New Lothrop celebrated a Division 4 state title in wrestling this season. But achieving championship success isn’t new for the Hornets.
New Lothrop was most recently in a championship match in 2007 when it lost to Addison. However, the Hornets hoisted the trophy in 2003 and 2004. The title this year ends the 10-year drought.
Jeff Campbell was co-coach with Craig Funsch on the 2003 and 2004 teams and took care of the coaching this season.
The Hornets stopped Hudson’s bid for a sixth straight state title. “It’s a big win; we’ve been chasing these guys for a long time, trying to get a chance at them in the finals,” Campbell said. “What’s really special for us, besides the win, is seeing the turnout, seeing all the support we’ve had, having a little town like we have come together with some high schoolers giving everything they’ve got.”
Campbell believes that getting a shot at Hudson made his wrestlers more focused.
“What Scott Marry and the coaching staff and their kids have done [at Hudson] rewriting the record book of high school wrestling,” Campbell said. “If we were going to win it, that’s the team we wanted to be able to beat. They’re the kind of program other teams are trying to be like.”
Campbell has a 13-year record of 339-63 as New Lothrop’s coach.
“I’ve been there 14 years, but it started a long time before I was there,” Campbell said. “They’ve been winning at wrestling for a long time. It really starts with the youth program. The kids on our team wrestled together when they were in first grade.
“They had fun at the youth level. Junior high starts to be more serious. We try to make a run each year. It’s one of the programs in the state that we can start with the goal of wanting to win a state title. We’ve had some great teams that haven’t gotten it done. That just shows how hard it is to do because of programs like Hudson, Hesperia, Addison, and other teams you always see down there.”
The senior class came through in a major way for New Lothrop, Campbell pointed out. “They all play football and they all play baseball or run track. They’re all two- or three-sport athletes. They’re top 10 in their class. They’re great kids and leaders.”
The fans enjoyed every minute of this season.
“It’s exciting, but it’s nerve-wracking, too,” one of the New Lothrop wrestling mothers said, adding that “half the town” follows the wresters. “They take it very seriously. These boys put in a lot of hours and a lot of time.”
“We have the whole community following,” another wrestling mother said. “It’s been such a long four years, and finally, it paid off and we are here. Every year was a hope that this would be the year, and we left disappointed. But not this year.
“It’s a very big sport. These kids start when they’re six or seven years old and keep wrestling right on through. They become a family and they’re tight brothers. This year, we have a big group, which makes it even better. I’ll keep following them. I have a younger son coming up.”