By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
Lakeshore remained king of the Big 16 Conference Saturday night at Portage Central High School.
The Lancers won their third consecutive conference championship as they easily defeated runner-up Niles.
Lakeshore amassed 184 points in the individual tournament, while Niles finished with 150 points. Battle Creek Lakeview finished third with 149.5 points, St. Joseph fourth with 142 points and Coldwater fifth with 137 points.
Dowagiac placed sixth with 120 points.
Ironically, the top three teams finished in the same order at the Big 16 Conference dual tournament back in Janury at the Kellogg Center Arena.
Lakeshore, Niles and Dowagiac all had two champions on Saturday.
Niles had champions at 160- and 189-pounds.
Senior Wyatt Hickey, who returned to the Vikings' line up only a couple of weeks ago, defeated Justin Perry of Sturgis, 9-8, to win the ultra-competitive 160-pound championship.
Senior James Edwards dropped down to 189-pounds and captured the championship with a 3-2 overtime victory over Portage Central's Jordan Sherrod.
Finishing third for the Vikings was Josh Henry at 171-pounds. Henry defeated Steve Russell of Portage Central in the consolation finals.
Also finishing third for Niles was heavyweight Dustin Sullivan. He pinned Neal Dopp of Marshall in 2:47.
Finishing fourth for the Vikings was Derek Purcell at 119-pounds. Purcell lost to Keith Kroenig of St. Joseph, 6-2.
Undefeated Dowagiac heavyweight Mike Johnson successfully defended his championship with a 5-2 win over Liam Knapp of Battle Creek Central.
Senior Darr Phillips captured his first Big 16 championship at 112-pounds when he decisioned Adam Wilson of Battle Creek Harper Creek, 4-1.
Phillips defeated Wilson last Wednesday night, 8-0, to earn a school record 155th career victory.
Senior Jim Kehrer finished third in a very competitive 189-pound weight division.
Kehrer defeated St. Joseph's Matt Arend, 4-3. Arend finished second in the Big 16 last season.
The Chieftains grabbed a pair of fourth place finishes as juniors Kyle Bennett and Matt Behnke fared well in their 160- and 215-pound weight divisions respectively.
Bennett lost to Coldwater's Jose Perez, 8-3. Behnke was defeated by St. Joseph's Nick Genke, 8-5.
Lakeshore picked up its first championship at 130-pounds when Nathan Broehm decisioned Jason Mitchell of Battle Creek Lakeview, 5-1.
The other Lancer championship game at 152-pounds where freshman Matt Wittmann pinned Kalamazoo Central's Craig Wimbley in 2:31.
Besides Gehnke, Kroenig and Arend's finishes, the Bears also got a second place finish from Aaron Clark at 135. Clark was decisioned by Mattawan's Jay Pietras, 8-6.
Lakeshore 184, Niles 150, Battle Creek Lakeview 149.5, St. Joseph 142, Coldwater 137, Dowagiac 120, Portage Central 105.5, Battle Creek Central 105, Mattawan 94, Sturgis 87, Kalamazoo Central 68.5, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 66.5, Marshall 53.5, Battle Creek Harper Creek 51, Portage Northern 22.5, Benton Harbor 10
Championship round
103: Mark Harris (BLC) beat Devon Childress (BCC) 9-0; 112: Darr Phillips (D) beat Adam Wilson (HC) 4-1; 119: Kyle Labrecque (BCL) beat Chris Forrester (L) 4-2; 125: Tyler Longstreet (C) beat Justin Burke (BCL) 15-4; 130: Nathan Broehm (L) beat Jason Mitchell (BCL) 5-1; 135: Jay Pietras (MT) beat Aaron Clark (SJ) 8-6; 140: Jamal Williams (BCC) beat Joel Harmon (C), 10-7; 145: Kevin Peterson (PC) beat Alex Dubois (BCL) 12-0; 152: Matt Wittmann (L) pinned Craig Wimbley (KC) 2:31; 160: Wyatt Hickey (N) beat Justin Perry (S) 9-8; 171: Matt Martin (S) beat Shaun Larimer (LN) 14-3; 189: James Edwards (N) beat Jordan Sherrod (PC) 3-2 (OT); 215: Brad Prater (C) beat Matt Craig (MT) 4-0; 275: Michael Johnson (D) beat Liam Knapp (BCC) 5-2
Consolation round
103: Chad Schmitt (LN) beat J.T. Newby (HC) 7-3; 112: Justin Agens (L) beat Sean Schmitt (LN) 19-4 (technical fall); 119: Keith Kroenig (SJ) beat Derek Purcell (N) 6-2; 125: Jeff Klimp (PC) beat Jared Nabos (KC) 6-4; 130: Thomas Renner (C) pinned Thomas Mears (BCC) 1:35; 135: Kevin Rothchild (BCC) pinned Alex Bower (C) :14; 140: Chad Newman (L) pinned Theodore Amundsen (KC) :57; 145: Ryan Kolberg (L) beat Bill Amundsen (KC) 7-1; 152: Craig Vandyke (PN) beat Nathan Alvarez (BCL) 6-5; 160: Jose Perez (C) beat Kyle Bennett (D) 8-3; 171: Josh Henry (N) beat Steve Russell (PC) 8-4; 189: Jim Kehrer (D) beat Matt Arend (SJ) 4-3; 215: Nick Genke (SJ) beat Matt Behnke (D) 8-5; 275: Dustin Sullivan (N) pinned Neal Dopp (M) 2:47