Waukon boys wrestling team claims third-place finish at Denver Tournament; Crestwood bout brings NEIC dual season to a close

The Waukon boys wrestling team ended up competing in just one event this past week but within that event the Indians wrestled three duals. After a Thursday, January 19 home double-dual with Crestwood and St. Ansgar was canceled due to winter weather, the mat Tribe took part in the Denver Duals Tournament Saturday, January 21, winning two of the three duals wrestled by the Indians and being awarded a forfeit in their final placewinning dual to claim a third-place team finish in the eight-team field.

The three duals wrestled by the Tribe at the tournament all came in the initial pool round of competition, with the Indians matched up against fellow Northeast Iowa Conference mat squad Crestwood, the host Denver Cyclones and Dyersville Beckman in Pool A of the Tournament. Pool B featured New Hampton/Turkey Valley, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura, North Fayette Valley and Fennimore, WI.

The Indians opened the tournament with a 54-16 loss to Crestwood, with that final meet result also counting as the Northeast Iowa Conference dual that had been canceled two days earlier. The mat Tribe, however, bounced back with consecutive wins in its final two pool bouts, defeating Denver in the final match of that dual, 39-35, and also getting the better of Beckman by a final count of 48-24 to finish as the second-place team in Pool A behind undefeated Crestwood.

With teams from each pool then being matched up with the corresponding placewinner from the other pool, the Indians were slated to wrestle New Hampton/Turkey Valley in the third/fourth-place dual of the final placewinning round of competition. New Hampton/Turkey Valley had also finished second in Pool B with a 2-1 record on the day, behind undefeated Fennimore, WI, falling to that Wisconsin school, 51-21, after having defeated Garner-Hayfield/Ventura by a 63-12 count and also downing North Fayette Valley, 39-33.

New Hampton/Turkey Valley opted not to wrestle against the Indians in that third/fourth place dual, giving the Indians their claim to third place at the tournament. Fennimore, WI defeated Crestwood in the first/second place dual by a score of 47-19, Denver topped North Fayette Valley, 39-36, in the fifth/sixth place dual, and Garner-Hayfield/Ventura defeated Dyersville Beckman, 37-28, in the seventh/eighth place dual.

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