Casey Swiderski’s pin gave Dundee a 13-3 jumpstart in last year’s Division 3 team state championship match. Stoney Buell later clinched a third straight title for the Vikings with a major decision, giving them an insurmountable 35-3 advantage over Richmond with five weight classes remaining.

Dundee and Richmond also tangled in the championship match a year earlier during which Swiderski’s technical fall and Buell’s major decision were crucial in a slim 26-25 win.

They both won individual state titles after each team championship as well. Last month, the Vikings duo captured their weight classes at the Grappler Fall Classic.

Yes, Swiderski and Buell have celebrated plenty the past two seasons and more celebrations are sure to follow when their final year as high school teammates begins next month. 

However, they could continue celebrating in the same uniforms beyond the next season.

Buell, ranked 15th nationally at 160 pounds and No. 74 on the Class of 2021 Big Board, committed to Purdue in August.

Swiderski, No. 7 at 132 pounds and No. 72 on the Class of 2022 Big Board, recently released his final five college choices via Twitter and Purdue is among them. Others are Michigan, Iowa State, North Dakota State, and Michigan State. Davison's Alex Facundo (No. 1, 170) and Caden Horwath (No. 6, 113) and Dundee's Braeden Davis (No. 6, 106) are the only Michigan wrestlers ranked higher than Swiderski in any weight class.

Swiderski, who has never lost to a Michigan wrestler in high school competition, went 46-2 as a freshman, winning a 103-pound state title. Last season, he finished with a 39-1 mark and the 135-pound state championship.

Swiderski raised his recruiting profile with a series of significant wins the past three months.

Most head-turning was a 6-4 decision over Draka Ayala, an Iowa commit and two-time Iowa State champion, at the Midwest Ironman Duals. Ayala is seventh in the current pound-for-pound national rankings and No. 1 at 126 pounds.

At the recent Super 32 challenge, Swiderski decisioned No. 8 Tom Crook, a two-time Florida state champion, 8-3. He also knocked off No. 15 Nathan Lucier (Pennsylvania) by a 10-3 count and beat 16th-ranked Ty Whalen of New Jersey, 6-3.

At the Grappler Fall Classic, Swiderski edged No. 19 Dy'Vaire Van Dyke (Ohio), 5-3, and decisioned two-time Florida state champion Danny Nini, 4-2.

Swiderski will likely wrestle at 133 or 141 pounds in college and Purdue should have a vacancy at 141 by the time he is a freshman in the fall of 2022. Current starter Parker Filius, an NCAA qualifier last season, is a junior.

At 133 pounds for the Boilermakers is sophomore Travis-Ford Melton, an Illinois state champion who finished 14-14 last season.

Michigan’s 133-pound spot in the lineup appears occupied for at least the next five seasons. Starter Stevan Micic, who will wrestle for Serbia in the 2021 Olympics, is entering his final season. He has finished in the top four at the NCAA Tournament three times.

The Wolverines might not actually lose much when his projected replacement Dylan Ragusin, steps in. Ragusin, a true freshman and two-time Illinios state champion, edged former NCAA champion Darian Cruz (Lehigh), 7-6, and beat former All-American Sean Russell (Edinboro) by technical fall (16-5) at the recent Senior Nationals.

Junior Drew Mattin, a two-time NCAA qualifier, is at 141 for the Wolverines.

Iowa State will have some major shoes to fill at 141 come next season. Senior Ian Parker, a two-time Michigan state champion at St. Johns, is the current starter. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier and 2020 Big 12 champion.

There are currently five freshman and sophomores on the roster who will be vying to replace Parker.

At 133 for the Cyclones is junior NCAA qualifier Austin Gomez.

At North Dakota State, junior Sawyer Degen starts at 133. At 141, is sophomore NCAA qualifier Dylan Droegemueller.

At Michigan State, 141-pound starter Matt Santos begins his final year of eligibility. His replacement will likely be two-time Michigan state champion Eddie Homrock (Brighton), now a true freshman.

The Spartans' 133-pound position appears set for the next four years with redshirt freshman Jordan Hamdan, a four-time Michigan state champion for Hudson, stepping in.

Swiderski will be Michigan's second Class of 2022 Division 1 commit, joining Stevensville Lakeshore's Micah Hanau (Army).

Mark Spezia is a freelance writer based in Lapeer, Michigan. He has written for ESPNW, Flohockey, Flint, Michigan-based My City Magazine, the Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit Magazine and Troy, Michigan-based Oakland Press. He previously worked for the Flint Journal, Lapeer (Michigan) County Press and Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, Michigan.