02/07/2025
The Vikings knew it would be tougher than the 23-point victory that won them the 2025 CAAC White Championship.
They were right.
Lakewood clinched a win its MHSAA Division 3 District Semifinal against conference rival Portland in the penultimate bout Thursday, holding on for a 34-31 victory, and then went on to knock off host Central Montcalm in the district final for its second consecutive district championship. The Vikings will now head to Saginaw Swan Valley Wednesday, Feb. 12, for their MHSAA Division 3 Team Regional Tournament.
The state wrestling tournament isn’t seeded until the final eight are wrestling at Wings Event Center the final weekend in February, and getting that far was a realistic goal for both Lakewood and Portland. The Vikings and Raiders drew each other for the opening round of the state tournament despite Lakewood being ranked eighth in the state in Division 3 and Portland fourth heading into the week.
“It’s really fun [to beat Portland],” Viking sophomore Bryson Boucher said. “I’m a sophomore now. That’s two years in a row. It was kind of a long time coming. They beat us a lot. I’m 2-0, but before my freshman year they beat us two times in a row.”
Portland had some reinforcements in the line-up who were out injured during the conference dual in Mason last month, but the Vikings did what they had to do - they stayed out of trouble. Portland managed just two pins and the Vikings were able to keep a few weight classes closer than they had been in the previous dual.
Viking senior Calder Villanueva rose off the mat and gave a couple hard claps in the direction of the Lakewood fans in the crowd after pulling out a big early win against the Raiders’ Mason McGregor at 157 pounds that pushed the Vikings to their biggest lead of the dual, 22-5, six bouts in. Lakewood head coach Tony Harmer was pleased to see Villanueva get over his “butterflies.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling the greatest,” Villanueva said. “I threw up practically everything I ate and drank after weigh-ins, but I knew he was a good kid. He teched one of my teammates.”
But Villanueva said he was confident his grit would serve him well against McGregor as the match went on.
The two battled through two scoreless periods before McGregor opened the third period with an escape off the bottom. The two were back and forth from there. Villanueva managed the only take down of the match with 50 seconds to go, but a McGregor reversal 17 seconds later evened the score at 3-3. The Viking senior knew what he had to do.
“One thing we went over yesterday, just kicking our (rear end) up and getting our arms through and grabbing, and it worked. That’s all I did,” Villanueva said.
“Basically, twerking. He wiggled off and I got my two.”
He got the reversal he needed with ten second to go for a 5-3 win.
“That felt good. I was pumped,” Villanueva said.
All the Vikings were impressed with freshman Dakota Harmer who battled through two scoreless periods with Portland’s Branlun Simon in the 106-pound bout before Simon got a quick escape in the third period. Simon held on for a 1-0 decision. But it was the kind of loss that draws cheers from the bench and smiles from the coach. Simon scored major decisions against Harmer both in the conference dual and at the All CAAC Championship last weekend, and head coach Tony Harmer spent some time reminding Dakota that the match at the All CAAC tourney was a 1-0 bout going into the third period so getting a better result was certainly possible.
“Dakota did a really good job on his defense. He wasn’t doing anything stupid. Even though he lost, that was a big win for us,” Villanueva said.
Lakewood had a 34-22 lead heading into the final three weight classes, the three lightest weights, and Dakota Harmer’s effort was a good start. Stephen Aldrich had another strong effort in a defeat in which he held Portland’s 113-pounder Landon Lenz to a 17-3 major decision. When the Raider team was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the bout, the match was all but clinched for the Vikings who just needed to avoid getting a similar penalty while 120-pounder Oliver Johnson took on the Raiders’ Sawyer Dakin. Johnson did his job too, holding Dakin to a 3-1 decision.
The Viking team started on its early lead with senior Kade Boucher pinning Andrew Feldpausch late in the second period of their 126-pound match. Sophomore Vincent Stamm followed for the Vikings at 132 pounds with a 19-7 major decision over the Raiders’ Issac Kramer. Lakewood senior Lydon “LJ” Rogers then outscored the Raiders’ Zach Stanton 9-4 at 138 pounds.
“When we started off the dual, we switched Kade and Vincent around. Kade lost to Kramer, but then he beat Feldpausch this time, and Vinny did his job and he beat Kramer. So, it helped build that lead and build that momentum. LJ picked up his win, not what we expected, but he did really well,” Lakewood head coach Tony Harmer said.
The Viking team also got a quick pin from sophomore Bryson Boucher at 150 pounds.
The only victory in those first six weight classes for Portland came from Griffin Opperman’s 19-4 technical fall of Lakewood’s Bryce Goodemoot. The Vikings were pleased with that result. Owen Prowdley was another Viking who held his opponent, Viking 175-pounder Bradley Meyers, to a five-point technical fall rather than allowing a six-point pin.
Portland had the match tied 22-22 nine bouts in after getting a pin from Landon Guilford at 165 pounds against the Vikings’ Alexander Risk, Meyers’ tech fall at 175 and then a pin from Gunnar Williams at 190 against Jacob Everett.
Lakewood’s heavyweights righted the ship and wound up getting the Vikings all the points they would need with two pins. Bryan Aguilera, who the Vikings were happy to welcome back to the line-up recently, scored a quick pin of the Raiders’ Sawyer Goodman at 215 pounds and Joel Simon stuck the Raiders’ Barrett Spitzley early in the third period of the 285-pound match.
The dual with Central Montcalm was a bit anticlimactic after that. The Vikings took a 67-12 win over the Hornets who opened their night by knocking off Belding in the semifinals. The Hornets forfeited six weight classes to the Vikings. Dakota Harmer and Johnson had pins for the Vikings in their matches. Stamm and Rogers took technical fall victories, Kade Boucher won by injury default and Aldrich pulled out a 12-10 decision against the Hornets’ Brayden Young at 113 pounds.
“We just need to keep doing the same thing - be prepared,” Bryson Boucher said of his team’s quest for a second straight regional championship. “I completely believe in Tony Harmer and our coaching staff up there. I believe everything that they say and everything we do up there to become the top team in the state. That is what we proved today. Portland was ranked ahead of us all year. Following him and his lead, we wouldn’t be here without him, and trusting him in practice and going hard and doing what needs to be done.
“He’s pushing us and believing in us. I feel like wrestling is so physical, but the mental aspect there of Harmer just pushing us and pushing us to our limits and knowing that we still have more than we think. Harmer knows we have more than we possibly believe. I think him pushing us this week and all the coaches pushing us this week helped us get here and we’re still hungry and we’re still moving.”
Bryson is one of four returning individual state qualifiers for the Vikings this winter, joined by his brother Kade, Joel Simon and Stamm
Lakewood is at Montrose Saturday, Feb. 8, for its MHSAA Division 3 Individual District Tournament, and the Lakewood girls are in Hastings Sunday for their first ever MHSAA Girls’ Individual District Tournament.
