Moment: Richmond Gets Pin to Win
March 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three matches remained in the Division 3 Wrestling Final on Feb. 28, 2015, and Dundee led 25-12 with a third-straight championship nearly in grasp.
But after his Richmond teammates Adam Boyd and Roy Costello fought back to pull their team within four points of the lead with only his 112-pound match left, senior Conor Behem found himself with an all-or-nothing title-deciding opportunity.
Behem’s pin in 1 minute, 7 seconds, gave Richmond a 27-25 win over Dundee and its first championship since 2012 – and after Richmond had fallen to Dundee in the Finals both of the previous two seasons.
Oh, and Behem finished off the victory despite wrestling with tears to a knee ligament and meniscus.
“I kind of broke down emotionally,” Behem said of the immediate aftermath. “It felt so good, words can’t even describe it.”
Click for coverage from Second Half – Richmond: Nothing Compares to This – and see below for coverage from the NFHS Network.
Rivals & Wrestlers Show Military Support
October 26, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Wrestling practice begins two weeks from Monday. But planning for a special military appreciation event at Coopersville is well underway and promises to be memorable.
The Broncos host an annual six-team tournament, which will take place this season Dec. 28. For this winter’s event, the school’s wrestling program has raised money to buy six uniforms – honoring the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and MIA/POW(s) – one set of 16 shirts and shorts for each competing team.
None of the uniforms will bear a school name or symbol, only those of the armed service branch or troops the shirts support. Organizers are planning to begin the event with a grand march with veterans leading each team. All veterans and active military will be admitted free of charge, and Coopersville will be inviting residents of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Hastings, Kent City, Grand Rapids Northview, Ravenna and Zeeland West also will be competing and taking part. The shirts are designed by Addix, a sponsor of the MHSAA.
Rivals Team Up to Support Military Families
Neighboring volleyball programs Birch Run and Frankenmuth came together Oct. 10 to give their match as a fundraiser for the I Support the 1% Food Pantry for Veterans of Michigan, which serves local military families.
The teams wore shirts supporting the cause with names on the back of family members who had served or are currently serving in the military.
The match alone was worth the price of admission, as the Panthers won in five sets. The previous week, Birch Run’s football team also supported the pantry as part of Homecoming against Bridgeport.
The Panthers’ volleyball match with the Eagles was just the latest effort between the two schools from the Tri-Valley Conference. The cross country teams also continued their annual joint “fun run” maze competition during a practice this month.
(Photos courtesy of the Birch Run athletic department.)