By Staff
The Niles varsity wrestling team finished second and brought home one individual championship from Saturday's Eau Claire Invitational.
The Vikings finished with 144 points behind Hesperia's 232. St. Joseph finished third with 138, Decatur took fourth with 125 and Brandywine finished fifth with 115.5.
Niles 103-pounder Matt Poehlman earned an individual title with a 6-0 decision over Hesperia's Kevin Rubia.
Niles 171-pounder Josh Henry and 215-pounder James Edwards each took second place in their respective categories.
Niles' next action will be Saturday, Jan. 3, at the Big-16 Tournament.
Hesperia 232, Niles 144, St. Joseph 138, Decatur 125, Brandywine 115.5, Hartford 109, Delton-Kellogg 104, Kalamazoo Central 94.5, River Valley 86.5, Watervliet 82, Edwardsburg 67.5, Gobles 64.5, Berrien Springs 41.5, Galien 32, Schoolcraft 28, Fennville 26, Eau Claire 20, Lawton 19, Benton Harbor 13, LMC 10
Championship round
103: Matt Poehlman (Niles) beat Kevin Rubia (Hesperia) 6-0; 112: Joe Dempsey (Hesperia) pinned Ryan Runge (Hartford) :26; 119: Bryan Dean (Hesperia) pinned Ben Efting (Hartford) 2:18; 125: Justin Zeerip (Hesperia) pinned Cody Weiand (Watervliet) :32; 130: Zeb Flannery (Hesperia) pinned Todd Ehlert (River Valley) 5:13; 135: Mike Stein (River Valley) beat Aaron Clark (St. Joseph) 12-0 (major decision); 140: David Williamson (Decatur) beat Jeremy Ashley (Watervliet) 7-4; 145: Tony Herin (Hesperia) beat Julian Arreola (Hartford) 10-6; 152: Rex Kendle (Edwardsburg) pinned Craig Wimberly (Kalamazoo Central) 2:23; 160: Brian Cady (Decatur) beat Josh Young (Hesperia) 6-3; 171: Troy Swingley (Hesperia) beat Josh Henry (Niles) 13-11; 189: Jim Sweat (Delton-Kellogg) beat Matt Arend (St. Joseph) 3-0; 215: Dustin Morgan (Delton-Kellogg) pinned James Edwards (Niles) 1:56; 275: Brian Leighton (Gobles) pinned Mike Creekmore (Galien) 1:17