By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
STEVENSVILLE -- Lakeshore's depth proved to be too much for the rest of the field at the Southwest Michigan Invitational on Saturday.
The Lancers won their third straight championship by amassing 236 points. Bangor was second with 173 points and Dowagiac third with 172.
Niles finished fourth with 162.5 points and River Valley fifth with 127. Rounding out the order of finish were Brandywine (122), Decatur (106), Watervliet (89), Coloma (87.5) Cassopolis (67.5), Buchanan (33), Benton Harbor (31), Lawton (24), Lake Michigan Catholic (12) and Galien (4).
The Lancers had just three champions despite placing eight wrestlers in the finals.
Dowagiac also had three champions, with Darr Phillips, Jeromy Northrop and Michael Johnson all coming home with titles.
Bangor and River Valley each claimed two championships.
Niles did not have a single champion, however, three Viking grapplers were runners-up.
Niles also wrestled without standout Josh Henry, who was suffering from the flu.
Matt Poehlman suffered his first loss of the season as Lakeshore's Kyle Hammermeister avenged an earlier loss to him with a 7-5 victory in the championship match at 103 pounds.
Kyle Isabel finished second at 140 pounds as Decatur's David Williamson scored a late takedown for an 11-10 victory.
Bangor's Levon Mock avenged a pin by Niles' James Edwards as he captured the 215-pound championship with a 9-7 victory.
The Vikings also had Bryce Flannery finish sixth at 112 pounds, Mason Stephenson finish third at 125 pounds, Rodney Leneway finish fifth at 140 pounds, Robert Cinninger finish fifth at 145 pounds, and Wyatt Hickey finish third at 160 pounds.
Brandywine also did not have a champion on Saturday.
The Bobcats got a second-place finish from Evan Smith at 152 pounds, a third-place finish from Matt Koller at 135 pounds, third-place finish from Adam Ringler at 145 pounds, a sixth-place finish from Andy Daus at 189 pounds, a fifth-place finish from Brian Echevarria at 215 pounds, and a fourth-place finish from Josh Johns at 275.
Buchanan did not have a champion either on Saturday.
The Bucks got a third-place finish from Travis Reith at 112 pounds, a sixth-place finish from Nick Wheatley at 119 pounds, a sixth-place finish at 125 pounds from Kenny Hall, and a third-place finish from David Medlin at 130 pounds.
Lakeshore 236, Bangor 173, Dowagiac 172, Niles 162.5, River Valley 127, Brandywine 122, Decatur 106, Watervliet 89, Coloma 87 1/2, Cassopolis 67.5, Buchanan 33, Benton Harbor 31, Lawton 24, Lake Michigan Catholic 12, Galien 4
Championship round
103: Kyle Hammermeister (L) d. Matt Poehlman (N), 7-5; 112: Darr Phillips (D) d. Justin Agens (L), 6-0; 119: Cody Wieand (W) p. Chris Forrester (L), 5:50; 125: Justin Tucker (C) d. Drew Welke (L), 8-2; 130: Todd Ehlert (RV) d. Nathan Broehm (L), 9-5; 135: Mike Stein (RV) d. Aaron Austin (Ba), 4-3; 140: David Williamson (De) beat Kyle Isabel (N), 11-10; 145: Jeremy Northrop (D) beat Ryan Kolberg (L), 8-6; 152: Matt Wittman (L) d. over Evan Smith (Br), 18-3; 160: Andy Gebhard (L) beat Brian Cady (De), 5-3; 171: Jessie Martin (Co) d. Brian Daniel (Br), 19-7; 189: Dustin Gordon (Ba) p. Jim Kehrer (D), 5:44; 215: Levon Mock (Ba) beat James Edwards (N), 9-7; 275: Michael Johnson (D) d. Jaime Llerena (Ba), 3-1.