No. 4 Bronson finishes 2-0 at Billy Balowski Memorial Meet; Vikings kick off Big 8 schedule with win over Reading

BRONSON, MI. — The D4 4th ranked Bronson Viking wrestling program spent Wednesday night remembering one of their own who was lost off the mat, while also taking care of business on the mat.

Wednesday night the Bronson Wrestling family paid tribute to former wrestler Billy Balowski with the first ever Billy Balowski Memorial Meet. Balowski, a 2018 Bronson graduate known for his smile and infectious personality, was lost to the world on June 18, 2022 as a result of an auto accident. The Bronson wrestling family turned out in force to remember Balowski with t-shirts bearing the saying, “Brighten the World with a B.B. Smile.”

Balowski, a former Viking wrestler himself, would have undoubtedly been proud of his fellow Hammerin Vikes for their effort on the mat Wednesday night, as Bronson kicked off their Big 8 conference schedule with a 53-24 win over Reading, followed by a dominant 72-0 victory over the visiting Aggies from Sand Creek.

To kick off the night the Vikings opened their Big 8 schedule with a much anticipated battle with perennial power Reading, a matchup that Bronson would claim by the score of 53-24. The dual began at the traditional weight class of 106 pounds and it was Reading taking the early advantage with two straight victories via void, as Delanie Young took a void at 106 pounds while Carter Bell took a void at 113 pounds, giving the Rangers a quick 12-0 lead.

Bronson came back with two straight wins, starting with an Owen Kimmons pin fall win over Reading’s Aiden Aemisegger at 120 pounds in :48 seconds, followed by a dominant 18-4 Major Decision win for Perry Lake over Reading’s Hunter Dewey at 126 pounds, closing the score to 12-10.

Reading added to their lead at 132 pounds as Lukas Selph took a pin fall win over Logan Long in 5:00 at 132 pounds, extending the lead to 18-10.

Bronson went on a tear after that, securing wins in the next eight matches to pull ahead and never look back. The scoring started with back-to-back pin fall victories for the Vikings as Layne Knisely pinned Reading’s Jacob Hamilton in 2:50 at 138 pounds while Gabe Erwin pinned Reading’s Lukas Rhoades in 4:15 at 144 pounds, giving Bronson the 22-18 lead.

Bronson continued to pull away thanks to a Drew Seekman 13-0 Major Decision over Addison Mosley at 150 pounds, followed by a 6-2 decision win for Collin York over Reading’s Caiden Baker at 157 pounds.

The next four weight classes saw Bronson win via pin fall to officially put the meet away. Earning pin fall wins for Bronson were Carson Norton at 165 pounds, Jacob Britten at 175 pounds, Jacob Dixon at 190 pounds and Matthew Blankenship at 215 pounds.

The meet ended with Reading’s Eathan Westfall, last year’s state runner-up at 285 pounds, taking a pin fall win over Bronson’s Jayden Post at 285 pounds in 1:36, finding the final score of 53-24.

In the second dual of the night the Bronson Vikings absolutely rolled, winning 12 of the 14 matches, with the two non wins coming in a double void, as the Vikings defeated Sand Creek 72-0.

The dual started with a double void at 113 pounds, followed by Bronson securing 12 straight wins, including 11 via pin fall and one via void.

Taking pin fall wins for Bronson were Owen Kimmons over Wyatt Fox in :14 seconds at 120 pounds; Perry Lake pinning Gavin Marks in :29 seconds at 126 pounds; Logan Long winning over Thomas Shanks in :39 seconds at 132 pounds; Layne Knisely pinning Destyni Monroe in 1:04 at 138 pounds; Gabe Erwin pinning Malakai Maxwell in :44 seconds at 144 pounds; Drew Seekman taking a pin fall win over Dylan Francoeur in 3:44 at 150 pounds; Collin York pinning Emma Reckner in :42 seconds at 157 pounds; Carson Norton taking a pin fall win over Emma Pifer in 1:05 at 165 pounds; Jacob Britten taking a pin over Gracie Thompson in :35 seconds at 175 pounds; Matthew Blankenship pinning Jacob Schamburger in 3:26 at 215 pounds; and Jayden Post pinning Daniel Meckley in 5:05 at 285 pounds.

Bronson’s one additional win came at 190 pounds where Jacob Dixon took a void.

Bronson will look to ride the momentum of their big win on Wednesday into a big tournament on Saturday as the Vikings will travel to one of the most prestigious tournaments in the state as they will take part in the New Lothrop Hall of Fame Tournament, beginning at 9 a.m.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: No. 4 Bronson finishes 2-0 at Billy Balowski Memorial Meet