By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC - Rarely do high school wrestling matches live up to their billing.
But on Wednesday night at Dowagiac Union High School, the host Chieftains and upset-minded Buchanan Bucks delivered a classic in the Division 3 District Wrestling Team Tournament championship match.
Things didn't go as planned for either squad, but when the smoked cleared, Dowagiac, ranked No. 8 in the latest coaches poll, had a 34-32 victory.
The district championship was the 10th in the last 11 years for the Chieftains and the 11th overall since the team tournament was founded in 1988.
Dowagiac and Buchanan are no strangers to each other, having wrestled just two weeks ago at the Brandywine "Snowed Out" Team Duals.
The Chieftains came away with a 36-31 victory over the Bucks, who came to Dowagiac Wednesday night with revenge on their minds and a shot at winning their first district crown since 1991.
The Bucks wasted little time showing Dowagiac that it meant business.
Austin Ferris came out and stuck Dowagiac's Justin Desjardin in 1:35 in a reversal of fortunes from the first meeting.
Dowagiac picked up a pair of decisions at 160- and 171-pounds as the Chieftains made a move with their line up.
Elijah Caldwell defeated A.J. Long, 9-5, at 160 before Green bumped up regular 171-pounder Kyle Bennett to 189 and inserted senior Rob Duszynski.
The move worked as Duszynski scored a major decision (four points) with a 16-2 win over Ryan Harrington.
Dowagiac, which lost to Buchanan at 189-pounds in the first meeting, sent Bennett out against Lakeland Conference champion Jim Connors.
Connors built a commanding 7-3 lead heading into the third period before Bennett rose up and rallied for not only a victory, but a pin with just 14 seconds remaining in the bout.
Matt Behnke followed with a victory at 215 which set the stage for the most anticipated bout of the evening.
Heavyweights Tony Stewart and Ryan Carrigan took to the mat and delighted the crowd with another hard-fought battle.
Stewart, who defeated Carrigan in their previous two meetings by a single point, couldn't pull off the hat trick at Carrigan took a 4-3 decision.
Trailing 22-15, the Bucks went on a tear, winning the next four matches as well to open up a 29-22 advantage.
There was a look of concern on both benches as the coaches and wrestlers started to do the math.
Dowagiac would need pins at 130- and 135-pounds after David Knisley, Todd Taylor, Nick Wheetley and Travis Reith all scored decisive wins of came away with pin falls.
Jason Krukowski got the crowd on its feet with a 10 second pin of Justin Kruchkow at 130-pounds, while Terry Prowoznik put the Chieftains in front with a pin of Matt Wreggelsworth in 56 seconds.
Dowagiac held a 34-29 lead with one bout remaining.
Buchanan's David Medlin needed to pin Dowagiac's Mike Kasper, something he was unable to do in the first meeting.
Medlin tried everything he could to turn Kasper who refused to go to his back.
The result was a 3-2 Medlin victory over Kasper, but the result gave Dowagiac the two-point match win.
Dowagiac now advances to the Delton-Kellogg regional next Wednesday where it will face South Haven in the first round. Constantine and Vermontville-Maple Valley will meet in the other first round match.
Dowagiac reached the finals with a 69-6 win over Edwardsburg.
Winning matches for the Chieftains were Justin Richter, Nathan Cottrell, Richie Hutchinson, Nathan Long, Jason Krukowski, Kasper, Northrop, Desjardin, Duszynski, Shawn Rawson, Behnke and Stewart.
Buchanan advanced to the finals with an easy 57-22 win over Berrien Springs.
Winning matches for the Bucks were Knisley, Wheetley, Dan Simpson, Reith, Medlin, Long, Ferris, Connors, Josh Gardner and Carrigan.
Championship match
Buchanan…32
Dowagiac…34
103: David Knisley (B) p. Justin Richter, 5:20
112: Todd Taylor (B) d. Nathan Cottrell, 17-4
119: Nick Wheetley (B) d. Richie Hutchinson, 14-3
125: Travis Reith (B) p. Nathan Long, 1:49
130: Jason Krukowski (D) p. Justin Kruchkow, 0:10
135: Terry Prowoznik (D) p. Matt Wreggelsworth, 0:56
140: David Medlin (B) d. Mike Kasper, 3-2
145: Jeromy Northrop (D) p. Tyler Mitchell, 1:14
152: Austin Ferris (B) p. Justin Desjardin, 1:35
160: Elijah Caldwell (D) d. A.J. Long, 9-5
171: Rob Duszynski (D) d. Ryan Harrington, 16-2
189: Kyle Bennett (D) p. Jim Connors, 5:46
215: Matt Behnke (D) d. John Gardner, 7-0
275: Ryan Carrigan (B) d. Tony Stewart, 4-3
Semifinals
Buchanan…57
Berrien Springs…22
103: David Knisley (B) wins by forfeit
112: Zach Gordon (BS) wins by forfeit
119: Nick Wheetley (B) d. Cody Davis, 6-3
125: Dan Simpson (B) wins by forfeit
130: Travis Reith (B) p. Landon Foster, 1:16
135: Kyle Froehlich (BS) p. Matt Wreggelsworth, 0:45
140: David Medlin (B) p. Ryan Peidt, 1:42
145: Pete Wyman (BS) p. Dan Toth, 1:03
152: A.J. Long (B) p. Justin Wolfenbarger, 035
160: Austin Ferris (B) Jordan Parsons, 1:27
171: Darius Whitehead (BS) d. Ryan Harrington, 12-4
189: Jim Conners (B) p. David McNally, 0:57
215: Josh Gardner (B) p. Steve Rias, 1:47
275: Ryan Carrigan (B) p. Jason Rafter, 1:02