Bronson wrestling takes title at Coldwater Classic; Union City finishes 3-2, Coldwater 1-4

COLDWATER, MI. — Coldwater’s Coach Floyd Eby Gymnasium played host to an exciting day of grappling action on Saturday as six teams from across the state made the trip to compete in the Coldwater Wrestling Classic.

At the end of the day it was the D4 4th ranked Bronson Vikings reigning supreme, winning the championship with a perfect record of 5-0 on the day.

Included in that 5-0 day was a clutch win over long time rival and the 7th ranked team in the state in D4, the Union City Chargers, a dual that came down to the final match as Bronson took the exciting 39-34 win.

On their way to the championship Bronson also defeated Chelsea 48-24; Coldwater by the score of 61-15; St. Johns by the score of 57-24; and Sturgis by the score of 65-3.

Finishing undefeated at 5-0 on the day for Bronson was Perry Lake at 126 pounds; Carson Norton at 165 pounds; Jacob Britten at 175 pounds; and Jacob Dixon at 190 pounds.

Finishing 4-1 on the day was Owen Kimmons at 120 pounds; Gabe Erwin at 144 pounds; Drew Seekman at 150 pounds; Mason Lindsey at 157 pounds; and Mathew Blankenship at 215 pounds. Everardo Lozada finished 3-2 at 285 pounds for another solid day on the mat.

A shorthanded Union City squad, who came into the tournament missing four full time starters from their lineup, finished in third place at the event with a record of 3-2. The Chargers took wins over Sturgis by the score of 60-18; Chelsea by the score of 42-30; and Coldwater 53-18 while falling to Bronson and St. Johns by the score of 42-36.

Finishing at 5-0 and unbeaten for Union City was Logan Mears at 106 pounds; Landyn Crance at 132 pounds; Aidan Taylor at 138/144 pounds; Colton Russell at 150/157 pounds; Maddox Miller at 157/165 pounds; and Grady Iobe at 215/285 pounds. Finishing 4-1 on the day was Mason Hawthorne at 113 pounds.

The match of the day for Bronson came against long time rival Union City who won the Coldwater Classic last season thanks in large part to a big win over Bronson. This year the Vikings returned the favor, defeating Union City 39-34.

As previously mentioned, Union City came in to the tournament a little short handed, missing four full time starters from their lineup, giving Bronson a huge 24 point advantage before the first whistle.

The dual started at 150 pounds where Union City’s Colton Russell had little trouble with Bronson’s Drew Seekman, winning via an 11-4 decision. Seekman did battle however and earned a late escape to keep the loss just a three point decision, rather than a four point major, leading to Union City holding the early 3-0 lead.

Union City came through with a big pin at 157 pounds as junior Maddox Miller pinned Bronson’s Mason Lindsey in 3:25, extending the Union City lead to an early 9-0.

Bronson took control of the dual with four straight wins, two via void as Carson Norton took a void at 165 pounds while Matthew Blankenship took a void at 215 pounds. On the mat Bronson junior Jacob Britten earned a pin fall win over Union City’s John Olmstead in :51 seconds while senior Jacob Dixon earned a pin fall win over William Thompson in :22 seconds, giving the Vikings a 24-9 lead.

Union City got back on the board at 285 pounds where senior Grady Iobe earned a pin fall win over Bronson’s Everado Lozada in 2:31, closing the score to 24-15.

Union City went on to take two straight wins via void, as Logan Mears took a void at 106 pounds followed by Mason Hawthorne taking a void at 113 pounds, pushing Union City into the lead at 27-24.

The voids again reared its ugly head for the Chargers as Bronson came right back with two straight voids of their own as Owen Kimmons took a void at 120 pounds while Perry Lake took a void at 126 pounds, giving the Vikings the lead right back at 36-27 with only three matches to go.

Union City came back with a huge win at 132 pounds as defending state champion Landyn Crance took an 11-3 Major Decision over Bronson’s Logan Long, closing the score to 36-31.

In a tough battle at 138 pounds it was Union City sophomore Aidan Taylor taking a hard fought 6-3 decision over Bronson freshman Layne Knisely, closing the score to 36-34 with one match left to go.

Toeing the line in the final match would be Bronson first year starter Gabriel Erwin and ever improving Union City sophomore Montana Connell. The two talented wrestlers battled for three intense periods, however Erwin keep Connell from scoring any points from the down position in the third and final round, giving Erwin the 4-2 decision and the Vikings the 39-34 victory.

The Bronson Vikings will look to ride the momentum of their victory at the Coldwater Classic into the holiday break as Bronson will next see action Dec. 23 when they travel to the Clinton Invite. Union City will work towards getting healthy as they too will next see action Dec. 23 when they travel to the Martin Invite.

Coldwater Wrestling finishes 1-4 at Coldwater Classic

The Coldwater Cardinals finished their home invitational at 1-4 overall with their one win coming in dramatic tie breaking fashion versus long time rival Sturgis. Before getting to the Sturgis dual the Cardinals dropped tough match ups with Bronson 15-61; Chelsea 24-52; St. Johns 33-47; and Union City 18-53.

Finishing 4-1 on the day for Coldwater was Yahya Umari at 106 pounds; Tre Miller at 138 pounds; and Maverick Johnson at 150 pounds. Ending the day at 3-2 was Umari Umari at 120 pounds.

The dual versus long time rival Sturgis finished the 14 scheduled matches all knotted up at 42-42, meaning the decision went to a tiebreaker. In the end it was Coldwater taking the victory as the dual went to the winner with the least amount of voids, giving the Cardinals the victory.

The dual started at 150 pounds where Maverick Johnson earned a pin fall win in 1:32 over Juan Pablo Soto, followed by a pin fall win for Gage Fuller at 157 pounds over Sturgis’ Thomas Perry in 1:22, giving the Cardinals an early 12-0 lead.

Sturgis came roaring back with five straight wins to sprint to the lead, taking a win via pin at 165 pounds for Aaron Castro over Zaiden Baily in :52 seconds; a pin fall win for Dalton Tisdel over Logan Smiertka at 175 pounds in 1:31; a pin fall win for Kyle Woodward over Garett Klotz in :52 seconds at 190 pounds; a pin fall win for Ismael Cruz over Raul Cecilio in 2:02 at 215 pounds; and a void for Angel Ortiz at 285 pounds, giving Sturgis the 30-12 lead.

Coldwater came back with three straight wins to tie things up with voids for Yahya Umari at 106 pounds, Cooper Coan at 113 pounds, and Umari Umari at 120 pounds.

Sturgis jumped back into the lead with a win via void for Lola Barkby at 126 pounds followed by a pin fall win for Kaiden Waldron over Deegan Herlan at 132 pounds in 1:06. To force the tie Coldwater needed back-to-back pins to the end dual and that is just what they got, starting with Tre Miller earning a pin fall win at 138 pounds over Yovani Ramiez in 1:44. It all came down to senior Cody Morick at 144 pounds and the scrappy grappler did not disappoint, taking the pin fall win with just :02 seconds left in the first period, winning via fall over Diego Munoz Hernandez in 1:58, tying up the dual at 42-42.

The dual then went to the tiebreak, giving the victory to Coldwater.

Coldwater wrestling will now have a little time to work on the little things as they won’t see the mats again until after Christmas, taking back to the mats on Dec. 29 when they head to Portage Central.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Bronson wrestling takes title at Coldwater Classic