Wrestling teams begin post season march

Published 5:33 pm Thursday, February 2, 2012

With the regular dual meet season wrapped up, it’s time for the Wolverine, Big 16 and Lakeland Conference to hold their league tournaments.

Well, soft of.

While the Wolverine and Big 16 will hold traditional conference tournaments, the Lakeland Conference will not hold a league event Saturday. Instead, the Lakeland has joined with the Red Arrow and St. Joe Valley conferences to form the Berrien, Cass, St. Joe County Consortium Wrestling Tournament.

With the Lakeland Conference championship settled by dual meet record alone, the three leagues will join forces in a hopes to have a more competitive tournament at Brandywine High School Saturday.

Edwardsburg captured the conference title and will be one of the favorites to win the tournament title. Buchanan and host Brandywine should also figure into the mix.

Along with the rest of the Lakeland Conference — Berrien Springs, Bridgman-New Buffalo, Coloma and Cassopolis — teams from the Red Arrow (Countryside-LMC, Covert, Eau Claire and River Valley) and from the St. Joe Valley (Bronson, Centreville, Mendon and White Pigeon) will be on hand to compete.

Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Admission is $5 per person.

Wolverine Conference

There will be high drama as the Wolverine Conference gathers at Paw Paw High School Saturday for the league tournament.

Perennial conference champion Allegan has already locked up at least a share of the title. The Tigers have won 12 of the last 13 championships.

Otsego is a team that has come close to knocking Allegan off its perch atop the standings. It did so again this year, falling in a dual meet back in January 35-28.

The Bulldogs are the team most likely to overtake the Tigers Saturday. An Otsego victory in the league tournament would give the Bulldogs a share of the championship.

Wrestling is slated to begin at 10 a.m. Admission is $5 per person.

Big 16 Conference

Host Battle Creek Lakeview will try to defend its championship Saturday.

The Spartans edged perennial champion Lakeshore by a single point in 2011.

Lakeview won the East Division title with a perfect 7-0 record, while the Lancers were once again champions of the West Division.

Other teams looking to figure in the title picture are Portage Central and Niles out of the West Division.

New to the Big 16 this year is former Wolverine Conference power Gull Lake.

Wrestling will begin at 10 a.m. Admission is $5 per person.