The Dowagiac wrestling team will be looking for its first district championship since 2005 when it hosts Buchanan, Berrien Springs and New Buffalo-Bridgman Wednesday.

The Bucks, who finished sixth at the BCS Athletic Conference Wrestling Tournament Saturday, will face league foe New Buffalo-Bridgman in the semifinals beginning at 6 p.m.

New Buffalo-Bridgman placed seventh.

In the other semifinal, the host Chieftains face Wolverine Conference West Division foe Berrien Springs.

The Shamrocks are in their final season in the Wolverine Conference as they move to the BCS beginning next fall.

Dowagiac and Berrien Springs wrestled a league dual match just two weeks ago with the Chieftains coming out on top 45-25.

“To be honest, I think that Berrien, Buchanan and us all have an equal chance of coming out as district champions,” Dowagiac coach Matt Alward said. “It is really going to come down to how each team wrestles and which team is able to win the close matches.”

It would also be a matter of momentum.

The Chieftains had a solid day at the Wolverine Conference Championships at Vicksburg on Saturday as they finished sixth with a champion and two third place finishers.

Buchanan, which went 7-1 in dual meets in the BCS finished a distant sixth at its league tournament due in part to injuries and changes in the line up.

One thing is for sure, the team that stays away from giving up bonus points will more than likely come away a winner.

“We simply have to stay off our backs and take advantage when we get them on theirs,” Alward said. “Against Berrien we need to stay off our backs against their studs down low and take advantage of our opportunities in the upper weights as we did the first time we wrestled them.”

Dowagiac lost four straight matches against the Shamrocks in their first meeting from 103 to 125-pounds. In those bouts, Berrien Springs picked up three pins and 18 of its 25 points.

In the other 10 bouts, Dowagiac lost just once and came away with five pins and a forfeit victory.

Alward said he is not concerned with his team overlooking the Shamrocks in the opening round.

“We only have one focus on Wednesday right now and that’s Berrien Springs,” he said. “If we don’t wrestle well against them we won’t have to worry about anyone else because we will be all done for the season.

“Berrien has a good wrestling team and we won several close matches against them the first time we wrestled. We need to wrestle well to win against any of the teams in the district.”

The finals are scheduled to begin 10 minutes following the completion of the last semifinal.

The winner of the Dowagiac district will advance to Otsego Regional Feb. 18, which will include district winners from Allegan, Comstock and Coloma.

Admission is $5 per person and no passes will be accepted.