Success is what drives the Lowell wrestling team. On January 31st, the wrestling team traveled to Crown Point for the sectional tournament. The team had high expectations after all of the success they had during the regular season.
The team dominated the tournament by finishing 2nd overall, scoring a total of 253.5 points and sending 13 wrestlers to the regional tournament. The 13 wrestlers included Gavin Longoria, Tyler Quarles, Noel Verduzco, Hunter Mallory, Evan Stanley, Dalton Robinson, Logan Schwarzkopf, Charlie Shaffer, Bradley Rivera, Tymothy James, Cayden Yuran, Anthony Ruiz, and Kameron Hazelett.
Out of the 13 wrestlers who qualified, the team had two sectional champions: Evan Stanley and Kameron Hazelett. Both wrestlers received forfeits in the finals. Wrestlers who placed 2nd included Gavin Longoria, Tyler Quarles, Noel Verduzco, Hunter Mallory, Charlie Shaffer, Bradley Rivera, and Cayden Yuran. The 3rd-place finishers included Dalton Robinson, Logan Schwarzkopf, and Tymothy James, with Anthony Ruiz being the only 4th-place finisher.
The wrestlers will look to advance to semi-state on February 7th at Crown Point High School. To advance to the next week, wrestlers must place in the top four of their weight class. After semi-state, the goal is to send as many wrestlers as possible to state. The team has several wrestlers ranked in the state, including Gavin Longoria (16th), Tyler Quarles (26th), Noel Verduzco (1st), Hunter Mallory (28th), Evan Stanley (1st), Dalton Robinson (13th), Bradley Rivera (30th), Cayden Yuran (13th), and Kameron Hazelett (1st).
Coach English feels the team could have performed better overall in the tournament.
“I felt as if we slipped through the cracks, we let a Sectional title slip through the cracks and at this level of competition there’s no room for error! At the same time we did fantastic at getting better and improving. Keep chipping away!” he said.
Small mistakes hurt the team’s overall score. The team lost a key wrestler at the start of the tournament during weigh-ins. They also lost three key matches that made or broke the overall score between Lowell and Crown Point. Lowell was leading the tournament by 14 points with Crown Point trailing behind. The team sent nine wrestlers to the finals.
Coach English knows the team is improving, but fixing the small mistakes is crucial at this time of the year. He wants to show everyone how much better the team is getting and highlight the amount of work the wrestlers are putting in.
