D1 Final: 'We wanted this matchup'
February 25, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – A week after the 2011 wrestling season ended, Detroit Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock brought his team’s Division 1 runner-up trophy into the Shamrocks’ wrestling room.
He had one of his seniors paint “1 point” underneath it. The message was clear.
After losing by a point to Oxford in last season’s championship match, DCC was going to do everything possible to make that point up this winter. They did that Saturday – and a whole lot more.
The top-seeded Shamrocks’ avenged that Oxford loss by taking down the Wildcats 47-9 in easily the most lop-sided of Final matches at Kellogg Arena.
“Our goal was to dominate the whole weekend, and we came out here and did it,” DCC 189-pound senior Kevin Beazley said. “We were excited (to face Oxford). We wanted this matchup. That’s what we were hoping for. We wanted to take care of business.”
The championship was DCC’s ninth and second in three seasons. And as for that dominance, consider:
- The Shamrocks (25-3) outscored their three Finals weekend opponents by a combined score of 172-21.
- They won 18 matches by pin – for 108 of those points.
- Beazley wrestled for a combined 1 minute, 42 seconds in his three wins.
- Sophomore 130-pounder Ken Bade won two matches by pin and the third by technical fall.
“To win by the score of 47-9, I think makes a statement,” Hancock said. “To win 11 out of 14 matches, I think is pretty impressive.”
It’s tough to argue that. But Oxford’s advancement to the Final was impressive in its own right.
Oxford entered Finals weekend as just the No. 6 seed and with half its line-up new coming off last season’s championship. The coach running the show, Brandon Rank, also was in his first season as the head guy after earning a promotion from assistant.
The Wildcats (20-6) knocked out No. 2 seed Brighton and No. 3 seed Davison at Kellogg, after also beating two top-10 teams to win the Regional. Rank said it best: no one expected Oxford to make it to the championship match except for those wearing the team’s navy blue and gold.
“I’m proud of my kids, the way they battled. The two dual meets to get here showed we belonged here,” Rank said. “It was obvious. We belonged here.”
Click for match-by-match results from the Final, Semifinals and Quarterfinals. See more photos at High School Sports Scene.
Lowell Runs Team Title Streak to 12, Moves Closer to All-Sports Record
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 22, 2025
KALAMAZOO – Jackson Blum and his Lowell teammates have bigger goals than winning a Division 2 Team Wrestling Finals title each year.
But as the Red Arrows chase those goals down, they keep winning titles, too.
“We want to accomplish our goal, and in the end our goal is not to win a state championship. It’s to become a better person and a better wrestler,” Blum said. “Team state titles, they can come along with that, but in the end we just want to better ourselves as people and as wrestlers – so if winning a team state title is a product of that, that’s awesome.”
Lowell defeated Fowlerville 52-14 on Saturday at Wings Event Center to capture its 12th-straight Division 2 Finals championship.
That not only extends its MHSAA record for consecutive wrestling titles, but moves one step closer to the record for all sports in Lower Peninsula or statewide competition – 15, set by the East Grand Rapids boys swimming & diving team from 1948-62.
A 13th title next year would tie the Red Arrows with Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice boys lacrosse, which accomplished that feat from 2005-2017.
Fowlerville was the seventh program Lowell has defeated in the Finals during the streak.
“We put God first, we do that across the coaching staff, and it just gives us a purpose,” Lowell coach RJ Boudro said. “We know why we do this. We don’t do this to win a state championship; we do this to be better wrestlers. We do that off the mat, on the mat, in the classroom, and we hold ourselves accountable that way, and everything takes care of itself. It really doesn’t feel like there’s pressure, because we can’t lose. We go out there and try to wrestle hard. If we wrestle our hardest and do everything we were coached to do, how can you lose? Usually, if you do all those things, we end up here.”
Carson Blum opened the dual with a pinfall at 113 pounds, setting a familiar tone for the Red Arrows (30-4), who built a 46-0 lead through the first nine matches.
Brock Foster put the Gladiators (35-5) on the board with a major decision at 175 pounds, but by that time, the Lowell lead was already insurmountable.
“We’re used to wrestling with momentum on our side, and we did not get any momentum,” Fowlerville coach Dan Coon said. “We could not get any traction. They do a nice job. They work them hard over there, they see a tough schedule. They did a nice job.”
The opening run included pins from Carter Cichocki (132) and Jackson Blum (138), followed by a string of four straight technical falls from Logan Dawson (144), Trevor Boone (150), Seth Harvey (157) and Owen Segorski (165).
Jarrett Smith (120) and Cole Cichocki (126) each won by major decision during the run.
“A lot of firepower, and it’s just hard to beat a team with that much firepower,” Boudro said. “It’s hard to really compare, but this was such an enjoyable season. It’s hard to say that I’ve ever enjoyed a season more than this. It’s the leadership – these kids love God, they love our team, they love our program, they love our community, they buy into our core values – it’s just special.”
Casey Engle (190) and John Carter McKay (106) each won by decision for the Arrows, who are far from done, as they will send 11 boys and two girls to the upcoming Individual Finals, Feb. 28 and March 1 at Ford Field in Detroit.
Among those qualifiers are four reigning champions, including Jackson Blum who will be in search of his fourth, and Segorski who will be wrestling for his third.
“I’m super grateful,” Jackson Blum said. “My coaches, my teammates, they’ve always been there for me. We’re a family. Every day I just kind of think about how cool it is to be a part of this program and this community. I look up in the stands and there’s hundreds of people here to support us, it’s just awesome.”
While Lowell walking away from Kalamazoo with a title was expected, Fowlerville making a run to the Final was less so. The Gladiators were the No. 7 seed and upset Freeland in the Quarterfinals on Friday before knocking off New Boston Huron on Saturday in the Semifinals.
“We surprised a couple people this weekend, so we’re good,” Coon said. “I feel real good about it. It’s unfortunate that we had to see Lowell in the Finals, but there’s a lot of other teams that would have done a whole lot worse than we did. I’m good with that.”
Liam and Layne O’Neil did provide some good memories for the Gladiators at the end of the title match, as Liam won by fall at 285 and Layne won a major decision at 215.
Click for the weekend's Division 2 meet summaries.
PHOTOS (Top) Lowell's Owen Segorski, right, locks up his opponent during Saturday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) Fowlerville's Layne O'Neil, left, works toward a win at 215 pounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)