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Maj 9-0
126 - Cody Foss (Lowell) over Mateo Pesaros (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Maj 10-0
132 - Jackson Blum (Lowell) over Ricardo Saenz (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) TF 23-7
138 - Logan Dawson (Lowell) over Parker Glass (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Fall 2:50
144 - Owen Segorski (Lowell) over Deacon MacNeill (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Maj 11-3
150 - Emmanuel Shango (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) over Chase Wilder (Lowell) Fall 1:03
157 - Jack Lamoreaux (Lowell) over Alex Rabban (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Dec 8-3
165 - Jared Boone (Lowell) over Grant Cummins (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Fall 0:32
175 - Caleb Steele (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) over Weston McFarland (Lowell) Fall 1:43
190 - Max Bigard (Lowell) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
215 - Ari McFarland (Lowell) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
285 - Kenny Kinyon (Lowell) over Donovan Fuller (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice) Fall 4:26
Semifinal - #1 Lowell defeated #4 Mason 52-17
In the opener on Saturday bigger crowds and more excitement were in store for the Red Arrows as Cody Foss scored in an upset win as Lowell coasted by the 4-seeded Mason Bulldogs, who came back from a big deficit in the quarterfinals against Monroe Jefferson.
"For a guy that didn't meet his individual goals, Cody wrestled well this weekend and this is a great confidence booster for him going into next weekend," Boudro said of Foss' performance.
Seth Harvey opened the dual with a first period pin and Jared Boone scored a fall to give Lowell a quick lead where the Red Arrows never looked back.
In the next match, after a major decision that would’ve made the score 12-4 Lowell, Mason lost a point for unsportsmanlike conduct as the Mason wrestler performed a gesture of breaking an arrow. It’s not something Lowell hasn’t seen before. When you win 10-straight titles as Lowell had entering the dual, you won't have a soft spot in any other division two team's hearts. It is one of the first times a team has lost a point because of it however. The officiating crew noted to Mason coaching staff that any gestures meant to egg on an opposing crowd would result in a team point deduction. Lowell had not brought it up to officiating, but it is something that officials are more aware of.
"Our guys didn't fall for that stuff, they handled it really well. We don't let those types of things bother us," Boudro said.
Another Mason wrestler opted to do the same thing later in the match, costing the Bulldogs a second team point at a point they were down 47-9, and drawing the ire of the Lowell crowd. Mason coaches were unhappy with the two for costing them team points in a situation they couldn’t lose them.
Lowell dominated at the lower weights scoring six consecutive wins including the upset by Foss, three falls, and a forfeit.
“It’s tough for Jackson when he gets voided to. The kid just loves to be out there and compete,” Boudro said.
The Red Arrows were rolling on to the finals, where after a back and forth dual Freeland had overcome fellow OK White member Greenville for a date with the Red Arrows that afternoon.
Semifinal Match Summary
165 - Seth Harvey (Lowell) over Anderson McElmurray (Mason) Fall 1:22
175 - Jared Boone (Lowell) over Owen Adaway (Mason) Fall 0:31
190 - Derek Badgley (Mason) over Gabe Olin (Lowell) Maj 18-6
215 - Casey Engle (Lowell) over Grant Gilchrist (Mason) Dec 5-1
285 - Kaleb Parrish (Mason) over Ari McFarland (Lowell) Fall 0:36
106 - Cole Cichocki (Lowell) over Jordan Evans (Mason) Fall 1:27
113 - Jarrett Smith (Lowell) over Jakob Mullin (Mason) TF 16-1
120 - Carter Cichocki (Lowell) over Michael Dennis (Mason) Fall 0:47
126 - Cody Foss (Lowell) over Darius Ambs (Mason) Dec 5-4
132 - Logan Dawson (Lowell) over Boone Smith (Mason) Fall 3:06
138 - Jackson Blum (Lowell) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
144 - Tex Smith (Mason) over Trevor Boone (Lowell) SV-1 5-3
150 - Owen Segorski (Lowell) over Dawson Williams (Mason) TF 15-0
157 - Jadyn Grimes (Mason) over Tacho Gonzales (Lowell) Fall 3:38
Finals - #1 Lowell defeated #2 Mason 49-21
After the grand march, an electric crowd that came down from Lowell was set to cheer on the Red Arrows to what they were hoping would be their 11th straight state championship. Some Lowell wrestlers and students were standing during the match in the stands. Kids lined the walls during the march to high five the wrestling team as they walked out decked in red robes. The Lowell crowd overfilling the D2 section and overlapping the division one seating.
Freeland needed to wrestle a perfect dual against Lowell to have a chance. To their credit, they nearly did that, but even then, it likely wouldn’t have been enough. The Falcons were simply outmatched in Saturday afternoon’s state championship dual. The second runner-up ever from Saginaw County. It was Freeland’s first state final appearance, and they ended up scoring the most points against Lowell dating back to the 23 given up to Goodrich in 2019.
Cody Foss started the action with an 8-2 decision. Teh 126 lb starting weight class for Lowell meant they would be ending the dual with two top-ranked wrestlers and the #2 ranked wrestler in the state. It meant that if Freeland had any shot of winning, they realistically needed a 10 point or more lead after heavyweight, instead they were down 10.
Lowell built up that lead with plenty of bonus points. In fact, Lowell-Freeland was the first dual to finish up on Saturday, due to the quickness of the dual. Lowell jumped out to a 19-0 lead off the wrestling of Foss, Logan Dawson, Jackson Blum, and Owen Segorski.
The Falcons would get some momentum scoring two straight wins before Jared Boone took it right back with an 18 second pin. Freeland's strength is at the higher weights, but Boone and Casey Engle's falls in addition to some tough wrestling by Ari McFarland and a 19-point head start kept Lowell in the driver seat.
With three matches left, Lowell led by 10. It might not have felt comfortable, but with the three wrestlers left for Lowell, coaching staff were pretty confident.
"No nerves. We figured on Jarrett, Cole, and Carter winning. Things don't always go as planned, but finishing with those guys, it was always going to be tough for Freeland," Boudro said. It went as planned, all three wrestlers scored first period falls and it was Smith whose match was the clincher, his pin coming with eight seconds left in the first period.
For the trophy ceremony, Sawyer and Chase Wilder went out with Coach Boudro to help accept the championship trophy. Chase hoisted the mitten-shaped championship trophy high in the air and his teammates surrounded him to celebrate.
"It was a tough week. Our guys handled their emotions the right way. One of the things that makes this program special is we have a connection with our purpose and how this program is going to help them in life. We enjoy doing fun things and making memories, but this week it was never more apparent that when times get tough and we face struggle, that's when you're thankful to be a part of a program like this who know how to rally around eachother.
It was Lowell’s eleventh straight state championship, but there was no complacency on the Lowell side. Just gratitude from the seniors, and ready to keep it going next year.
“I can’t say I haven’t felt it before, every year it’s a great feeling. There’s not much else like it.” senior Ari McFarland said after the finals. He showed plenty of emotion coming off the mat in his final match as a Lowell wrestler. “It was just knowing it’s the end of an era. I’m excited for the next step in my life, but it was certainly emotional stepping off the mat for the last time,” added McFarland.
“It feels really good, me and the rest of the team worked really hard and it feels really good to see it pay off. Already excited to put in more work, and be better for next year,” added Seth Harvey.
Finals Summary
126 - Cody Foss (Lowell) over Joseph Klopf (Freeland) Dec 8-2
132 - Logan Dawson (Lowell) over Nolan Cunningham (Freeland) TF 19-4
138 - Jackson Blum (Lowell) over Colin Ott (Freeland) Fall 1:02
144 - Owen Segorski (Lowell) over Ty Fournier (Freeland) TF 17-1
150 - Fabian Facundo (Freeland) over Trevor Boone (Lowell) Fall 1:54
157 - Noah Graham (Freeland) over Tacho Gonzales (Lowell) Dec 7-3
165 - Jared Boone (Lowell) over Matthew Aulds (Freeland) Fall 0:18
175 - Gibson Shepard (Freeland) over Seth Harvey (Lowell) Dec 9-2
190 - Casey Engle (Lowell) over Zack Clark (Freeland) Fall 1:20
215 - Elijah Murphy (Freeland) over Ari McFarland (Lowell) Dec 5-0
285 - Bringham Smith (Freeland) over Kenny Kinyon (Lowell) Fall 3:23
106 - Jarrett Smith (Lowell) over Easton Rosebush (Freeland) Fall 1:52
113 - Cole Cichocki (Lowell) over Michael Wilson (Freeland) Fall 0:53
120 - Carter Cichocki (Lowell) over Malachi Hill (Freeland) Fall 1:18
