Bronson wrestling out duels rival Union City to claim D4 District title

BRONSON, MI. — Death, Taxes, and the Bronson Viking Wrestling program advancing on to team regionals, three of life’s few certainties. For the twenty-first straight season the Bronson Vikings will be wrestling in the regional round of the MHSAA team postseason after defeating the Union City Chargers in an exciting battle on the mat, with the Vikings taking the 39-30 victory to secure the Division Four District 224 championship.

“We knew that it was going to be close tonight with a lot of tough swing matches through the middle,” said Bronson head coach Chad Butters. “We lost a few we didn’t count on but we did a good job of mixing up things through the middle and near the top to get some big wins. Taking a win at 157 pounds was huge for us and getting Jacob (Britten) down to 165 was key, getting everyone down to their right weights, it was just so big for us. We know every time we wrestle Union City it’s going to be a tough matchup and they brought it tonight, we just managed to get those key wins in some key spots.”

The first half of the dual looked to be going the way of the Chargers, and it all began at 120 pounds as two very familiar grapplers faced off, with Union City’s Mason Hawthorne facing off with Bronson’s Owen Kimmons.

Hawthorne looked sharp from the start, hitting an early takedown and quickly hitting for a three point near fall to lead 5-0 early. Hawthorne continued to control the pace and went on to take the pin fall victory over Kimmons with :38 seconds left in the second period, giving Union City the early 6-0 lead.

Bronson battled back at 126 pounds as senior Perry Lake took on Union City freshman Kelub Miller. Lake controlled the match from the start and recorded a number of near falls, however Miller battled to stay off his back, keeping the six point pin fall off the board. Lake went on to take the dominant win, defeating Miller via a 17-2 technical fall, closing the score to 6-5.

Union City junior Landyn Crance then took the mat at 132 pounds to face off with Bronson’s Logan Long. It was all Crance from the very start as the defending D4 125 pound state champion earned a pin fall win over Long in 1:10, pushing the Charger lead to 12-5.

The next match was one of the aforementioned toss up matches, as Bronson’s Layne Knisely faced off with Union City’s Aidan Taylor at 138 pounds. The two grapplers had faced off a number of times this season, with the two wrestlers nearly splitting the match ups down the middle. This time around it was all Knisely, controlling things from the get go, leading 4-0 after one period and 9-0 after two. Knisely went on to win a big 10-1 major decision over Taylor, closing the score to 12-9.

Things looked to be going back the way of the Chargers as another swing match, this time at 144 pounds, featured Union City sophomore Montana Connell facing off with Bronson freshman Gabriel Erwin. Erwin had won each match these two have had throughout the season, with the latest win coming via a 7-6 decision at the Battle Creek Central Invite. Connell led things early, holding a 3-2 lead after one period and 5-3 after two. Erwin battled hard in an effort to turn Connell from top position to start the third but Connell held tight, even hitting a late reversal to take the huge 7-3 decision, pushing the Union City lead to 15-9.

Union City took another win at 150 pounds as senior Colton Russell defeated Bronson’s Drew Seekman via a 9-6 decision. Russell set the early pace but Seekman weathered the storm, keeping off his back as Russell went on to take the decision win, extending the Charger lead to 18-9.

Bronson took control of the District Championship battle starting at 157 pounds as the Vikings went on to win the next four matches to take control of the finale. The Bronson run started at 157 pounds in a key swing match as Carson Norton hit on a number of near falls on his way to a 11-6 decision win over Union City’s Maddox Miller. The match up featured a battle between two Big 8 conference champions as Norton claimed the 165 pound title this season while Miller was the champion at 157 pounds. This was the first meeting this year between the two grapplers. With the win the Vikings had closed the score to 18-12.

Bronson officially tied up the score at 18-18 as Jacob Britten accepted a void at 165 pounds, leading to another huge win for the Vikings at 175 pounds. At 175 pounds it was Mason Lindsey earning a hard fought pin over Union City’s John Olmstead late in the third period for six key points, giving the Vikings their first lead at 24-18. Olmstead did not make it easy, battling and scrapping for every inch but in the end it was Lindsey with the pin.

The Vikings only added to their lead at 190 pounds as Jacob Dixon pinned Union City’s William Thompson in :19 seconds, extending the Bronson lead to 30-18.

Union City managed to inch a little closer at 215 pounds as senior Grady Iobe accepted a void, closing the score to 30-24.

Another key win for Bronson came at 285 pounds as senior Matthew Blankenship took on Union City junior Hunter Gillies in a rematch of the regional semifinal clinching 285 pound match last season. The two grapplers battled for three tough periods, with Blankenship taking a 2-0 lead late in the third period after stalling was called on Gillies followed by an escape by Blankenship. Gillies was mere seconds from a possible match tying takedown late in the third period however Blankenship held tough, going on to take the 2-0 decision, extending the Bronson lead to 33-24.

The Vikings officially put away the District Championship at 106 pounds thanks to a pin fall win for Chloe Norton over Union City's Brooklynne Schley. Both grapplers did not have much experience competing in dual meet action, however both girls stepped up to the plate in a key spot for both clubs. As the ref called the pin fall the crowd at Bronson High School exploded as the District Final was officially out of reach for the Chargers, with Bronson leading 39-24 with only one match left.

Union City ended the scoring with a void claimed by Logan Mears at 113 pounds, finding the final score of 39-30.

“The really big wins for us tonight were Mason Lindsey at 157 pounds, he came up huge for us, and Chloe (Norton) at 106 pounds,” said Butters. “Chloe (Norton) was a star for us tonight, we are just so happy she stepped up and was able to get that win and put away the district title for us.”

Earlier in the night the Vikings rolled past the Colon Magi in the district semifinals for a 78-0 win.

With the win the Bronson Vikings improve to 33-1 on the season and advance on to the Division Four Regional 131 semifinals where they will face the Mendon Hornets next week, with time and place to still be determined. The other half of the bracket will see the Springport Spartans face off with the Homer Trojans, with the two winners meeting for a regional title later that night.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Bronson wrestling out duels rival Union City to claim D4 District title