NILES — As captains were called into the middle of the mat to shake hands before the SMAC West wrestling meet, Portage Central’s four wrestlers were met with many hands staring back at them.

The hands were that of the Vikings’ seniors, who earlier in the night had stood alongside their parents, sharing their favorite wrestling memories and plans for the future with the crowd. With seniors on display, Niles defeated Portage Central 75-3 Wednesday night.

Among them was senior Caiden Smith, who started wrestling for Niles in the eighth grade. He was encouraged by his friends, who had started in seventh.

“In eighth grade, I did okay,” he said. “Then, in freshman year, I stepped it up. My conditioning got better, and I just loved it.”

Later in the night, Smith, wrestling at 285, pinned his Portage Central opponent in just 49 seconds, the fastest of the night for the Vikings.

“This was very important for me. It’s my last home meet here,” Smith said. “It was very important for me, my family and all my friends, who were able to make it here tonight.”

Smith described the group of seniors as a “true family.”

Going into his last wrestling match on home territory, he kept his tactics routine.

“I was just trying my hardest to get a pin as fast as I could,” Smith said. “Usually, that’s what I try to do.”

After the meet, head coach Todd Hesson said Smith’s performance at heavyweight stood out.

Also, for Niles, senior Blake Mann, wrestling at 125, got a pin in 1:29. Senior Kade Wagley wrestling at 152, pinned his Portage Central opponent in 1:24.

Wrestling at 189, senior Darien Sosa pinned his opponent within 53 seconds.

At 103 pounds, Mikey Robles pinned his opponent at 1:22. Senior Jamison Zimmerman, in the 112-weight class, beat his opponent 10-3. Lastly, James Pegan had a second-period pin within 33 seconds.

Portage Central ended up forfeiting seven weight classes, making it difficult for Niles to sustain consistent momentum, Hesson said.

Before the meet, Hesson talked to some of the seniors’ parents. Even after 13 years of coaching at Niles, every senior group remains special, and he ends up missing every group once the graduate, he said.

“Each group of seniors when they leave, there is a little bit of you that leaves with them,” Hessen said. “It’s a happy night, but it’s also a sad night.”

Hesson said some of the seniors had been around since they were freshmen, while others joined the program at different times.

“A kid like Jamison has been in our program for six or seven years, so you kind of get used to them,” Hesson said.

Nearing the beginning of February, Hesson said his team is not exactly where they need to be.

“We are heading in that direction, but we are not there yet,” he said. “We are getting kids in the right weight classes. We host team districts, so that will help give us some momentum at home.”

The team is also continuing to work on the fundamentals of wrestling.

“That’s the biggest thing I see some mistakes in,” Hesson said. “Some of them should know better, and others are still learning.”