His shoulders were slumped, his chin was in his chest and his eyes were squeezed shut. Seated on a cold floor in a dark hallway outside the gym at Springbrook High, Sherwood wrestler Andy Lowy was a shadowy picture of dejection.
The sophomore had just lost for the seventh time in his career. After building an impressive resume as a Beltway League standout, Lowy was wondering if he had what it took to be successful in high school.
But that was then.
This is now. Saturday night when Lowy returned to Springbrook and claimed his second straight Grapple at The Brook title, he could look back on that crushing overtime defeat — two years ago to Northwest’s Eddie McCarty — as a turning point. Since then, Lowy has won 68 straight matches.
“I was winning by a point as time was running out, and after the buzzer, the ref gave him an escape. Then I lost in overtime,” said Lowy of his last loss. “I remember my mind was so set on dominating everyone and winning a state championship. I was ashamed I lost, embarrassed that someone got close.”
It hasn’t happened much since.
As a sophomore at 103 pounds, Lowy went on to defeat McCarty in the county and region finals on his way to a state championship. Last year at 119, Lowy had only one close match — a 3-2 win over Arundel’s George Ester in the final of the Arundel Tournament — on his way to another state title. This season, Lowy (23-0) has been utterly dominant.
“We ask each other, ‘Who’s our most improved wrestler?'” said Sherwood coach Scott Beattie. “And it’s Andy, no question. It’s his work ethic. That boyspends more time working on wrestling and academics that anybody I’ve seen in my life.”
Beattie said when he shows wrestling videos to the Warriors, he’ll catch Lowy doing leg lifts or push-ups.
A nationally-competitive gymnast until turning to wrestling in the fourth grade, Lowy uses his flexibility on the mat. In last year’s state championship match and this year in the Arundel Tournament final, Lowy used a backflip to surprise his opponent.
“I use a lot of ‘Funk,'” said Lowy, referring to an advanced wrestling style. “You do a lot of rolling, scrambling, finding a way to score from awkward positions.
Pursuit of perfection
» Lowy has been accepted to Princeton, but may spend a prep year at wrestling powerhouse Blair Academy (N.J.).
» Lowy was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Arundel Invitational last month.
» Lowy was one of four Sherwood champions Saturday. The others were Alex Hakspiel (112), Rhett Beattie (135) and Steven Gamble (145).
