LOWELL | Mitch Roadruck has a legacy to think about.
That's why it was so important to the Lowell senior that he and his Red Devil teammates won Saturday's Northwest Crossroads Conference meet for the second consecutive season in the Pit.
"I started wrestling here 14 years ago and this is the last time I'll ever compete in this gym," Roadruck said. "I really wanted to put on a show for everyone that helped me get here and make that scoreboard work as hard as I did."
The scoreboard ended up being unnecessary, as Roadruck pinned Hobart's Justin Leon at 4:48 in the 145-pound final for the 105th win of his career in front of a bevy of cheering family and friends.
Roadruck nearly pinned Leon at least three times before finally getting him in the third period.
"I knew (Leon) was a tough kid," Roadruck said. "I got a little frustrated but I knew that if I kept picking away, picking away, my offense would start working and he would get tired."
Lowell finished atop the team standings with 252 points. Hobart was second at 221.5 and Kankakee Valley third with 217.
Kougars' 195-pounder Joel Bolen upset state-ranked Ryan Patterson of Lowell, 4-2 in overtime.
The pair wrestled earlier in the season, with Patterson winning a one-point decision.
"I had a good idea of what he was going to do, but he still got me with the same shot in the first period," Bolen said. "In overtime, I ended up getting a good sprawl in on him and getting around for the two."
The final at 160 featured a meeting of summer practice partners in Lowell's Kenny Hughes and Highland's Mark Maldonado, both of whom were undefeated.
Hughes held on for a 5-1 victory.
"I was trying to score as many points as I could, but he's just so strong I just had to get the match under control," Hughes said.
Hughes is ranked No. 2 in Indiana while Maldonado is No. 10.
"I missed some opportunities," Maldonado said. "He slowed me down, and was in control after that."
Hobart's Scottie Sopko cruised to the 170-pound championship with a 14-3 win over K.V.'s John Morrison. Sopko, No. 6 in the state, said he saw the meet as a chance to work on pinning opponents, something he doesn't consider a strength.
"(Morrison) is real good with the side rolls and stuff, so I was better neutral," Sopko said.
Other individual winners included Lowell's Clarke Smith (106), Drew Hughes (120), Joe Reed (285) and Jake Gross (126); Hobart's Alex Metz (132), Tony Vasquez (138) and Tony Rodriguez (182); K.V.'s Beau Tauber (152) and Matt Berdine (220); and Munster's Connor Zunica (113).
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