Southwestern Michigan College celebrated completion of its new wrestling facility April 8, packing the 125-capacity bleachers festooned with balloons.

Guest speaker Kayla Miracle, two-time Olympian (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) for Team USA from Culver Academy in Culver, Ind., who lives in Phoenix, Ariz., said, “A rising tide raises all boats. You guys are a rising tide for other programs and schools to follow. I’m really grateful to witness it. Go Roadrunners!”

Winner of multiple world wrestling championships and Pan American championships medals, Miracle is a four-time WCWA Women’s College National Champion at Campbellsville University in Kentucky.

“It’s a momentous day as we celebrate the start of a new era and an outstanding opportunity for current and future students,” said Chief Marketing Officer Mike O’Brien.

The entire Board of Trustees attended, including Chairman Tom Jerdon, Vice Chairman Tracy Hertsel, Secretary Beth Cripe, Treasurer Becky Moore and Trustees Dr. Elaine Foster, Skip Dyes and Todd Obren.

Wrestling returned in a big way

“Since the board voted unanimously in 2020 to revive intercollegiate athletics after a hiatus of almost 25 years, SMC Wrestling has had success nothing short of amazing,” O’Brien said.

In their first two seasons, the Roadrunners won two conference championships, finished in the top three in the district both years, qualified the maximum number of wrestlers for nationals, then finished 17^th in the country. Sophomore Caeleb Ishmael made All-American.

“In their third year,” O’Brien said, “the somehow-unranked Roadrunners remained undefeated in MCCAA Duals, three-peated the conference title, traveled to Illinois and beat three nationally-ranked teams to win the Great Lakes District over perennial powerhouse Triton College, again sent 10 wrestlers to nationals and finished 14^th in the country — three spots higher than in 2024. Sophomores Nathan Andrina and Colby Klinger were named all-Americans. Coach Todd Hesson was named by the National Wrestling Coaches of America NJCAA Coach of the Year.

“This past season the men four-peated the conference, sent 10 to nationals, held steady at 14^th nationally in Division I, minting two more All-Americans, sophomores Santana Ramon and Kaden Lapaugh.”

Coming from a converted room of office cubicles across from the theatre in the Dale A. Lyons Building, “It’s beyond time that we bring facilities up to the level of the program itself,” O’Brien said.

Athletic Director Rodell Davis recalled last May, “We were outside looking at a patch of dirt and some architectural drawings, trying to imagine this space. Here we are with a new facility rivaled by none in the area.

“This project quadrupled the space available from 2,688 square feet in Lyons to an impressive 11,195 square feet,” Davis said. “It has doubled our mat capacity, added a dedicated fitness and warm-up area, created offices for the wrestling coaches, added locker rooms for student-athletes and expanded restroom facilities, not just for wrestlers, but for everyone who visits 1^st Source Bank Fieldhouse for volleyball, basketball and other community events.”

SMC leads Michigan

“The timing for this project is perfect,” Davis said. “SMC took the lead for the whole state by committing to be the very first junior college in the MCCAA to offer it. Even though it’s a growing sport at the high school level, we were only the 30^th two-year college in the country to offer it. We  had a successful first year with 11 members on the roster. We took five to the NJCAA National Invitational in Iowa a month ago.”

Ashley Courtney’s squad finished 23^rd nationally. Freshman Alyse Koss of Delton won the first-ever national match for SMC.

Davis thanked Hesson and his assistants “for their hard work in getting the program off the ground in 2022 and for doing all of the little things every day that it takes to be the best. We appreciate you and the mentorship you provide for our students. Because all of this effort is for them.”

Room to Grow

A dedication ceremony, like Commencement, “marks both an end and a new beginning,” Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Brent Brewer said.

Brewer thanked Chief Financial Officer Michelle Kite, her Business Office colleagues, architect Tony Leininger and Steve Blackburn at Carmi Design Group in Niles and general contractors Doug and Tyler Shelton of E&L Construction.

In 2022, SMC completely remodeled the gymnasium and other parts of the Charles O. Zollar Building for the return of intercollegiate athletics.

“This Zollar expansion is the first phase of our Room to Grow capital campaign,” Brewer said. “It speaks to the whole college experience because not all learning takes place in a classroom and not all funding needs can be tied to a specific curriculum. Room to Grow will also provide better spaces for our music students,” both vocal and instrumental.

Brewer thanked Nate Zolman and his team at Zolman Tire and Randy Bettich for their support and businesses and organizations that have supported the wrestling program overall — MYWAY, MYWAY Southwest, Howell Electric and Smitty’s Heating and Air Conditioning.

Dr. Klint Pleasant, in his third day as SMC’s ninth president, congratulated student-athletes, the “front porch to the college and a walking billboard for us. You make us all proud on and off the mat. I have a sneaking suspicion this facility is, in some ways, a tip of the cap related to just how successful this program has been over the years. I want to underscore that we only exist because of you. Our mission only makes sense because of you. The mission is what ultimately attracted me to this special place — Knowledge for All and the full college experience.

“This facility is just another place to point as we demonstrate the pride we have in our campus, and to quality facilities that add to the student experience. We know the extra-curricular experience has lasting impact, just like the classroom experience. They go hand in hand and complement one another.”

O’Brien concluded by noting SMC is a regional economic engine worth $58 million to Cass County per year, over $224 million annually considering surrounding counties.

“The addition of a huge need like a dedicated wrestling facility will add significantly to that,” he said, as SMC bids to host conference and regional meets for both men and women, boosting the local economy, bolstering college visibility and responding to growing interest in girls’ teams at middle and high schools