RICHLAND — The march to the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek for the Niles wrestling team continued Wednesday night.

While the weather outside may have been frightening, the Vikings were even more terrifying as they crushed Jackson Parma-Western 53-12 in the Division 2 Regional semifinal and then captured their third straight championship with a 57-12 win over Sturgis.

Niles, ranked No. 3 in the final Division 2 poll, will wrestle in the state quarterfinals at 7:45 p.m. Feb. 27.

The pairings will be announced Sunday night after a seeding meeting. The Vikings also got some good news following the match when it found out that No. 1-ranked St. Johns had been upset by No. 4-ranked Eaton Rapids.

The Vikings (23-3) had little trouble winning another regional championship as it captured 22-of-28 bouts, winning 11 of those by pins.

Picking up pins against Parma-Western were Cade Stephenson (112), Warren Smith (135), Cody Thornton (189) and Braulio Sosa (215). The Vikings also earned bonus points with major decision victories by Courtland Lamberton (145) and Quintin Smith (152).

Niles also received forfeits at 103 and 160.

Against the Trojans, Andrew Flick (103), Josh Dayhuff (119), Warren Smith (135), Noah Hall (140), Lamberton (145), Quintin Smith (152) and Carter Rauch (285) all pinned their opponents.

 

Division 2 Regional

At Gull Lake

Championship match

NILES 57, STURGIS 12

103: Andrew Flick (N) p. Trey Lovelace :34; 112: Cade Stephenson (N) d. Tyler Elmore 5-1; 119: Josh Dayhuff (N) p. Alejandro Soto 3:12; 125: Brenden Hall (N) won by forfeit; 130: Noah Gleason (S) d. Mitch Findeisen 7-5 (OT); 135: Warren Smith (N) p. Drew Pueschel 1:56; 140: Noah Hall (N) p. Zach Mathews 5:37; 145: Courtland Lamberton (N) p. Nolan Tom 5:20; 152: Quintin Smith (N) p. Wyatt Buchanan 2:58; 160: Luke Carver (S) p. Dayton Smith :32; 171: Fred Kemp (N) d. Anthony Neal 9-4; 189: Wyatt Thornton (N) d. Juan Espinoza 5-2; 215: Cole D’Haese (S) d. Braulio Sosa 8-2; 285: Carter Rauch (N) p. Jake Stevens 3:11

 

Semifinal

NILES 53, PARMA-WESTERN 12

103: Andrew Flick (N) won by forfeit; 112: Cade Stephenson (N) p. Gavin Putnam 1:42; 119: Josh Dayhuff (N) d. Devin Welter 5-2; 125: Christian Lawhorn (P) d. Brenden Hall 8-7; 130: Luke Raczkowski (P) d. Mitch Findeisen 7-0; 135: Warren Smith (N) p. Brandon McDonald 1:39; 140: Noah Hall (N) d. Chase Veydt 3-1; 145: Courtland Lamberton (N) m.d. over Ethan Patrick 11-3; 152: Quintin Smith (N) m.d. over Noah Gazlay 11-3; 160: Fred Kemp (N) won by forfeit; 171: Dayton Smith (N) d. Steven Stokely 9-3; 189: Cody Thornton (N) p. Nick Brewer 3:47; 215: Braulio Sosa (N) p. Ray Cole :26; 285: Austin Catt (P) p. Carter Rauch 3:36