Howell Puts Heart Into Memorial Meet

Two years ago, Freeland was the upstart at the Division 2 Team Wrestling Finals.

While seeded second, the Falcons were making just their third appearance at the event, and advanced to the title match, where they lost to Lowell.

Now, following a second-straight trip to the Quarterfinals and with the No. 3 ranking attached to it early this season, Freeland is looked at much differently.

“I feel like everyone wants to be an underdog against us,” junior Colton Cunningham said. “We’re definitely more known now. We aren’t just a wrestling team, we’re here to win.”

The Falcons, who lost two individual finalists but returned the majority of their team from a year ago, are 7-0 to start the season, with a win over No. 9 North Branch.

The toughest stretch of their season is coming up, though, and the fact they’ve been able to schedule what they have might be the biggest sign of their rise.

On Dec. 20, Freeland will host a team tournament featuring multiple ranked opponents. Among them are Division 2’s Nos. 1 and 2 teams, Lowell and Three Rivers.

“The big guys want to come to us now,” Cunningham said.

The meet will serve as an early measuring stick for the teams, and could be a large decider of seeding as Freeland and Three Rivers try to chase down Lowell, which has won 12 straight titles in Division 2.

“I think that we can show everyone where we’re at, but we can also find out where we’re at this year,” Freeland senior Easton Rosebush said. “We have kind of a freshman-heavy team, but a lot of them are at a super high level already. It can be a motivator, like ‘Wow, we did this well.’ Or, ‘Wow, we have this far to go.’”

The learning where they are part is what Freeland coach Jon Rosebush is most focused on. He said he’s beefed up the Falcons’ schedule to make sure they’re ready for February.

“I think we’ll see 11 state-ranked teams before the first of the year,” Jon Rosebush said. “That’s what I’ve always preached, we have to start getting after the toughest competition and challenging these guys. Otherwise, come the postseason, we’re not going to be prepared. It’s hard, because you have to be on your game all the time, and if you’re not on your game all the time, you’re probably going to take a pounding. But we don’t look at our wins and losses; all it is is preparation for that postseason.”

Rosebush added that his athletes have bought into that mentality, and it doesn’t appear as if it was a hard sell.

“I just love the competition,” Freeland senior Zack Clark said. “I feel like in football that was where we struggled, where we didn’t have many good teams to play. But I feel like in wrestling, we always push for good competition. It makes you get on that level. I’m excited to see Lowell earlier in the season.”

Having a dynasty like Lowell sitting on top of your division can be tough. The Red Arrows are on a historic run, and with three more titles would tie a state record for consecutive Finals titles in any sport.

But having been in a Final and seen Lowell up close didn’t demoralize the Falcons – it motivated them.

“When we wrestled them in the Finals, we took five matches against them,” Rosebush said. “We get a couple more matches out of it and it’s 7-7. We’re not that far off with them. Knowing that, knowing where our kids are at, we’re trying to get up to that level.

“Lowell has such a good program over there. They have a community that supports them 100 percent. They have an athletic department that supports them 100 percent. We’re trying to get there. It’s more motivation for us and drives us as coaches.”

That drove Freeland back to the 2025 Finals, as the Falcons won back-to-back Regional titles for the first time. In fact, their 2024 and 2025 Quarterfinal runs doubled the number of appearances in program history (2004 and 2021).

But the 2025 run ended in that Quarterfinal with a loss against eventual finalist Fowlerville. It was a devastating defeat for the Falcons, but once again they found a way to turn that into fuel.

“It was a disappointment and devastating because we knew we won’t be able to wrestle again with our seniors we had that year,” Freeland sophomore Preston Wetherell said. “But there was definitely a fire feeling that makes you want to come back and work harder in the summer. Come back and just keep up that intensity.”

Freeland graduated its two most successful wrestlers, as Fabian Facundo and Buddy Leonard wrapped up their seasons and careers in the Division 2 Individual Finals at Ford Field. Facundo was the champion at 175 pounds, while Leonard was runner-up at 144.

Facundo became the program’s fourth champion, and first since 2004. The previous two won in 1966.

“He was my friend, and I was really proud of him,” said Freeland senior Brigham Smith, who had also qualified for the Individual Finals. “I was excited. But it also showed me the possibilities of what I could do if I put my mind to it.”

Smith is one of three current Freeland wrestlers who has competed at the Individual Finals. Easton Rosebush is a two-time qualifier (2023 and 2024), having placed eighth at 106 as a sophomore. Senior Ella Mae Klopf qualified in the Girls Division as a freshman.

There is plenty of postseason experience on the roster, though, thanks to two years of competing at Team Finals.

That’s trickling down to the group of talented underclassmen who already had plenty of belief, having watched their program ascend to new heights.

“Personally, for me, it’s great,” Freeland freshman Wyatt Brewer said. “I get to wrestle with a lot of great wrestlers who are able to teach me a lot of things. They give us confidence and support us, so we don’t have as much pressure and can just wrestle.”

Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Freeland’s Brigham Smith, right, wrestles a Fowlerville opponent during last season’s Division 2 Quarterfinal. (Middle) Easton Rosebush, top, works to roll over his Gladiators opponent. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)