Michael Lowe makes state title match
5 min read
COLUMBUS – The semifinals started with heartbreak for Portage County.
A defeat in sudden victory.
A game-winning takedown for the opposition in the closing seconds.
The heartbreak melted away midway through Michael Lowe’s state semifinal.
After trailing for the first half of his match, the Mogadore senior exploded into the lead late in the second period and tacked on insurance points to start the third for a 6-3 victory over Harrison Central’s Lucas Thomas. As a result, Lowe is the Wildcats’ first state finalist since 1997.
“The way I look at it, this is now or never,” Lowe said. “You’re never going to get another chance like this, no matter what match, what place it’s for, you just got to go and give it your all.”
Of Portage County’s five semifinalists, Lowe was a bit of an underdog.
Three of the five had been to state before. Lowe hadn’t.
Four of the five were ranked by wrestling expert Josh Lowe. Michael Lowe wasn’t.
Lowe, in his Schottenstein debut, has been seemingly unfazed, per Mogadore coach Duane Funk.
“The rankings are good and they’re kind of cool for the kids to see their name on and everything else, but you still got to come down here and you still got to compete and you still got to win on the mats,” Funk said. “He came in, he’s ready, hungry, ready to roll, last year of his wrestling career in high school and he’s leaving it out on the mat every time and he’s doing very well at it, too.”
Lowe, injury-riddled in past years, has reached a new level as a senior.
He’ll next wrestle undefeated Greenon senior Trevor Stewart Sunday evening.
“You couldn’t ask for a better wrestling state tournament than what he’s put together these last three matches,” Funk said. “Now, hopefully we can finish it off tomorrow and continue that, but he has wrestled outstanding this weekend.”
For Portage County’s four other semifinalists, Saturday was triumph by morning, mourning by night.
Southeast senior Jaidyn Sapp and Garfield sophomore Keegan Sell nearly joined Lowe in the finals.
Sapp, following a dominant 11-1 quarterfinal win over Indian Lake freshman Owen Pummel, fell in sudden victory in the semifinals to Edison senior Logan Lloyd.
Down 2-0 in the first, Lloyd knotted the score with a pair of escapes. Sapp briefly retook the lead with an escape of his own before Lloyd knotted the score. In overtime, Lloyd caught Sapp’s leg and got him right at the edge of the ring.
Sell, following an 8-2 quarterfinal win over West Jefferson’s Bryce Keckley, was knotted at three late in the third period with Troy Christian junior Connor Havill. Sell went for a shot in the closing seconds and nearly pushed Havill over, but Havill was able to rebuff the shot and get Sell on his front with six seconds left for a 5-4 win.
Dalton senior Tate Geiser (157), Garfield junior Hunter Andel (165) and Southeast senior Spencer Mesaros (215) will join Sapp and Sell in the consolation bracket Sunday, with all five capable of finishing anywhere between third and sixth in the state.
Meanwhile, Mogadore senior Brady Funk (113) will wrestle for seventh.
Legacy Christian leads team standings
Entering the final day of the state tournament, here’s a look at the number of competitors left for the top four teams:
1. Legacy Christian (103.5 points, 3 finalists, 7 placers)
3. Edison (65, 2 finalists, 5 placers)
2. Mechanicsburg (60.5, 2 finalists, 4 placers)
4. Delta (55, 2 finalists, 4 placers)
Match of the day: Mogadore’s Michael Lowe over Harrison Central’s Lucas Thomas
This will come as no surprise. The area’s lone Division III state finalist had the match of the day. But it wasn’t just that Lowe became the Wildcats’ first state finalist since 1997. It was also a darn entertaining match. Early on, Thomas had the edge, leading 2-0 in the first and 3-2 in the second before Lowe turned the tide late in the second period.
Michael Lowe leads day two’s three stars
Michael Lowe, Mogadore, 215 pounds: Again, no surprises here. It’s not just that Lowe, in his state debut, surged all the way to the finals. It’s the way the Wildcats senior beat the odds. Borofanohio.net had Lowe losing in the first round. Lowe wasn’t ranked in expert Josh Lowe’s final rankings. He’s now top two in the state.
Spencer Mesaros, Southeast, 215 pounds: Before Lowe’s semifinal win, Mesaros probably had the win of the day, with a sudden victory thriller over Sandy Valley’s Wyatt Moyer in the quarterfinals. From never making state to a finish anywhere between third and sixth, Mesaros has been a superb story for the Pirates.
Keegan Sell, Garfield, 175 pounds: His day ended in heartbreak, with a 5-4 semifinal loss to Troy Christian’s Connor Havill, but the G-Men sophomore has proven over the past couple of weeks that he is one of the very best in the state. Whether it was being knotted with Havill, ranked third in the state by Lowe, late in the third period or stunning then-undefeated Waynedale senior Peyton Lemon at Garfield Heights, Sell has shown himself to be a wrestler to watch for years to come.
“There’s nothing like walking out the tunnel. You see everything, your stomach drops a little bit and it’s cool. You wrestle better with so many people watching you.” — Spencer Mesaros, Southeast senior
Lowe-Stewart, Sell-Lemon matches highlight day 3
While Portage County is surely eager for Sunday’s 215-pound state title match between Mogadore’s Michael Lowe and undefeated Greenon senior Trevor Stewart, don’t sleep in and miss what should be a scintillating rematch between Garfield sophomore Keegan Sell and Waynedale’s Peyton Lemon in the consolation semifinals. Only two wrestlers have beaten Lemon all season. One was Sell, by a single point, in the district semifinals.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Division III state wrestling: Michael Lowe makes state title match
