CC Weber describes it as probably the most intense moment of her life.
The Goodrich varsity wrestling team was up by just one point, 27-26, going into the last match of their semi-final against Saginaw Swan Valley at the state championship last weekend at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. Weber, competing in the 103 weight class against Jared Flores, would be the deciding factor in advancing the Martians to the final and a chance at winning the state title for a second year in a row.
‘The whole team came up to me and said, ‘CC, you have to win,?? she recalls. ‘I looked at all of them and said, ‘I will not lose.??
She didn’t.
Weber beat Flores 7-2, and the Martians defeated Swan Valley with a final team score of 30-26, taking them to a final against Dundee that had a rough start. The Martians were down 16-0 heading into the 135-pound weight class match when Kirk Britton defeated Dundee’s Josh White, 3-1, turning the tide.
‘White was ranked ahead of Kirk and they were depending on that,? said Martians Coach Matt Turnbow. ‘It was a huge momentum change.?
The Martians would lose the 140-pound weight class, but won the next several matches, including Joe Hopkins taking the 145-pound weight class 11-3, followed by Parker Lovell (152), Drew Weil (160), and Kyle March (171) all getting major decisions for Goodrich. Kyler Elsworth then picked up a pin in the 189-pound weight class and Mike Lasinski won the 215-pound weight class. Next up was Nick Lovell, who told Weber, scheduled once more to be the last Goodrich competitor, that the team wasn’t going to leave it up to her again.
‘That’s the kind of team we are,? said Weber. ‘We’re real close and always looking out for each other. We go up together, we go down together.?
This time, they were going up, straight to the top.
‘No one expected (Lovell) to get the win, because he bumped up to 285, and he weighs about 185,? recalled Elsworth. ‘He knew he was capable of getting the win and he won with a pin in the second period. Our team went crazy, we knew it was sealed.?
Although Weber lost her match, the final score was Goodrich 33, Dundee 25, and the Martians were state champions, two years in a row.
‘Some schools never win a state championship and taking that into account, we’re lucky to have a bunch of kids who put in a lot of hard work and reaped the rewards,? said Turnbow. ‘Some people say it doesn’t feel as good as the first one, but this was a different team. There was no pressure to repeat. It was a different team and makeup and our goal every year is to win the state championship. This was just as good as last year. In some ways, it was a much tougher road to get there.?
Turnbow noted that Mark Weber, Grant Overcashier and Nick Gatchell all graduated last year, and it wasn’t easy to replace wrestlers of that caliber. The team also lost starters Cody Petit and Jarrad LaBelle to knee injuries for the last few weeks of this season.
Still, the Martians have finished the year as state champions with a 47-0 record.
‘The road was tougher, the teams were better and we had more hardships, so this feels 10 times better than last year,? said Britton. ‘It was amazing, like you got on top of a mountain and it was such an accomplishment. We were finally there and met our goal.?
‘Some people may have thought last year was a fluke, but this year we showed it wasn’t,? Elsworth said. ‘It wasn’t a fluke and it wasn’t luck. We worked hard and definitely deserved it.?