D2 Preview: Chasing Lowell's Record Reign
February 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Significant change will spark this season’s Division 2 Wrestling Quarterfinals at Wings Event Center, as five teams will be competing in Friday’s round that did not a year ago – including two programs wrestling for the first time at this level of the tournament.
Yet amid the buzz, a constant in Michigan high school wrestling will be standing tall.
Lowell is back and the top seed in Division 2 after winning its record sixth-straight MHSAA Finals championship in Kalamazoo a year ago. In fact, the Red Arrows are the only team among the top five seeds in this division that has won a Finals title.
But extending the streak won’t come easily – especially considering the second and third-seeded teams are led by two of the most successful and longest-serving coaches in MHSAA wrestling history.
The Division 2 Quarterfinals will be wrestled at 6:45 p.m. Friday. Top seed Lowell will wrestle Croswell-Lexington, No. 2 Gaylord will take on New Boston Huron, No. 3 Stevensville Lakeshore will face Mason and No. 4 Warren Woods-Tower will match up with Muskegon Reeths-Puffer. Semifinals are noon Saturday, with the championship match that afternoon at 3:45 p.m. All matches this weekend will be viewable live on a subscription basis on MHSAA.tv. For Friday’s schedule and results throughout, check the MHSAA Wrestling page.
Below is a look at all eight teams competing in Division 2, listed by seed.
#1 Lowell
Record/rank: 12-4, No. 1
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference White
Coach: R.J. Boudro, sixth season (117-18)
Championship history: Nine MHSAA championships (most recent 2019), six runner-up finishes.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Nick Kohorn (24-11) sr., 112 Ramsy Mutchler (26-17) soph., 125 James Link (27-14) jr., 130 Zeth Strejc (22-12) jr., 135 Dawson Jankowski (26-10) sr., 140 William Link (25-10) jr., 145 Austin Boone (34-0) sr., 152 James Fotis (23-5) sr., 160 Doak Dean (27-8) jr., 171 Jacob Lee (30-9) jr., 215 Jacob Hough (27-9) sr., 215 Keegan Nugent (32-6) jr., 285 Tyler Deloof (18-5) sr., 285 Grant Pratt (26-11) sr.
Outlook: Add to the Red Arrows’ record run that they qualified a full 14 for next week’s Individual Finals, and that alone tells a pretty good story of the team’s continued dominance this winter. Some lineup maneuvering allows Lowell to get 13 of its 14 individual qualifiers into a team match, with freshman Landon Miller (103/19-8) joining the star-loaded group. Boone will wrestle for his fourth individual championship next weekend, and Korhorn was a Finals runner-up in 2018. Deloof, Mutschler, Fotis, Dean and Lee were individual placers last season.
#2 Gaylord
Record/rank: 30-0, No. 2
League finish: First in Big North Conference
Coach: Jerry LaJoie, 26th season (729-135-2)
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2018.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Brendan Smith (34-9) fr., 112 Gabe Thompson (30-8) soph., 125 John Sosa (35-2) sr., 125 Will Sides (38-5) sr., 130 Rico Brown (30-1) sr., 145 Chayse LaJoie (33-0) sr., 160 Jacob McKnight (38-2) sr.
Outlook: Gaylord fell by only 10 to Lowell in last season’s Semifinal match and hasn’t lost since, reaching this weekend with a 33-30 Regional Final win over No. 3 DeWitt. Chayse LaJoie just missed on a third individual title in 2019, falling in a 3-2 decision in the 125 championship match, and he too hasn’t lost again. Sosa and McKnight also were Finals placers last season, and junior Quinn Schultz (189/40-8) was a qualifier a year ago although he did not make the final weekend this season. Two freshmen also have broken 40 wins – Gus James (119/40-7) and Brayden Gautreau (152/43-6).
#3 Stevensville Lakeshore
Record/rank: 19-1, No. 6
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Bruce Bittenbender, 50th season (939-264-2)
Championship history: Class B runner-up in 1986 and 1994.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 112 Cameron Litaker (26-6) soph., 119 Aaron Lucio (34-5) fr., 130 Micah Hanau (36-3) soph., 135 Shane Williams (38-2) sr., 160 Case Rohl (18-6) sr., 215 Zeke Rohl (34-5) sr.
Outlook: Bittenbender – the state’s winningest coach by more than 100 matches – will lead Lakeshore to the Quarterfinals for the 11th time in the 32-year history of the team format and after the Lancers missed a year ago. They advanced this time with Regional wins over No. 9 Niles and Battle Creek Harper Creek. Litaker, Hanau, Williams and Zeke Rohl all were Finals placers last season, and junior James Harris (145/35-7) has been another big winner this winter.
#4 Warren Woods-Tower
Record/rank: 17-6, No. 5
League finish: First in Macomb Area Conference Red
Co-coaches: Greg Mayer and Russell Correll, 20th seasons (389-249)
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2017.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Tyler Daniel (33-11) soph., 119 Joe Haynes (44-3) jr., 119 Gavin Shoobridge (24-12) jr., 125 Josh Howey (34-7) soph., 130 Dru Wilson (39-7) jr., 135 Mathew Booth (31-14) jr., 152 Tim Lewis (30-14) sr., 160 Ryan Radvansky (35-12) fr., 171 Omari Embree (24-2) soph.
Outlook: Tower has become a regular at the Quarterfinals with this its fifth-straight trip and sixth in seven seasons. The Titans again made the Semifinals last season and are seeded to do the same with a lineup including five seniors but eight Finals qualifiers who are juniors or younger. Embree was last season’s champion at 160 as a freshman, while Haynes was runner-up at 119 and Howey also placed at the Individual Finals. Wilson joined Haynes as a placer in 2018.
#5 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 7
League finish: First in O-K Black
Coach: Matt Brink, 14th season (269-117)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 119 Jacob Blawat (40-7) jr., 152 James Rozycki (42-4) jr., 189 Colby Stephenson (45-2) sr., 215 Hunter McCall (41-1) sr.
Outlook: Brink, a three-time individual champion at Fruitport, has led Reeths-Puffer to its first Regional championship to go with six straight District and league titles. The Rockets opened the postseason with a four-point District win over No. 8 Whitehall and also got past Allendale by nine in the Regional Final to earn this first-time opportunity. McCall brings experience on the big stage; he finished third at 215 last season. Nine starters total have at least 30 wins – junior Thade Radosa (145/42-3) just missed qualifying for the Individual Finals but is another top contributor.
#6 Mason
Record/rank: 23-2, unranked
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Coach: Brian Martel, 17th season (486-110)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2006), one runner-up finish.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 103 Tayden Miller (39-5) fr., 130 Tanner Miller (41-1) sr., 285 Jack Gilchrist (40-2) sr.
Outlook: A three-time Division 2 champion during the first decade of the 2000s, Mason is back at the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2013. The Bulldogs have won 11 straight District titles but frequently have run into state-ranked competition at the Regional level – and this time they advanced with a 33-27 upset of No. 4 Eaton Rapids in the Regional Final. Tanner Miller finished fifth at 130 last season and is one of seven senior starters finishing their careers memorably.
#7 New Boston Huron
Record/rank: 21-4, No.10
League finish: First in Huron League
Coach: Jack Shulaw, 17th season (371-117)
Championship history: Class B champion 1978 and 1981.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 135 Dylan Carr (36-11) sr., 160 Nelson Poet (37-4) sr., 171 Cody Brenner (44-2) jr., 171 Kael Wisler (32-5) soph., 189 Braden Damiani (37-5) sr., 215 Brendan Damiani (37-6) sr., 285 Tyler Short (35-9) jr.
Outlook: New Boston Huron won its first Regional title since 2003, with a 38-37 win over Gibraltar Carlson sending the Chiefs to Kalamazoo. Like Mason, Huron has had plenty of success in earlier rounds, following up nine league titles over the last decade with their eighth District championship during that time two weeks ago. Poet was the individual runner-up last season at 160, and Brenner, Braden Damiani, Carr and senior Kaleb Rosen (145/36-4) also were Finals placers.
#8 Croswell-Lexington
Record/rank: 31-9, unranked
League finish: Third in Blue Water Area Conference
Coach: Joe Lilly, 22nd season (449-183)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Individual Finals qualifiers: 130 Christopher Lilly (49-1) sr., 135 Xzavier Suess (43-3) jr., 171 Vincent Scaramuzzino (46-4) jr.
Outlook: Croswell-Lexington also celebrated its first Regional title last week after winning its sixth District title over the last seven seasons and emerging from a BWAC that includes Division 3 second seed Richmond. Christopher Lilly is the reigning individual champion at 135 and Scaramuzzino was fourth at 152 last season.
PHOTO: A Mason wrestler works toward a pin during Individual District competition Feb. 15. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Blahas Building Lasting Owosso Legacy
February 5, 2020
By Tim Robinson
Special for Second Half
Owosso seniors Hunter and Colton Blaha, born 11 months apart, have been competing with each other nearly every day of their lives.
“We’ve been competing forever,” said Colton, the younger of the brothers, with a laugh. “Sprinting down the road so you can get to the house first.”
Hunter agreed.
“We’re always competing, no matter what it is,” he said. “Board games, chores. It doesn’t matter.”
The Blaha brothers have channeled that competitiveness into a work ethic and sense of community that has helped lift the Owosso High School sports programs in which they’ve competed.
Both played football (Hunter at quarterback, Colton at running back), while Hunter plays basketball and runs track and Colton is an all-state wrestler who plays baseball in the spring.
Most of the programs they have played for have not had recent success. The brothers endured part of a 43-game losing streak in football, Hunter’s basketball team recently snapped a 30-game losing streak, and the Owosso baseball team has struggled in recent years.
And, to the Blahas, that doesn’t matter.
Competing does.
“I honestly don’t care what our record is,” Colton Blaha said. “We always had a close bond with the kids in our grade, and that means more than anything. It means more than any record we could have had in wins or losses.”
Trojans athletic director Dallas Lintner, who also is an assistant football coach, said what sets the Blahas apart is that selflessness – a willingness to help build a program despite an outward lack of success.
“What’s refreshing to see at the high school level is that they’re competitive, but they’re classy,” Lintner said. “They mean a lot to us at Owosso High School. They mean a lot to our community particularly with the relationships they’ve built with middle-school kids, with elementary school kids. They really do it all for us.”
Both Blahas have worked, assisting the coaches in their sports, with younger athletes at all levels to help them feel a part of the program.
“When we got here, the senior leadership was horrible,” Hunter Blaha said. “We got treated horribly by the upperclassmen, and that plays a big part in a program, having a bond and a relationship with the younger kids. We set that as a goal in the eighth grade, because we knew how important it was to our program if we got the youth program going at a young level and got them going at the same pace.”
And so Owosso football players at lower levels have seen the Blahas at their games or matches the last four years. Both attend youth level games and interact with future Owosso athletes as much as their schedules allow.
“They’re like rock stars to those kids,” football coach Devin Pringle said. “We do things at elementary schools like reading to kids, and we take the Blahas. They’re like NFL stars to those kids. They wrestle with them, give them high-fives, talk about grades.”
At one point during the football season, Hunter became involved with a troubled elementary school student as part of a class in social tolerance.
“I was chosen to help this kid,” he said. “My idea was to bring him to a game, come see a coin toss, maybe get him a signed football.”
Which he did. The youngster got to do all three and went home with a lasting memory.
“It was an awesome experience,” Hunter said. “I could tell he was really happy that he got the chance to do that.”
Another thing that makes the Blahas stand out, their coaches said, is their commitment to their hometown.
“A lot of kids transferred out of here to play on better sports teams,” Colton Blaha said. “My mom has always taught us to make a name for ourselves, and I feel that Hunter and I have both done that here. We’ve done the best we can to try to change the sports programs around, and we hope the kids under us have picked up on that.”
Naturally, coaching and commitment by those younger players is critical, but there are signs of a turnaround in Owosso football. The Trojans varsity won two games last season and lost three more by a single point. The rest of the teams in the program all had winning records.
“We knew coming in it would take some time to get a new culture established,” Pringle said. “When it happens, it’s because these young men decided to stay.”
After his freshman year of football, Hunter Blaha was promoted to varsity. As a sophomore, he was a unanimous choice as a team captain and started at quarterback.
Colton finished third at 160 pounds at last year’s Division 2 Individual Wrestling Finals, a rise fueled by the competitive fires built during his youth.
“We used to have basement wrestling tournaments, and he used to kick my butt,” Colton said of Hunter. “I used to get so mad at him.”
The boys wrestled and sometimes fought at school, too.
“I always beat him,” Hunter said. “I remember one day I stopped and he came up to me and said, ‘I’m not going to let you whip my (butt) any more. It’s just not going to happen. That’s the day he started wrestling, and he’s been working his tail off ever since. It’s pushed me to work harder and get some goals in mind.”
As for the rivalry, “a year later, (Colton) started whipping my butt,” Hunter said, smiling. “It’s escalated from there.”
Both Blahas plan to compete in college, Hunter in football and Colton in wrestling. Both plan to become teachers, and Pringle has a not-so-subtle plan for Hunter.
“Colton is amazing in his own right,” Pringle said. “But Hunter, when he gets that degree, he’ll be head football coach at Owosso someday. We’re getting a new weight room, and I tell him, ‘I’ll have this ready for you when you take over.’ He’ll be a kid who impacts hundreds of kids before he’s done.”
But first, there’s a senior year to complete.
“It feels like it came up way too fast,” Hunter said. “It feels like yesterday I started at quarterback my sophomore year. I kind of get emotional about it. I don’t like talking about it. Most kids are ready to get out of here, to get their lives going. But I’ve been here since I was 6 years old, and it’s all I’ve ever known, playing with these kids.”
Colton Blaha is known as an athlete who’s the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave, almost to a fault.
“I have him in a fourth-hour class, and he always wants to get in a couple of extra sets,” Pringle said, chuckling. “He always leaves the room last, and sometimes I’m late for lunch because of it.”
A few lost minutes of lunch, though, has been a small price to pay.
“I know they’re going to do great things,” Lintner said. “They’re going to be great husbands. They’re going to be great fathers. They’re going to be great college athletes no matter what university they choose. We’re super proud of them, and as an educator, I’ve been fortunate to be with them the last four years of their journey.”
Asked what the most important thing is that they've gained through athletics, both brothers pause for several seconds before answering.
“Hard work can take you anywhere,” Colton said. “Always. Through hard work, you go through a lot of ups and downs, a lot of lefts and rights, but if you keep working hard, keep your head balanced, you can go anywhere.”
“Being a family, definitely,” Hunter said. “That’s what it’s all about. Life’s not always about football and athletics. You want to make your friendships and talk about these memories 20 years down the road.”
But the Blahas have done more than make memories. They’ve made an impact, one that will be felt ‘years down the road.’
PHOTOS: (Top) Colton, left, and brother Hunter Blaha. (Middle) Colton, left, begins his third-place match during last season’s Division 2 Individual Finals at Ford Field. (Middle photo by HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)