By BUTCH HARMON
For the five seniors in the Lowell starting lineup, it was sweet vindication.
After having their seasons end with losses to St. Johns the last three years, including the past two in the Division 2 state finals, the Red Arrows seniors finally purged their nemeses from down the road on M-21. The Lowell seniors ended their careers with a victory over St. Johns to win the Division 2 state championship, and they did it in dramatic fashion, winning 34-34 on criteria.
The win snapped a string of four state championships for St. Johns and gave Lowell its first state team wrestling title since 2009.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” said Lowell senior Bailey Jack, who was dancing with his teammates on the mats of Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek minutes after the decision was announced. “It is surreal. It is better than anything I could imagine. Winning individual finals last year was nothing compared to this. I was kind of surprised that it was this close, but it makes it all the more special. They have beaten us the last three years, but we got them today.”
It took a total team effort to get past St. Johns, as every point mattered. The Lowell seniors also needed plenty of contributions from the underclassmen to get the job done. Sophomore Dan Kruse, who came in with a .500 record, came up big against three-time state champion Zac Hall, as he avoided a pin and only gave up five team points with a technical fall. Fellow sophomore Max Dean also came up big, as he went up in weight class and wrestled undefeated returning state champion Angus Arthur and gave up just three team points by dropping a two-point decision. Freshman Eli Boulton, who entered with a sub-.500 mark and went up against defending state champion senior Mark Bozzo, also stayed off his back and gave up a technical fall. All of those matches meant just as much to the Lowell win as did the pins from sophomore Lucas Hall, junior Jordan Hall, and senior Kanon Dean.
“Every kid went out there and followed the game plan,” Lowell coach Dave Dean said. “They all went out there and did the best they could. A point here, a point there, it all added up in the end. I’m just so proud of all these kids.”
Senior Garrett Stehley provided the final points needed for the win. With the Red Arrows trailing by six points entering the final match, Stehley needed to come up with enough points to tie the score and send the decision to criteria. He came through for the Red Arrows, as he was awarded a forfeit win and six points after his St. Johns opponent was disqualified for excessive stalling warnings.
In the end, Lowell seniors Josiah Buys, Kanon Dean, Jacob Garcia, Bailey Jack, Derek Krajewski and Garrett Stehley wrapped up their careers at Lowell as winners.
“We’ve been here every year, and it has always come down to us and St. Johns,” Stehley said. “We knew what we had to do to win the match. It always seems to come down to the two of us, and we wanted to send the seniors out on top and send Coach Dean out on top. Everyone on the team did what they had to do to save points and to get points. It’s just the greatest feeling to beat them in the finals.”