Kalamazoo: Bryce Bozell and Gunner Gale Find Wrestling Success

The winter can be long for race fans who are anxious to be at the race track once again, and drivers have the itch too. While it can feel like a relief once the season comes to a close after long nights in the garage week after week, that pressure quickly turns back into a desire to be at the track racing again.

The off-season has been busy for two Kalamazoo racers.

Bryce Bozell and Gunner Gale both wrestle for their respective varsity high school teams while they balance school life, nights in the shop, and other hobbies and interests as time allows.

Bozell wrestles for the Schoolcraft Eagles, and his winter season was extended twice. First, the MHSAA Division 4 Team Districts saw Schoolcraft beat White Pigeon 50-27 in the Semi-Finals and Centreville 42-33 to capture the District 221 Championship. The team advanced to the Regional round where the host Eagles topped Reading 57-21 before they fell to the Division 4 9th ranked Union City Chargers 46-33.

In the MHSAA Division 4 Individual Districts hosted by Union City, Bozell entered the 106 class with a double bye and topped Bellevue’s Hunter Roush 13-6 in the Semi-Finals to advance to the Championship round. In the Championship match, Bozell fell to Burr Oak’s Lason Lipscomb 17-2 but earned a ticket to the Regional round.

At Martin High School’s Regional this past Saturday, February 21st just hours before Bozell would accept his 2025 Honor Credit Union Outlaw Limited Late Model Championship, he wrestled three matches. In his first match, Bozell fell 3-0 to Lawton’s AJ Terry in the Quarter-Finals which shifted him to the blood round. There, Bozell won his second match over Bellevue’s Hunter Rousch, his second post season win over Roush, 6-2. Bozell advanced to his next match where Galesburg-Augusta’s Jaxsen Kasten topped Bozell 14-1 to bring his wrestling season to a close. Thousands of wrestlers battle each season in hopes to reach the state championships, and Bozell was able to claim multiple wins in the post season in an always tough Division 4 field.

The Master of Touchdowns, Takedowns, and Pin Falls, Gunner Gale, from Paw Paw, had a stellar season for the Red Wolves. While his team did not advance beyond the MHSAA Division 2 District 142 where they fell to Gull Lake 64-17, Gale still had his own individual championship to chase.

In the 190 class Individual Districts, Gale won his first match over Gull Lake’s James Maher 13-8. In his second match, Gale lost to Three Rivers’ Jaxon Smith 3-0. Still with a chance to punch his ticket to Regionals, Gale topped Thornapple-Kellogg’s Joey Krystyniak 2-0 to advance to the 3rd/4th place match and a guaranteed ticket to the Regionals. In his match against Edwardsburg’s Gabriel Smith, Gale lost 12-3.

Just hours before he’d be recognized for his Spartan Insulation Front Wheel Drive B 8th place finish, Gale traveled to Division 2 super power Lowell for one of the toughest regionals in the state. There, Gale hung tough with one of the Red Arrow’s best wrestlers but fell 14-9 to Lowell’s Dylan Boone who boasts more than 200 career victories. In the blood round, Gale bested Jacob Van Sweden from Zeeland East 16-0 which kept a chance to advance out of Regionals a possibility. Gale ran into a familiar foe from Districts, Gabriel Smith of Edwardsburg, and lost 6-0 which brought his 2025 season to a close.

Congratulations to both Gunner Gale and Bryce Bozell on your 2025-2026 wrestling seasons. Now, we inch closer to turning left and going fast!