MT. PLEASANT — Bonus points is something veteran Niles coach Todd Hesson preaches about all the time.

He tells his team that they need to earn as many as possible in a match and not give them up to their opponents.

No. 2-ranked Warren Woods-Tower proved Hesson correct in a 36-31 Division 2 state semifinal victory over the No. 4-ranked Vikings at McGuirk Arena at Central Michigan University Saturday.

The Titans (27-0) picked up five pins, including three inside of a minute, to earn 30 of their 36 points.

“We dug ourselves a little bit of a whole,” Hesson said. “Falling behind and giving up pins. Duals are all about matchups and you cannot go to your back. We did it a couple in a couple of spots. Live and learn. I am very proud of the kids. They wrestled tough and they stuck with it and still gave us a chance to win it at the end.”

Warren Woods-Tower picked up three of those wins in a row as it built a 27-6 lead on Niles.

The Vikings responded by winning five of the next six bouts, but only scored bonus points in one of them while cutting the lead to 33-25.

Senior Mitchell Findeisen, ranked No. 5 at 145-pounds, was defeated by No. 8-ranked Austin Frederick at 152-pounds as the Titans locked up a spot in the championship match against No. 1 see Lowell, which it lost 32-21.

“We beat No. 3 St. Johns last night (Friday) and we wrestled No. 2 right down to the wire so I cannot fault our kids at all. It was a great effort. They worked hard and it was a great season.”

 

Division 2 quarterfinals

Under the direction of coach Todd Hesson, the Niles wrestling team has never lost in the Division 2 state quarterfinals.

The Vikings extended that streak to 5-0 with a 36-26 decision over perennial state powerhouse St. Johns at the McGuirk Arena on the campus of Central Michigan University Friday night.

Niles (17-1) came into the Michigan High School Athletic Association team state finals as the No. 6 seed in Division 2. St. Johns (25-2) was seeded No. 3.

“We have had some good ones,” said Niles coach Todd Hesson. “That one is going to be hard to top. That was a heckuva dual. We talked all year about doing your job and they did their job. I do not know where to start.”

Niles grabbed an early lead and built momentum by winning all the close matches.

The Vikings opened up a 12-3 lead as 119-pounder Austin Franco pinned Cody Wood in 57 seconds to kick off the match.

Following a loss at 125 pounds, Niles won three consecutive bouts, to of which came in the closing seconds.

Andrew Flick edged Kaleob Whitford 6-5 at 130 pounds and Brenden Hall nipped James Whitaker 3-2 at 135 pounds to give Niles a nine-point advantage.

Flick’s win over Whitford, the No. 2-ranked kid in Division 2 at that weight class, really got the Vikings and their fans fired up.

“Brenden Hall, who has been sick for the last two weeks, comes through,” Hesson said. “We lost the coin toss and I honestly thought we were in trouble when we lost it. We would have made a move at 119, but we didn’t have to. The kids came through.”

Cole Simpson capped the three-bout winning streak with a 6-2 victory over Spencer Sillman.

St. Johns cut the Niles lead to 12-9 with a pin at 145 pounds by Trent Lashuay, but Niles would win five of the next six bouts to put the match out of reach.

Mitchell Findeisen won 7-4 at 152 pounds, Davin Simpson won 3-1 at 171 pounds, Dayton Smith pinned Cole Burkett in 3:15 at 189 pounds and Cody Glick edged Tyler Secord 5-3 at 215 pounds.

At that point the Vikings were counting points.

If they could go the distance in the final three bouts a spot in the semifinals would be theirs.

When Brian Soto pinned Adam Webb in 1:12 at 285 pounds the match was over.

Niles forfeited at 103 and 112 pounds in over to avoid any potential injuries heading into the semifinals.

Complete box scores available at leaderpub.com.

In the other half of the bracket, No. 1 Lowell defeated No. 8 Tecumseh 41-20 and No. 4 Marysville defeated No. 5 Allendale 37-16.

 

DIVISION 2 QUARTERFINALS

At McGuirk Arena

NILES 36, ST. JOHNS 26

119: Austin Franco (N) p. Cody Wood 0:57; 125: Emilio Sanchez (SJ) d. Cade Stephenson 13-6; 130: Andrew Flick (N) d. Kaleob Whitford 6-5; 135: Brenden Hall (N) d. James Whitaker 3-2; 140: Cole Simpson (N) d. Spencer Sillman 6-2; 145: Trent Lashuay (SJ) p. Robert Glover 1:31; 152: Mitchell Findeisen (N) d. Cross Gonzalez 7-4; 160: Bret Fedewa (SJ) p. Robert Buckland 5:48; 171: Davin Simpson (N) d. Braxton Parks 3-1; 189: Dayton Smith (N) p. Cole Burkett 3:15; 215: Cody Glick (N) d. Tyler Secord 5-3; 285: Brian Soto (N) p. Adam Webb 1:12; 103: Brendon Smith (SJ) wins by forfeit; 112: Brendan Zelenka (SJ) wins by forfeit.

Varsity records: Niles 17-1, St. Johns 25-2.

 

DIVISION 2 SEMIFINALS

At McGuirk Arena

WARREN WOODS-TOWER 36, NILES 31

171: Trey Barbour (W) d. Dayton Smith 4-2; 189: Joel Radvansky (W) p. Dawson Bruckner 0:48; 215: Cody Glick (N) p. C.J. Sheir 1:27; 285: Nathan Pipes (W) p. Brian Soto 0:19; 103: David Stepanian (W) p. Jamison Zimmerman 2:34; 112: Chaise Mayer (W) p. Ryan Franco 0:40; 119: Austin Franco (Niles) d. Elijuh Weaver 9-3; 125: Cade Stephenson (N) d. Brandon Harger 2-0; 130: Andrew Flick (N) p. Ryan Daniel 1:35; 135: Joe Schindler (W) p. Reese Gardner 1:07; 140: Brenden Hall (N) d. Nico Martini 7-3; 145: Robert Glover (N) m.d. Jack Pehote 10-1; 152: Austin Frederick (W) d. Mitch Findeisen 9-2; 160: Davin Simpson (N) p. Kullen Geoffrey 1:36.

Varsity records: Warren Woods-Tower 27-0, Niles 17-2.