By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Wrestling enthusiasts can get their fill of grappling on Saturday at a pair of conference tournaments.
The Big 16 Conference is headed to St. Joseph on Saturday for its annual individual tournament.
The Lakeland Conference will be deciding league champions on Saturday in Berrien Springs.
Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
Lakeshore is the defending team champion. The Lancers finished with 184 points to easily outdistance runner-up Niles which finished with 150 points.
Rounding out the order of finisher were 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), Marshall (53.5), Battle Creek Harper Creek (51), Portage Northern (22.5) and Benton Harbor (10).
Lakeshore will once again be among the favorites to win the team title, however, the Lancers will get several strong challenges.
The key may just be how the wrestlers are seeded.
With each and every school having several outstanding wrestlers, the tournament should once again provide its share of surprises.
Dowagiac and Niles should have plenty of seeds in the top 4 heading into Saturday's meet.
Here are some of the top wrestlers at each weight class, plus those expected to wrestle from Dowagiac and Niles (since no pairings have been posted yet, all those listed below are tentative):
103: Jake Gluekert, Niles; Brad Barker, Lakeshore; Justin Richter, Dowagiac
112: Mark Harris, who is the defending 103-pound champion, Battle Creek Lakeview; Kyle Hammermeister, Lakeshore; Bryce Flannery, Niles; Nathan Cottrell, Dowagiac
119: Matt Poehlman, who is undefeated on the season, Niles; Justin Agens, who finished third last year at 112-pounds, Lakeshore; Richie Hutchinson, Dowagiac
125: Alex Bolt, Lakeshore; Mason Stephenson, Niles; Nathan Long, Dowagiac
130: Kyle Labrecque, who won the 119-pound championship in 2004, Battle Creek Lakeview; Derek Purcell, who finished fourth at 119-pounds last year, Niles; Jason Krukowski, Dowagiac
135: Rodney Leneway, Niles; Drew Welke, Lakeshore; Thomas Renner, who finished third at 135-pounds last year, Coldwater; Terry Prowoznik, Dowagiac
140: Justin Burke, who finished second at 125-pounds last year, Battle Creek Lakeview; Alex Bower, who was fourth at 135-pounds last year, Coldwater; Todd Scansen, Niles; Josh Sleight, Battle Creek Harper Creek; Mike Kasper, Dowagiac
145: Jeromy Northrop, Dowagiac; Joel Harmon, who was fourth at 140-pounds last year, Coldwater; Ben Brandstatter, Niles
152: Robert Cinninger, Niles; Justin Desjardin, Dowagiac; Brad LeValley, Lakeshore
160: Andy Gebhard, Lakeshore, Dan Lawson, Niles; Elijah Caldwell, Dowagiac
171: Matt Wittmann, who was the 152-pound champion last year, Lakeshore; Bill Amundsen, who was fourth at 145-pounds in 2004, Kalamazoo Central; Kyle Bennett, who was fourth at 160-pounds in 2004, Dowagiac; Jake Groves, Niles
189: Jordon Sherrod, who was second at 189-pounds last year, Portage Central; Josh Henry, who was third at 171-pounds last year, Niles; Shawn Rawson, Dowagiac
215: Matt Behnke, who was fourth last year at 215-pounds, Dowagiac; Joel Ealy, Niles
275: Brad Prater, who was the 215-pound champion in 2004, Coldwater, Liam Knapp, who was runner-up at 275-pounds last year, Battle Creek Central; Tony Stewart, Dowagiac; Brian Asmus, Niles.
Lakeland Conference
Brandywine is the defending conference champion, however, the Bobcats graduated most of their top placers from a season ago.
Brandywine scored 161 points to easily outdistance runner-up River Valley, which finished with 143 points.
Edwardsburg took third with 139.5 points and Buchanan fourth with 102 points. Rounding out the order of finish were Coloma (96.5), Berrien Springs (77) and Cassopolis (75).
Coloma enters the conference tournament with a perfect 6-0 record. Buchanan is next with just one loss, while River Valley is third with two losses and Cassopolis fourth with three losses.
All figure to be major players on Saturday.
Buchanan will be looking for its first Lakeland Conference title in 33 years. The Bucks last saw a piece of the title in 1972. A win on Saturday would tie Buchanan with Coloma for the championship.
Here are some of the top wrestlers at each weight class, plus those expected to wrestle from Brandywine, Buchanan, Cassopolis and Edwardsburg (since no pairings have been posted yet, all those listed below are tentative):
103: Todd Taylor, Buchanan; Andrew Libera or Kyle Brademas or Ryan Horner, Brandywine
112: Zach Wilfert, who was second at 103-pounds last year, Edwardsburg; Jon Beechler, Buchanan; Kyle Brademas, Brandywine; Cordero Williams, Cassopolis
119: Nick Wheetley, Buchanan; Pat VanLaere, Brandywine; Zach Fitzsimmons, Edwardsburg; Ashley McCoy, Cassopolis
125: Travis Reith, who was the champion at 112-pounds in 2004, Buchanan; Adam Saltsman, Brandywine; Andy Breslin, Edwardsburg
130: Zach Duebner, Cassopolis; Matt Peters, Edwardsburg; Lance Taliaferro, Brandywine
135: Mike Stein, the defending conference champion, River Valley; Justin Tucker, who was the 125-pound champion last year, Cassopolis; Kyle Perry, Brandywine; Matt Wreggelsworth, Buchanan; Tyler Carson, Edwardsburg
140: John McCoy, who finished second at 119-pounds in 2004, Cassopolis; David Medlin, Buchanan; Jordan Bruni, Brandywine
145: Jeremy Ashley, Coloma; Randy Hemminger, who was second at 140-pounds last year, Cassopolis; Dan Toth, Buchanan; Trevor Hack, Edwardsburg; Justin Price, Brandywine
152: Joel Perry, Brandywine; A.J. Long, Buchanan; Lequae Caldwell, Coloma; Brandon Mazador, Edwardsburg
160: Austen Ferris, Buchanan; Joey Sobieski, Cassopolis; Eugene Miller, Brandywine; Kevin Borton, Edwardsburg; Tim Morrissey, River Valley
171: C.J. Meyers, Coloma; Bill Miller, Edwardsburg; Kyle Jones, Brandywine; Ryan Harrington, Buchanan; Josh Duebner, Cassopolis
189: Adam Simons, Brandywine; Jim Connors, Buchanan; Jim Fein, Edwardsburg, John Wirick, Cassopolis
215: Jesse Martin, who won the 171-pound championship in 2004, Coloma; Jeremy Hechtl, Brandywine, Joe White, Edwardsburg; Josh Turnbow, Cassopolis; Scott Peters, River Valley; John Gardner, Buchanan
275: Ryan Carrigan, who finished second last year at 215-pounds, Buchanan; Jeremy Howell, Brandywine; Eric Meadows, Edwardsburg; Mike Creekmore, River Valley; John Grice, Cassopolis.