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Wrestling: Union City wraps up Big 8 title, Bronson finishes second, Quincy fourth

troy tennyson, coldwater daily reporter
·6 min read

READING – For the second time in the past three years the Union City Chargers are champions of the Big 8 conference. After finishing their dual meet scheduled unbeaten, the Chargers needed a solid showing at Saturday’s Big 8 conference championship, held at Reading High School, to wrap up the outright title.

Union City took care of business, bringing home seven conference champions out of the 14 crowned, with another five grapplers earning All-Conference honors with a top four finish in their respective weight class. Thanks to their efforts Union City wrapped up the conference title with a win Saturday with a score of 196 points.

Bronson, the defending conference champion, and Union City’s biggest competitor on the mat this year, did not make it easy, finishing in a close second with 191.5 points thanks to five Big 8 Champions of their own along with an additional seven All Conference honorees.

Springport finished in third with 120.5 points, followed by Quincy in fourth at 105.0 and Reading in fifth with 104.5. Concord finished in sixth place followed by Maple Valley.

The Union City Chargers wrapped up the 2023-24 Big 8 conference wrestling championship with a win Saturday
The Union City Chargers wrapped up the 2023-24 Big 8 conference wrestling championship with a win Saturday

Union City Chargers

Pacing the Union City effort on the day was senior Landyn Crance who claimed the conference crown at 144 pounds. With his win on Saturday Crance became just the third wrestler in Union City history to earn four consecutive conference titles, joining Dale Locker (1995-1998) and Phil Goodrich (2002-2005) as the only other Chargers to accomplish that feat. The path for Crance was far from easy, as the two-time defending Division Three State Wrestling Champion had two very tough matches on his hands on the day. Crance took a slim 3-2 decision over Collin York of Bronson in the semifinals followed by a 4-1 decision over Rylinn Hale of Springport in the championship.

Also bringing home Big 8 conference crowns for Union City were Lanydn’s brother Blayne Crance (36-5), who earned his first title with a win at 106 pounds; freshman Mitchell Graham (32-13) with a win at 113 pounds; junior Logan Mears (28-0) with his third straight Big 8 title at 132 pounds; Alex Boyer (35-8) with his first Big 8 title with a win at 138 pounds; Montana Connell (32-7) with an exciting win over Bronson rival Layne Knisely in the final, winning 12-7 on a late reversal and near fall, taking the 157 pound title; and junior Gavin Kelly (26-15) with a win at 285 pounds.

Union City senior Landyn Crance won his fourth straight Big 8 title, becoming just the third Charger grappler to accomplish that feat, joining Dale Locker and Phil Goodrich
Union City senior Landyn Crance won his fourth straight Big 8 title, becoming just the third Charger grappler to accomplish that feat, joining Dale Locker and Phil Goodrich

Also earning All-Conference honors for the Chargers was Aidan Taylor (36-7), third place at 150 pounds; Maddox Miller (29-6), second place at 165 pounds; John Olmsted (12-16), fourth place at 175 pounds; Owen Jackson (19-10), fourth place at 190 pounds; and William “Terry” Thompson (16-13), third place at 215 pounds.

In edition to their success on the mats, the Chargers were also recognized for their coaching, as Union City head coach Jason Counterman was voted as the Big 8 conference coach of the Year for the third time.

Bronson Vikings

The Bronson runner-up finish was paced by five weight class champions and an additional seven All Conference honorees.

The Bronson Vikings, boasting five weight class champions and seven All Conference efforts, finished with runner-up honors on the season
The Bronson Vikings, boasting five weight class champions and seven All Conference efforts, finished with runner-up honors on the season

Perhaps the biggest news from the tournament for Bronson came thanks to the efforts of senior Jacob Britten (41-5) who won the gold medal at 190 pounds with a 2-0 record. Among those two wins, victories than included a pinfall win over William Tieman of Springport and a pin fall win over Quincy’s Xavier Fullbright in the championship, Britten recorded career victory 150, an exceedingly rare feat in today’s wrestling. (Fun fact- of those 150 wins, 105 have come via pin fall for Britten)

Also claiming Big 8 conference titles for Bronson were Owen Kimmons (35-9) at 126 pounds; Gabe Erwin (34-5) with the win at 150 pounds; Mason Lindsey (43-5) with the gold at 155; and Carson Norton (42-5) with the conference title at 175.

Also earning All-Conference honors for the Vikings was Brayton Crosby, third place at 106; Brier Green, fourth place at 120 pounds; Logan Long, second place at 132 pounds; Caleb Harvey, third place at 138; Collin York, third place at 144; Layne Knisely, second place at 157; and Conner Harvey, second place at 215.

Bronson's Jacob Britten not only won the title at the 190 pound weight class, he also claimed career win 150 in the process
Bronson's Jacob Britten not only won the title at the 190 pound weight class, he also claimed career win 150 in the process

Quincy Orioles

The Quincy Orioles were able to see one of their own climb to the top of the podium on Saturday as sophomore Chayse Jensen (25-7) won his second straight Big 8 title with a championship at 120 pounds. Jensen went unbeaten on the day with back-to-back major decision wins over Union City’s Riley Smith and Bronson’s Green, followed by a championship 3-0 decision win over Springport’s Owen Thomas to claim the crown.

Also finishing inside the top four of their respective weight class to earn All-Conference honors for Quincy was Marissa Lincon (10-16), fourth place at 106; Blaik Pierce (6-20), fourth place at 113; Calb Rose (25-12), second place at 126; Evan Yeakey (132), third place at 132; Karter Pierce (11-25), fourth place at 138; Micha Paul (16-10), fourth place at 150 pounds; Landon Bearden (26-12), third place at 165; and Xavier Fullbright, (18-14) second place at 190 pounds.

More: Coldwater's Miller wins Interstate 8 wrestling title

Championship Match Results

106- Blayne Crance (UC) over Reid Westfall (Reading) via pinfall

113- Mitchell Graham (UC) over Kylee Grimmett (Springport) via pin fall

120- Chayse Jensen (Q) over Owen Thomas (Springport) via 3-0 decision

126- Owen Kimmons (BR) over Caleb Rose (Q) via pin fall

132- Logan Mears (UC) over Logan Long (BR) via 5-0 decision

138- Alex Boyer (UC) over Collin Thompson (C) via 4-2 in Sudden Victory

144- Landyn Crance (UC) over Rylinn Hale (S) via a 4-1 decision

150- Gabe Erwin (BR) over Kaden Sizemore (S) via a 15-8 decision

157- Montana Connell (UC) over Layne Knisely (BR) via a 12-7 decision

165- Mason Lindsey (BR) over Maddox Miller (UC) via an 11-0 major decision

175- Carson Norton (BR) over Lukas Strine (R) via a 1-0 decision

190- Jacob Britten (BR) over Xavier Fullbright (Q) via pin fall

215- Isaac Westfall (R) over Conner Harvey (BR) via an 8-6 decision

285- Gavin Kelly (UC) over Eli Worth (SP) via a 3-0 decision

The whole of the Big 8 conference will now travel to their respective district tournaments, with Union City and Bronson facing off in the Division Four District finals at Bronson while Quincy will face Eaton Rapids in the first round of the Division Three tournament held at Eaton Rapids, all with start times at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Big 8 Conference Wrestling results shows Union City claim crown