D2 Final: Redwings Golden Again
February 25, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – Four years ago, a highly-anticipated group of freshmen joined a St. Johns wrestling program long considered solid – and took the first steps toward making it elite.
Those Redwings left Kellogg Arena on Saturday with their third straight MHSAA Division 2 championship – and a claim on being one of the most dominant teams ever to compete in this state.
St. Johns downed Lowell 41-18 to finish a Finals weekend during which it beat three opponents by a combined 161-35. The Redwings finished 25-1 this season, with that lone loss to Ohio powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward. But St. Johns still hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since 2010 – and had beaten Lowell by the identical score earlier this winter.
“The first title as a team we won was one of the most exciting moments of my wrestling career. This was a great one too,” said St. Johns senior Taylor Massa, who next weekend will attempt to become the 16th four-time individual champion in MHSAA history.
“We knew we worked hard all our lives, and we knew we deserved this. I think we just proved it.”
St. Johns, which also beat eventual Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central during the regular season, led the Red Arrows the entire Division 2 Final and clinched it with two bouts remaining.
Lowell and St. Johns have a combined 25 individual Finals qualifiers, and St. Johns earned only three pins Saturday – by Massa at 171 pounds and juniors Brant Schafer at 130 and Josh Pennell at 145. But the Redwings also pulled off decisions by two and one point, respectively, and gave up just one pin.
Lowell finished 26-2 this season, with both losses to St. Johns.
“They put a lot of pressure on,” Lowell coach Dave Dean said. “They work very hard, but (also have) just talent alone. We kinda had a string theory of if we did this and this, maybe we’d have a chance today.”
All but one of the Redwings' seven seniors will compete at the Individual Finals, with Jordan Wohlfert joining Massa as a reigning champion. Massa has signed to wrestle at the University of Michigan next season, and Wohlfert will do the same at Michigan State.
St. Johns was 59-51 in the four seasons before these seniors entered high school. The Redwings finished 121-7 during their four-year run.
“These guys are awesome. We’re going to miss them,” St. Johns coach Zane Ballard said. “They are just a great group of kids and were real close.
“Our goal could only be one thing, and that’s to be here next year doing the same thing. That is our goal, and I know this group we have, they can come back and do it.”
Click for match-by-match results from the Final, Semifinals and Quarterfinals. See more photos at High School Sports Scene.
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.)