DOWAGIAC — For the second straight year, the Dowagiac wrestling team opens the state finals against defending state champion Dundee.

The Chieftains received the No. 8 seed last Sunday, while the 11-time state champion Vikings are the top seed once again.

Dundee has been a dominant force in Division 3 wrestling for more than three decades. The Vikings have made 26 quarterfinal appearances, 23 trips to the semifinals and won 11 state championships, including three of the last four.

Dundee defeated Dowagiac 60-12 in the quarterfinals at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo last year.

Vikings coach Tim Roberts has been at the helm of the program for 21 years and has compiled a 535-75-1 overall record. Dundee is 20-1 this season, which includes a 7-0 record in the Lenawee County Athletic Association, where it was the conference champion. He has coached the Vikings to seven of their 11 titles.

“It is going to take a lot,” said Dowagiac coach Colin Burandt about what it is going to take to get past Dundee. “We were hoping for a seventh through a fifth seed. It all depends on the committee, but I think we will be alright. Big-time teams show up in big-time matches. We have been doubted all year. We dropped out of the rankings a couple of weeks ago. Michigan Grappler had us losing to South Haven. We showed up, and we wrestled. We showed how we wrestled all year.”

Dundee lists just four seniors on its roster, including Christian Killion (36-6) and Jackson Guinn (30-8). The Vikings have six juniors, seven sophomores, and 10 freshmen on the roster.

Other top wrestlers are freshman Braeden Davis (30-4), freshman Kaden Chinavare (26-8), freshman Aiden Davis (34-5), junior Austin Fietz (33-6), sophomore Casey Swinderski (31-1), junior Tyler Swinderski (39-9), junior Stoney Buell (37-3) and sophomore Dennis Root (33-5).

Dundee qualified 13 wrestlers for the individual state finals at Ford Field next weekend, including 10 regional champions.

Dowagiac has appeared in nine state quarterfinals, including three straight under Burandt, who is in his fifth season.

The Chieftains’ first appearance in the Class B quarterfinals came in 1989. Dowagiac defeated Sparta 39-26. The Chieftains would lose to eventual state runner-up Caro 30-24.

Dowagiac would follow that up with four straight trips to the quarterfinals from 1997 to 2000.

Now in Division 2, Dowagiac defeated Forest Hills Eastern 35-32 before falling to state runner-up Mt. Pleasant 31-24 in 1997.

The following year, the Chieftains would advance to the championship match. Dowagiac defeated Thornapple-Kellogg 33-30 in the quarterfinals before upsetting Lowell 29-28 in the semifinals. The Chieftains came up one win short of a state championship after falling to West Branch Ogemaw Heights 36-20.

In 1999, Dowagiac, now in Division 3, defeated Birch Run in the quarterfinals 37-29, but lost to Williamston 37-32. The following year, the Chieftains lost to Richmond in the quarterfinals 29-26.

Dowagiac would not return to the state finals until four years later. In 2004, the Chieftains lost to Mason County Central 37-27 in the Division 3 quarterfinals.

Burandt and Dowagiac snapped a 14-year absence from the state finals in 2018. The Chieftains lost to Remus Chippewa Hills 47-21.

Dowagiac comes into the quarterfinals with a 23-9 overall record, including a 7-2 mark in the Wolverine Conference. The Chieftains finished second in the final league standings.

Dowagiac has seven seniors on its roster, including Tyler Huston (27-18), Alex McIntosh (37-12), Adrian Lee (12-13), Lamberto Parades (34-11), Luke Staten (9-9), Mike Schlup (24-8) and Chris Schultz (17-12).

Three juniors, five sophomores and 10 freshmen make up the rest of the Chieftains’ roster.

Other top wrestlers include sophomore Jordan Simpson (41-5), junior Seth Ward (24-18) and junior Deny White (27-17).

Burandt has posted a 99-45 records in his five years leading the Dowagiac wrestling programs. Since going 27-16 his first two seasons, the Chieftains are 72-29 the last three years.