By ERIKA PICKLES
Niles Daily Star

Allegan and Three Rivers came out the top winners at Wednesday evening’s dual wrestling meet, which was hosted by Niles High School.

Both teams posted 2-0 victories, defeating the Vikings and Buchanan, who also attended.
The Tigers posted a 59-9 victory over Niles in its first match of the evening and went on to beat the Bucks, 67-3.

The Vikes also fell to the Wildcats in their second match of the night, 42-31.

Three Rivers claimed a close 37-36 win over Buchanan.

Niles vs. Allegan
Mike Gentry and Dakota Wright were the only two Niles wrestlers to post victories for the team against Allegan.

Gentry (285) posted a 2-1 victory in three overtime rounds against Steve Blank and Wright (112) pinned Logan Noble at 3:26.

Niles vs. Three Rivers
It was a back and forth battle between Niles and Three Rivers during the second match of the night.

After falling behind 12-0 in their first two matches, the Vikings made a strong comeback against Three Rivers, pulling ahead by as much as 10 points, 31-21. But in the final three matches of the evening, the Wildcats posted two pins and added three points to their score to come out the winner.

Picking up wins for Niles were Wright (112), Gage Pearison (119), Colin Burandt (130), Donte Stevens (135), Robbie Legus (140) and Fritzel Findiesen (152).

Buchanan vs. Three Rivers
Buchanan head coach Frank Mucha said his squad’s meet against Three Rivers was as exciting as high school wrestling could be, despite the fact that his Bucks lost.

“It was a close match. If we could have avoided the pins, we would have been in better shape. Despite the loss, the guys looked good,” Mucha said.

After trailing the Wildcats 25-11, Buchanan grapplers Jeff Mucha (135), Alex Darmas (140), TJ Miller (145), Adam Byrdak (152) and Gage Hutchison (160) sparked a comeback for the Bucks by coming within one point of the lead, 31-30.

But in the last two bouts of the night, James West (171) won by pin against Buchanan’s John Kuntz to seal the victory.

Jacob Ferris (189) pinned Three Rivers’ Kyle Mykolatis at 1:40, but the victory still left Buchanan one point short of a tie.

Buchanan vs. Allegan
Mark Green (215) was the only Buchanan wrestler to post a win in the Bucks’ match against Allegan, grabbing a 2-1 victory over Ben Fallinger in the second period.

“Giving up pins is what hurt us. That’s six points per match. There’s a few things we’re still going to have to work on and pins is one of them,” Mucha added.

Both Niles and Buchanan will now take part in Saturday’s Berrien County meet, slated to be held at St. Joseph High School.

No. 1 ranked Lakeshore is the defending champion.

Allegan…59
Niles…9
103 – Austin Kelley (A) p. Tyler Baber, 1:47
112 – Dakota Wright (N) p. Logan Noble, 3:26
119 – Mike Shaw (A) d. Gage Pearison, 16-7
125 – Taylor Knobloch (A) d. Colin Burandt, 9-2
130 – Ryan Pinnell (A) d. Donte Stevens, 7-5
135 – Taylor Simez (A) d. Christian Rackley, 19-3
140 – Jaylyn Bohl (A) p. Robbie Legus, 1:20
145 – Matt Smith (A) d. Rashad Harris, 19-3
152 – Garrett Smith (A) d. Fritzel Findiesen, DQ
160 – Colin Smythe (A) p. Tyler Mead, 1:36
171 – Brian Seusley (A) p. Ryan Casey, 1:54
189 – John Rizgallah (A) p. Alec Landon, 1:52
215 – Ben Falkner (A) d. James Asmus, 7-4
285 – Mike Gentry (N) d. Steve Blank, 2-1 (OT)

Three Rivers…42
Niles…31
103 – Matt Rose (TR) p. Tyler Baber, 4:58
112 – Dakota Wright (N) p. Zach Rose, 1:07
119 – Gage Pearison (N), p. Vonda Allen, 0:24
125 – Matt Morrill (TR) p. Cole Allison, 1:03
130 – Colin Burandt (N) d. Juiji Kipker, N/A
135 – Donte Stevens (N) p. Shannon Grace, 3:09
140 – Robbie Legus (N) d. Jacob Cowing, 5-1
145 – Alec Friel (TR) d. Rashad Harris, 6-2
152 – Fritzel Findiesen (N) p. Mike Brown, 3:57
160 – Tauren Benn (TR) p. Tyler Mead, 2:44
171 – James West (TR) d. Ryan Casey, 8-1
189 – Kyle Mykolatis (TR) p. Alec Landon, 2:28
215 – Scott Bottles (TR) p. James Asmus, 3:12
285 – Brad Verney (TR) p. Mike Gentry, 1:43

Three Rivers…37
Buchanan…36
103 – Matt Rose (TR) d. Taylor Glavin, 7-5
112 – Zach Rose (TR) p. Josh Johnson, 4:42
119 – Alex Eger (B) d. Vonda Allen, 16-0
125 – Matt Morrill (TR) p. Andy Ketchum, 1:48
130 – Juiji Kioker (TR) d. Patrick Wheetley, 13-3
135 – Jeff Mucha (B) p. Shannon Grace, 3:23
140 – Jack Cowing (TR) p. Alex Darmas, 3:33
145 – TJ Miller (B) d. Alec Friel, 7-3
152 – Adam Byrdak (B) p. Mike Brown, 5:34
160 – Gage Hutchison (B) d. Tauren Benn, 14-3
171 – James West (TR) p. John Kuntz, 1:23
189 – Jacob Ferris (B) p. Kyle Mykolatis, 1:40
215 – Mark Green (B) p. Scott Bottles, 3:15
285 – Brad Verney (TR) p. Jimmy DeVlamrick, 0:42

Allegan…67
Buchanan…3
103 – Austin Kelley (A) d. Taylor Glavin, 7-5
112 – Logan Noble (A) won by injury forfeit
119 – Mike Shaw (A) p. Alex Eger, 1:40
125 – Taylor Knobloch (A) p. Andy Ketchum, 4:33
130 – Taylor Simaz (A) p. Patrick Wheetley, 1:15
135 – Ryan Pinnell (A) p. Alex Darmas, 2:49
140 – Jaylyn Bohl (A) p. Jeff Mucha, 1:32
145 – Matt Smith (A) p. TJ Miller, 5:16
152 – Garrett Smith (A) d. Adam Byrdak, 19-8
160 – Colin Smythe (A) d. Gage Hutchison, 6-4
171 – Brian Casey (A) d. John Kuntz, 15-0
189 – John Rizqullan (A) d. Jacob Ferris, 22-9
215 – Mark Green (B) d. Ben Fallenger, 2-1
285 – Steve Blank (A) p. Jimmy DeVlamrick, 4:32