By BUTCH HARMON
After suffering heavy graduation losses last spring, some re-tooling was in order for the St. Johns Redwings wrestling team this year. With the state team tournament ready to kick off, the Redwings have done a solid job of re-constructing the lineup and are ranked second in the state in Division 2, as they look to win a fifth straight state championship.
“We have a lot of new faces, but we have been making great progress,” said coach Derek Phillips. “We graduated seven seniors from last year. We’ve been getting better each and every week.”
Not only did St. Johns lose seven seniors, but it also lost some of the premier wrestlers in the state, as five state champions graduated.
Even so, the Redwings did return a solid nucleus of wrestlers, including junior Logan Massa (152 pounds), a returning state champion, and senior Zac Hall (140), a three-time state champion. The Redwings also returned Angus Arthur (189), another returning champion; sophomore Ian Parker (112), who is ranked second in the state at his weight class this year; and senior Mark Bozzo (145), who is ranked fourth.
Those wrestlers have helped the Redwings to fashion a solid regular season, which includes a No. 2-ranking in the state in Division 2 and several big wins, including an early-season win against Detroit Catholic Central.
Helping St. Johns reload this year have been several newcomers and returning wrestlers who made significant improvements during the off-season.
St. Johns has debuted a solid freshman class, led by Emilio Sanchez (103), who is ranked eighth in the state. Lucas McFarland (119) is ranked ninth in the state, while Brett Fedewa (130) is honorable-mention in his weight class. “Emilio has done a great job as a freshman,” Phillips said. “Brett is another freshman who has had some big wins.”
Derek Droste (125) and Ty Wildmo (215) have also been key additions to the starting lineup. “Derek has had a breakthrough year,” Phillips said. “He has made a lot of progress since last year. Ty is another newcomer who has had a strong season.”
With the re-tooling in place for the state tournament, the Redwings have their sights set on Battle Creek and possibly a third consecutive showdown with Lowell in the Division 2 state championship match. “That’s the way it looks, but you never know, a lot of crazy things can happen in Battle Creek,” Phillips said. “Things are progressing well, and we are trying to get to our peak performance level. We’re on track right now.”
Phillips feels that both the newcomers and the veterans know what it takes to get the job done in Battle Creek. “Everybody is hungry,” he said. “The veterans have had the taste of victory, and they want to keep it going. The younger guys have high expectations and have been practicing hard and improving all the time. They want a shot at the title.”