By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
STEVENSVILLE – Earlier this month, the Niles varsity wrestling team ended Lakeshore's decade-long dominance at the Berrien County Meet.
On Saturday night, the Vikings ended the Lancers' five-year hold on the Southwest Michigan Invitational.
Niles took a huge lead into the final round of the Tournament and wrestled just well enough to hold off Lakeshore.
Niles had just one champion on Saturday, but picked up six second place finished, two third and three fourth place finishes to easily outdistance the Lancers, 235-180.
Dowagiac finished third with 156 points, while Buchanan was fourth with 147.5 points and Coloma fifth with 112.5 points.
Sixth-ranked South Haven finished sixth (101.5), Cassopolis seventh (94), Bangor eighth (93.5), Hartford ninth (62) and Lawton 10th (58.5). Berrien Springs (46), River Valley (46), Paw Paw (38), Watervliet (24) and Covert (14) rounded out the order of finish.
"The kids wrestled well," Niles assistant coach Todd Hesson said following the match. "They came through."
Hesson was in charge on Saturday as head coach Bob Galvin was sitting out a one-match suspension after being ejected from the Lakeshore Team Tournament the previous weekend.
Niles heavyweight Kenyon Ellison pinned Dowagiac's Robbie Wescott in 1:59 to deliver the lone championship for the Vikings.
Finishing second for the Vikings were Marcus Bricker at 112-pounds, Jake Glueckert at 125-pounds, Andrew Karsten at 130-pounds, Ben Brandstatter at 160-pounds, Alex Zanders at 171-pounds and Micah Barrett at 189-pounds.
Dowagiac had a pair of champions as top-seeded Nate Behnke and Drew Staley picked up titles at 189- and 215- pounds respectively.
Behnke decisioned Barrett 6-4, while Staley decisioned Joe Spear of Lakeshore, 12-5.
Buchanan and Cassopolis both had one champion on Saturday.
The Bucks' Nick Wheetley decisioned Glueckert to win the 125-pound championship, 12-5. The Rangers' John McCoy decisioned Berrien Springs' Kyle Froehlich at 145-pounds, 11-7.
For his efforts on the day, McCoy was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Besides Wescott, the Chieftains also had DeShaun Baylock finish second, while Cassopolis got a runner-up finish from Corey Lowe.
Baylock was pinned by Lakeshore's Tim Newman at 152-pounds in 3:12, while Lowe lost a 7-5 decision in overtime to Lakeshore's Jake Skivers.
Finishing third for the Vikings were Gage Pearison (103), and Bryce Flannery (130). Taking third for the Bucks were Todd Taylor (119), A.J. Long (171) and Ryan Harrington (189). Finishing third for Dowagiac was Nathan Cottrell (112).
Finishing fourth for Niles were Nate Allison (112), John Wregglesworth (145) and Chad Nichols (215). Finishing fourth for the Bucks were Drew Medlin (135), Austin Ferris (152), Aaron Leneway (160) and Robert Riggs (285). Taking fourth for the Chieftains was Nathan Long (140). Mike DeGraff finished fourth for the Rangers at 171-pounds.
"We had a little bit of a letdown in the finals, but it was tough competition," Hesson said. "Overall, we had a lot of balance and that's what probably carried us through."
Other individual champions were John Tanner of Coloma (103), Luke Faltersack of Coloma (112), John Stein of River Valley (119), Huston Harrison of Coloma (130), Alex Bolt of Lakeshore (135), Drakkar Klose of South Haven (160) and Brandon Shull of Bangor (171).
Southwest Michigan Invitational
At Lakeshore High School
Teams Scores
Niles 235, Lakeshore 180, Dowagiac 156, Buchanan 147.5, Coloma 112.5, South Haven 101.5, Cassopolis 94, Bangor 93.5, Hartford 62, Lawton 58.5, Berrien Springs 46, River Valley 46, Paw Paw 38, Watervliet 24, Covert 15
Championship Finals
103: John Tanner (Coloma) t.f. Benito DeSantiago (Bangor), 15-0
112: Luke Faltersack (Coloma) d. Marcus Bricker (Niles), 5-4
119: John Stein (River Valley) d. Chas Burtchette (Hartford), 10-6 OT
125: Nick Wheetley (Buchanan) d. Jake Glueckert (Niles), 12-5
130: Huston Harrison (Coloma) d. Andrew Karsten (Niles), 6-4
135: Alex Bolt (Lakeshore) d. Matt Kiser (Coloma), 14-4
140: Jake Skivers (Lakeshore) d. Corey Lowe (Cassopolis), 7-5 OT
145: John McCoy (Cassopolis) d. Kyle Froehlich (Berrien Springs), 11-7
152: Tim Newman (Lakeshore) p. DeShaun Baylock (Dowagiac), 3:12
160: Drakkar Klose (South Haven) d. Ben Brandstatter (Niles), 9-4
171: Brandon Shull (Bangor) d. Alex Zanders (Niles), 12-7
189: Nate Behnke (Dowagiac) d. Micah Barrett (Niles), 6-4
215: Drew Staley (Dowagiac) d. Joe Spear (Lakeshore), 12-5
285: Kenyon Ellison (Niles) p. Robbie Wescott (Dowagiac), 1:59
Consolation Finals
103: Gage Pearison (Niles) p. Corey Sicard (South Haven), :23
112: Nathan Cottrell (Dowagiac) p. Nate Allison (Niles), 3:35
119: Todd Taylor (Buchanan) d. Nick Humes (Lakeshore), 5-3
125: Adam Bastow (South Haven) p. Busten Burrows (Bangor), 1:23
130: Bryce Flannery (Niles) p. Williams Hodge (Bangor), 4:26
135: Tim Wimbley (Hartford) d. Drew Medlin (Buchanan), 6-4
140: Andress Alcauter (South Haven) d. Nathan Long (Dowagiac), 8-4
145: Dan McCann (Lawton) d. John Wregglesworth (Niles), 13-0
152: Coty Marcoux (Hartford) d. Austin Ferris (Buchanan), 9-6
160: Justin Rabe (River Valley) p. Aaron Leneway (Buchanan), 2:27
171: A.J. Long (Buchanan) d. Mike DeGraff (Cassopolis), 6-5
189: Ryan Harrington (Buchanan) d. Darius Whitehead (Berrien Springs), 1-0
215: Nick Murphy (Bangor) wins by injury default over Chad Nichols (Niles)
285: Josh Noffke (Lakeshore) p. Robert Riggs (Buchanan), :27