THREE RIVERS – Three Rivers is riding a wave of emotion as its wrestling team returns to the MHSAA Team Finals this weekend.

Fueled by a 31-30 Quarterfinals loss to Greenville last season, and then the tragic deaths of two assistant coaches, Jeff Smith's Wildcats hope the adversity helps them take the next step and reach the championship match this time.

No. 4 seeded Three Rivers (25-0) meets No. 5 Greenville (32-8) in a Quarterfinal rematch at 6:45 p.m. Friday at Wings Events Center in Kalamazoo. The winner will earn a berth in Saturday's Semifinals at 9:30 a.m., with all four Finals commencing at 3:45 p.m.

Smith, now in his ninth season as head varsity coach, started the MYWAY youth wrestling program in Three Rivers 15 years ago. A former standout prep wrestler himself, Smith is a native and graduate of Eaton Rapids and now has interest in Three Rivers' wrestling soaring to a new level.

"It's been a struggle and it's still a work in progress, but we're getting there. We have 102 kids participating in our MYWAY program, but not all of them wrestle every weekend or are ready for it,” he said. “We consistently wrestle over 50 kids though every Sunday. Our middle school squad has 40 kids on it, and we have 36 in our room at the high school level."

Three Rivers, ranked No. 2 a majority of this season by MichiganGrappler.com, will make its third appearance at the Team Finals. The Wildcats previously advanced in Division 3 in 2001 before returning to the season’s final weekend a year ago.

In addition to winning a second-straight Wolverine Conference title after a 23-year drought, Three Rivers also took first at the Hart Invitational, Freeland Invitational, Hastings Tournament, Stevensville Lakeshore Duals, Three Rivers Super Dual and Portage Central Invite. 

"You have to start from the ground up to be successful at the high school level and retain those kids,” Smith said. “You need to make sure they're having fun. There's more to it than just coaching them. Individually, you need to know how they're doing in school. Academics is more important than athletics. You have to keep them involved because wrestling teaches many life lessons."

Three Rivers' upperclassmen are the core group Smith initially began working with when he started the youth program. Now it’s paying off at the varsity level.

"Our team has faced a lot of adversity in the offseason. We have a ton of leadership in our practice room and we've picked right up where we left off last season,” Smith said. “This group is pretty special. It's amazing the way they've trained and been able to stay together all season.”

Tragedy struck the Three Rivers' program twice last summer when coaches Brandon Morrill and Art Keller both died within a month of one other.

Morrill, one of Smith's youth and middle school coaches for several years, died from injuries sustained in an auto accident. Keller, a varsity assistant the past three years and a former youth and middle school coach as well, passed away a few days after suffering a brain aneurysm.

Both Morrill and Keller have sons, sophomore Brody Morrill and senior Ayden Keller, who are an integral part of Three Rivers' wrestling program and its success. The team, coaching staff, school and community have rallied around and supported those two as well as their teammates.

"Art and Brandon were both a big part of our program, and not having them here with us to celebrate after winning Regionals last week was very difficult. We all know they are still there in the corner cheering us on, and they are always on our minds in everything we do,”  Smith said. “It's tough not having those guys right there because all these kids relate to each of their coaches differently

Three Rivers saw seven of its 12 individual qualifiers at Saturday's Gull Lake Regional advance to the Individual Finals set for Feb. 28 and March 1 at Ford Field.

The Wildcats' Finals qualifiers include Regional runners-up Braylon Faile at 165 pounds and Louie Smith (175), third-place finishers Jaxon Smith (215), Jak Monroe (126), Gaven Babcock (132) and Ayden Keller (144); and sophomore Ethan Moreland (138), who took fourth in his bracket.

Three Rivers' starting lineup includes senior tri-captains Sam Reynolds (285), Keller and Landon Moreland (150). All three have 100-plus career victories, and two of the three have won more than 150 matches. Reynolds, who plans to play college football and become a teacher and coach, is 38-11, while Smith, a junior, sports a 42-6 mark.

While No. 1-seeded Lowell will be favored to win its 12^th-consecutive Finals title, Reynolds believes this is the year that streak could be broken.

"The sky is the limit for us. The word around the state is that we are the team to beat,”  Reynolds said. “In the past Three Rivers hasn't been well-known at the state  level, but a lot of our guys have wrestled around the state and some of us around the country. We still have a lot to accomplish. Our guys aren't going to go home after day one like we did last year. We went to the Grappler Golden Tournament the first weekend in Lowell, and that was a reality check. We faced some of the best wrestlers and dynasty programs in the state. We saw some things we needed to change and implemented it into our practices.

Joey Anglemyer played the unsung hero in Three Rivers' 42-21 Regional Finals win over Plainwell. Anglemyer, a varsity returner, trailed his Plainwell opponent 11-5 after two periods at 190 pounds. But with 57 seconds left in the third period, Anglemyer got a pin to give Three Rivers a 36-21 lead that clinched the match with one bout left.

Anglemyer, along with teammate Josiah Deare, have filled in for injured starter Jackson Palmer and done a phenomenal job, according to Three Rivers' head coach.

Louie Smith, another junior, is 41-6, and Faile is 42-7. Other standouts in the middle weights include Landon Moreland, a four-time Regional qualifier; Keller (46-6), Ethan Moreland (43-8) and Babcock (38-10).

"We fell a little short at state last year and it left a bitter taste in our mouth. It's exciting because we've been able to stay together as a group and do some special things against a few of the better teams in Michigan. We're taking it one match at a time, but our goal is to get to the Finals this time," said Landon Moreland, who plans to continue his wrestling career next year at Southwestern Michigan College, major in criminal justice and eventually become a Michigan State Police trooper. "I'm just interested in giving back to the community and being able to reach out and help people who are in need," he said. 

Three Rivers' top entries in the lower weights include Monroe (44-6), Brody Morrill (113 and 120, 32-13), freshman Kyler Snellenbarger (113 and 120, 21-16) and freshman Mason Santos (106).

Jaxon Smith, Monroe and Louie Smith all have more than 100 career wins. Louie Smith has also recorded 100 career pins with one year remaining.

"We have the best team chemistry I've ever had since I've been here at Three Rivers. These guys hold one another accountable and have a lot in common outside of the practice room,” Jeff Smith said. “The heart and effort they show is at the highest level.”

Smith stated the keys to the Wildcats' goal of reaching Saturday’s Finals will be blocking out all distractions and worrying about only the factors the Wildcats can control.

Despite all of his team's accomplishments this season, Three Rivers' head coach is most proud of the Wildcats' dedication to its work in the classroom. The program has received several team and individual academic all-state awards the past few seasons.

Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Three Rivers senior 144-pound wrestler Ayden Keller gets in position for a takedown of Plainwell's Marco Vegan during last week’s Division 2 Team Regional Final. (Middle) Wrestler Landon Moreland poses for a photo with Wildcats' head coach Jeff Smith, far left, and his parents Torri and J.J. Moreland following a regular-season match at Sturgis this season. (Below) The Three Rivers varsity wrestling team poses for a team photo before the start of the 2024-25 season. (Keller and Moreland photos by Brandon Watson/Sturgis Journal. Team photo by Wethington Photo.)