By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
ST. JOSEPH - Twelve teams from Berrien County met on the mat Saturday at the 27th annual Berrien County Meet, which was hosted by St. Joseph High School.
Lakeshore, which has hosted the tournament in year's past, dominated, claiming its 10th straight championship title with 211.5 points.
The Vikings once again finished runners-up, as they did last year, with a total of 196 points. Buchanan, a team that surprised a lot of onlookers, took third place with 173 points.
St. Joseph claimed the fourth place position with 123.5 points, while Brandywine rounded out the top five with 116 points.
Bryce Flannery defeated Brandywine's Pat Van Laere in the 119-pound championship round, 6-4, to take the win for Niles.
Mason Stephenson took a 13-11 win in overtime against Lakeshore's Tim Newman in the 135-pound class for the Vikes.
Jake Groves was the last member of the Niles squad to take a championship win, defeating River Valley's John Coniglio, 9-4 in the 160-pound weight class.
Ben Brandstatter (152) and Todd Scansen (140) also made it to the final round for Niles, but were defeated by their opponents.
Brandywine's Adam Simons also advanced to the championship round of the 189-pound weight class, but was pinned by Watervliet's Ben Isbrecht.
For Buchanan, Travis Reith broke the school record for career wins with 142.
Reith defeated Lakeshore's Alex Bolt in the championship round of the 130-pound class, 8-2. Reith is now 17-1 on the season.
The Bucks also had championship wins from Todd Taylor (112), who defeated River Valley's John Stein, 6-4 and David Medlin (145), who defeated Lakeshore's Eric Shirley, 7-1.
David Kingsley (103) and Nick Wheetley (125) also advanced to the championship rounds for the Bucks, but were defeated.
Niles will get another chance to defeat Lakeshore on Thursday when the Vikes host the Lancers for a SMAC West Division meet. JV is set to begin at 6:15 p.m., with varsity beginning at 7.
Brandywine will travel to Cassopolis on Wednesday for a Lakeland Conference match set to begin at 6 p.m., while Buchanan will travel to Edwardsburg for another LAC match also set for 6 p.m.
Team scores
1. Lakeshore, 211.5
2. Niles, 196
3. Buchanan, 173
4. St. Joseph, 123.5
5. Brandywine, 116
6. Coloma, 91
7. River Valley, 87
8. Watervliet, 79
9. Eau Claire, 57
10. Countryside/Lake Michigan Catholic, 54
11. Berrien Springs, 32.5
12. Benton Harbor, 12
Individual champions
103 - Hordan Muenchow (Coloma) d. David Kingsley (Buchanan), 18-14
112 - Todd Taylor (Buchanan) d. John Stein (River Valley), 6-4
119 - Bryce Flannery (Niles) d. Pat Van Laere (Brandywine), 6-2
125 - Kyle Hammermeister (Lakeshore) d. Nick Wheetley (Buchanan), 11-8
130 - Travis Reith (Buchanan) d. Alex Bolt (Lakeshore), 8-2
135 - Mason Stephenson (Niles) d. Tim Newman (Lakeshore), 13-11 in OT
140 - Josh Jackson (Lakeshore) d. Todd Scansen (Niles), 6-4
145 - David Medlin (Buchanan) d. Eric Shirley (Lakeshore), 7-1
152 - Brad LaValley (Lakeshore) d. Ben Brandstatter (Niles), 9-4
160 - Jake Groves (Niles) d. John Coniglio (River Valley), 9-4
171 - Matt Wittman (Lakeshore) p. Tyler Flora (St. Joseph), 4:55
189 - Ben Isbrecht (Watervliet) p. Adam Simons (Brandywine), 3:26
215 - Jesse Martin (Coloma) p. Mike Tees (Watervliet), 2:42
275 - Logan Klug (St. Joseph) d. Brad Wing (Watervliet), 7-6.