Springport High School wrestler Matt Riehle, left, defeated Jake Carr of Concord High School 9-3 in a hard-fought match at 130 pounds. Photos by Jeff Steers, JTV
Jeff Steers
JTV Sports
In the northwest corner of the Springport High School gym there is a wrestling banner that gives a subtle reminder of how the Spartans have dominated the sport in the Big Eight Conference.
From the years 2000-2016 (and probably 2017 and 2018) the Spartans won the conference every season except for 2009.
Jonesville surprised the Spartans in a dual meet that year.
Last week, the Spartans lost another Big Eight match to newcomers Bronson High School.
In between the two defeats, the Spartans accumulated a 66-match winning streak – unheard of in any sport.
The one-point loss to Bronson means the Spartans will have to win the conference meet and hope that another team defeats the Vikings in a dual match or at the final meet.
The Spartans restarted their streak with a 69-9 win over Homer, and a 79-0 win over Concord at home Wednesday to celebrate senior night.
SHS Coach Matt Darling welcomes the newfound competition Bronson will offer.
“I told our wrestlers not to let that one loss define us … we just have to get back to work,” Darling said. “We knew it would be a tough rivalry, but that is something you just have to embrace.”
Springport will continue with Big Eight duals through the month of January. The Big Eight Conference meet is scheduled for Feb. 2, at Bronson.
“Losing will keep us motivated every year,” Darling said. “We have to take it one match at a time.”
That is the same for senior wrestler Zach Potter, who believes in the saying made famous by college football Coach James Franklin.
“He says the goal of every single game is to finish 1-0,” Potter said. “Losing a Big Eight match was really weird … but it was eye opening to our program.”
The senior said practice the past few days has been tough on the Spartans.
“After losing to Bronson we got after it in the wrestling room,” Potter said. “We have a pretty rich history of wrestling at Springport.”
Potter points to a youth program in the district with former high school wrestlers, dads, grandparents, and former college wrestlers who come together to create a great environment.
Potter is a bit of an exception, as he started in the youth program as a 4-year-old wrestler but quit until seventh grade.
“I really didn’t like wrestling when I was young,” Potter said. “I started back up in seventh grade and fell in love with the sport.
“I knew this (wrestling) was the one.”
Potter was one of the seniors honored before the matches against Homer and Concord at SHS on Wednesday.
“It was an emotional night for us,” Potter said. “Coach got all of the seniors matches.”
