Wrestlers tie for 5th in NEIC duals, fall to 6th at league tourney

Waukon's grapplers rounded out their Northeast Iowa Conference schedule for the year this past week. Tuesday, Jan. 25, the Indians faced Crestwood in their final league dual of the winter. The host Cadets scored a 48-22 win. Saturday, Jan. 29, Charles City hosted the conference tournament. As a squad, Waukon finished sixth and claimed one runner-up champion.
The Tribe ended the NEIC season with a 2-4 mark to finish tied for fifth. Overall, the Indians are 7-6.

at Crestwood...
Tuesday, Jan. 25, the Tribe traveled to Crestwood for its final NEIC dual of the year. The league season ended on a less than ideal note for the Indians, who suffered a 48-22 loss.
After competing strongly in their recent duals, the Indians' effort against the Cadets came up short. "We came out flat," said coach Greg Adams. "Cresco came out to wrestle each and every match. As a team, our intensity level dropped. But we did have some good matches."
Waukon's first good match came at 189 pounds as Stephen Swart was welcomed back to the lineup after an illness. The junior pinned Ben Freidoff in 3:55 to tie the score at 6-6.
Crestwood rattled off seven straight wins to take a 39-6 lead. The Tribe had to wait until the 135-pound bout to tally its next win. Junior Ryan Berns also won by fall, needing 2:38 to take care of Levi Ledbetter.
The junior duo of Mason Berns and Derek Wicks scored Waukon's remaining wins. Mason Berns came out on top of an 8-0 major decision at 145 and Wicks pinned Jason Cenek in 2:31 during the 160-pound match.
"Mason and Derek looked good in their wins," said Adams. "Mason is beginning to establish himself as one of the top wrestlers at his weight in our conference and sectional. Derek has really opened up his offense this year and it shows. He's winning a lot of matches."
Although he suffered a loss, Adams pointed out the effort of sophomore heavyweight Sean Rea. Rea lost a 12-4 major decision to fourth-rated Adam Lueschow. "Sean wrestled a tough match against Lueschow. He had Lueschow on his back and Sean was right in the match."
Although the Indians were happy to welcome Swart, junior Nathan Jones, and freshman Matt McMillan back from injuries and illness, the lineup was still not completely in order. The absence of sophomore Matt Tobin at 171 resulted in a trio of Indians wrestling in new positions. Freshman Joe Hilleshiem moved to 171, Wicks jumped to 160, and Jones leapt two weight brackets to wrestle 152.
"It was nice to have Stephen, Nathan, and Matt back in the lineup, but we still had to mix it up a little," the coach added.
As a team, the Cresco dual showed that control is a vital part of victory. "I didn't think that we were as disciplined as we have been. We tried some risky moves in situations where they weren't necessary. We need to focus on the basics. This is a good reminder that we have to wrestle for six minutes and win before we pin."
Complete varsity results against Crestwood are as follows:
171 - Freshman Joe Hilleshiem was pinned by Luke Stika. (0-6)
189 - Junior Stephen Swart pinned Ben Freidoff in 3:55. (6-6)
215 - Junior Kale McCormick lost a 15-4 major decision to Kyle Slifka. (6-10)
275 - Sophomore Sean Rea lost a 12-4 major decision to fourth-ranked Adam Lueschow. (6-14)
103 - Crestwood received a forfeit. (6-20)
112 - Freshman Nick Howe was pinned by Tannor Burke. (6-26)
119 - Junior Andrew Schulte lost a 7-3 decision to Jonny Roberts. (6-29)
125 - Freshman Matt McMillan was pinned by Brady Schmauss. (6-35)
130 - Sophomore Lucas Jones lost an 11-1 major decision to David Reicks. (6-39)
135 - Junior Ryan Berns pinned Levi Ledbetter in 2:38. (12-39)
140 - Freshman Frank Weymiller lost a 4-1 decision to Sam Lepa. (12-42)
145 - Junior Mason Berns won an 8-0 major decision over Trevor Thomas. (16-42)
152 - Junior Nathan Jones was pinned by Mitch Kreiner. (16-48)
160 - Junior Derek Wicks pinned Jason Cenek in 2:31. (22-48)

Junior varsity...
JV dual action ended with a lopsided, 57-13 Cadet win.
Mike Allison (130) and Jimmy Larson (145) scored the Indians' lone wins, although David Burrett also received a forfeit at 189.
Junior varsity dual results against Crestwood are as follows:
171 - Crestwood received a forfeit. (0-6)
189 - David Burrett received a forfeit. (6-6)
215 - Tony Drew lost a 9-6 decision to Jeremy Henderson. (6-9)
275 - Logan Doeppke was pinned by Philip Smith. (6-15)
103 - No match.
112 - Crestwood received a forfeit. (6-21)
119 - Crestwood received a forfeit. (6-27)
125 - Derek Drew lost by 15-0 technical fall to Casey Bauer. (6-33)
130 - Mike Allison won a 6-4 decision over Karl Neubauer. (9-33)
135 - Danny Heffern was pinned by Taylor Walter. (9-39)
140 - Crestwood received a forfeit. (9-45)
145 - Jimmy Larson won a 25-13 major decision over Jake Thomas. (13-45)
152 - Crestwood received a forfeit. (13-51)
160 - Crestwood received a forfeit. (13-57)

Exhibition junior varsity match results are as follows:
125 - Derek Drew was pinned by Jake Miller.
130 - Allison pinned Tommy Feldman.
140 - Nick Brink was pinned by Derek Johnson.
145 - Larson was pinned by Shane Hruska.
171 - Nick Troendle was pinned by Paul Soblick.

NEIC Tournament..
Saturday, Jan. 28, Charles City hosted this winter's NEIC tournament. Waverly-Shell Rock and New Hampton, both ranked high in the team standings, dominated the event. Waukon finished sixth with 102.5 points. Swart was team's highest placewinner, taking runner-up honors at 189 pounds.

TEAM RESULTS
Waverly-Shell Rock 241, New Hampton 219, Crestwood 155, Decorah 153, Charles City 140.5, WAUKON 102.5, Oelwein 24.

Adams pointed out that the league tournament was the Indians' toughest weekend event this year. "Some brackets only had five or six wrestlers, but the finals and third place matches were still very tough," he said.
Twenty-one individually ranked wrestled dotted the field. Waverly-Shell Rock, the top-rated team in Class 3A, and 2A's No. 4 squad New Hampton each boasted several ranked contenders. "There was good wrestling all day long," the coach added.
Swart's bid for the 189-pound championship was the Indians' best finish of the day. The junior came up short in the finals to Waverly's Romeo Djoumessi, getting pinned by the second-rated senior.
"Stephen was our only finalist. He's established himself, I think, as a one or two seed for sectionals. He seems to be at full strength after missing some action due to illness," Adams pointed out.
Waukon managed a trio of third place efforts. Junior Andrew Schulte (119), Ryan Berns (135), and Mason Berns (145) each posted bronze efforts at the league tournament.
"Andrew looks to be a wrestler that could make it through sectionals. He can beat both the wrestlers that finished in front of him, it's just a matter of putting the match together when it counts," Adams stated.
Ryan Berns' finish could warrant a No. 2 or 3 seed at sectionals and Mason Berns is setting himself up nicely for good position in the postseason.
"The 145 bracket was very tough. There were five guys that have beaten each other before and we had to wade through all that for seedings. 145 is full of state caliber wrestlers. I believe Mason can be right in the mix with any of them," the coach pointed out. Berns' semifinal with New Hampton's Jaydon Mitchell was, in Adams' eyes, the true final for the division.
Wicks (152) and sophomore Lucas Jones (130) were fourth place finishers for the Indians.
Jones displayed improvement since the Tuesday night dual with Crestwood. "Luke had a really good day. Going back to our meet with Cresco, we were really undisciplined, but Luke fixed that. He changed his style and ended up beating a quality wrestler (David Reicks) that had beat him a few nights before. I think that's the best match I've seen him wrestle," Adams remarked.
Wicks, competing in a respectable 152-pound bracket, was only a few points from a better finish. "Derek lost a couple of close matches, but they came to a quality wrestler in Kyle Benning (of Waverly)."
Nathan Jones and McCormick garnered fifth place finishes at 140 and 215, respectively.
"Nathan was able to finish on a win and that's always a good thing. I think he's right in the mix, too, it's just a matter of putting together that total match," the coach pointed out.
McCormick wrestled well in a loaded weight class, too. "Kale wrestled well against a very tough division. 215 has really established itself as a quality division in our area."
The sophomore duo of Matt Tobin (171) and Sean Rea (275) captured Waukon's sixth place finishes.
Complete varsity results (including conference champions) are as follows:
103 - Open. (1st: Class 3A second-rated Mark Ballweg, WSR)
112 - Open. (3A eighth-rated Mike Mille, WSR)
119 - Schulte won a 20-6 major decision over Andrew Klotzbach (Dec), lost a 5-2 decision to Russell Evans (NH), won a 16-5 major decision over Bradley Westendorf (Oel), and pinned Klotzbach in :46 to finish third. (1st: Evans, NH)
125 - Open. (1st: 2A second-ranked Brady Schmauss, Cre)
130 - Lucas Jones was pinned by 2A No. 7 Casey Mai (NH) in :38, won a 6-4 decision over David Reicks (Cre), and lost an 11-2 major decision to Khyle Cox (WSR) to finish fourth. (1st: Mai, NH)
135 - Ryan Berns was pinned by Paul Schuchhardt (NH), pinned Nate Anderson (Dec) in :45, and pinned Levi Ledbetter (Cre) in 2:58 to finish third. (1st: 3A No. 3 Clint Whitcome, WSR)
140 - Nathan Jones was pinned by Leo McConnell (Dec), pinned Sam Lepa (Cre) in 2:38, was pinned by Jesse Cero (CC), and pinned Brad Dennis (Oel) in 1:50 to finish fifth. (1st: 3A No. 1 Matt Ballweg, WSR)
145 - Mason Berns lost a 7-5 decision to Jaydon Mitchell (NH), pinned Andrew Kapell (Dec) in 2:36, and scored a 12-3 major decision over Trevor Thomas (Cre) to finish third. (1st: Mitchell, NH)
152 - Wicks lost a 7-3 decision to Kyle Benning (WSR), scored a 17-1 technical fall over Mitch Troyer (Oel), won by default over Justin Schmidt (CC), and lost a 2-0 decision to Benning to finish fourth. (1st: 2A sixth-rated Seth Utterback, NH)
160 - Open. (1st: 3A No. 9 Mark Brown, WSR)
171 - Sophomore Matt Tobin lost a 13-0 major decision to Chris Franken (WSR), lost by fall to Luke Stika (Cre), and was pinned by Adam Scheckel (Oel) to finish sixth. (1st: 3A sixth-rated Brett Schultz, Dec)
189 - Swart won a 7-4 decision over James Schilling (NH) and was pinned by Class 3A's second-rated Romeo Djoumessi (WSR) to finish as runner-up. (1st: Djoumessi, WSR)
215 - McCormick lost by 18-3 technical fall to Alex Schmidt (CC), was pinned by Eric Thompson (WSR), and pinned Marcus Roths (NH) in 1:57 to finish fifth. (1st: 2A No. 8 Kyle Slifka, Cre)
275 - Rea was pinned by Bobby Kuennen (Dec), lost a 6-1 decision to Blake Rasing (NH), and was pinned by Bruce Kebrick (CC) to finish sixth. (1st: 3A No. 10 Cody Walther, WSR)

Junior Varsity..
Friday, Jan. 28, the junior varsity grapplers traveled to Crestwood for NEIC tournament action. The Indians finished sixth as a team and crowned one individual champion.

TEAM RESULTS
New Hampton 182.5, Decorah 170.5, Crestwood 170, Waverly-Shell Rock 158, Charles City 126, WAUKON 123, Oelwein 65.

Freshman David Burrett was the top finisher at 189. "David has wrestled very well this year and has filled in for us at the varsity level, too. He's had a very good JV season and I hope that translates to wins at the varsity level," Adams mentioned.
Waukon added a pair of runner-up finishes by sophomore Tony Drew (215) and freshman Mike Allison (130). Both wrestlers have taken great strides this winter.
"Tony's had a big turnaround since last year and I attribute that to the time he's put in in the weightroom. He's gaining strength and coordination and is one of our top junior varsity wrestlers," the coach added.
"I've also been very impressed with the job Mike's been doing for us at 130. It's only his second year out for wrestling and he's very coachable. He picks up on things immediately and then uses them in matches," Adams said.
Junior varsity results from the conference meet are as follows:
103 - Open.
112 - Nick Howe pinned Laura Schrodt (CC) in 1:26 and was pinned by Kyle Bauer (Cre) to place fourth.
119 - Derek Drew was pinned by Jordan Young (Dec), pinned Sean Grennan (Oel) in 2:49, and was pinned by Young to finish fourth.
125 - Matt McMillan was pinned by Greg Miller (WSR) and was pinned by Josh Dougherty (Oel) to finish seventh.
130 - Mike Allison pinned Brad Henry (Dec) in 5:08 and was pinned by Tom Schweer (WSR) to finish as runner-up.
135 - Frank Weymiller pinned Taylor Wolter (Cre) in 2:27, lost a 9-8 decision to Matt Hatala (WSR), and won by forfeit over Gavin Wicks (Dec) to finish fifth.
140 - Nick Brink lost a 12-0 major decision to Wil Spencer (WSR), pinned Josh Roth (Oel) in :34, was pinned by Keith Schwartzhoff (Dec), and lost an 8-5 decision to Spencer to finish sixth.
145 - Jimmy Larson was pinned by John Schroyer (Dec), defeated Jacob Thomas (Cre) by a 21-15 tally, and was pinned by Schroyer to finish fourth.
152 - Open.
160 - Joe Hilleshiem won an 8-7 decision over Jason Schmidt (WSR) , was pinned by Cris Parker (CC), lost a 7-1 decision to Ryan O'Connell (Cre), and won a 6-5 decision over Schmidt to finish sixth.
171 - Open.
189 - David Burrett pinned Zach Flick (NH) in 1:42 and won a 9-3 decision over Carl Smorstad (Dec) to finish as champion.
215 - Tony Drew won a 9-1 major decision over Eric Hackman (NH), won a 10-5 decision over Lucas Kuene (Dec), and lost an 8-4 decision to Jeremy Henderson to finish as runner-up.
275 - Zack Howe was pinned by Philip Smith (Cre) and pinned Dakota Jones (CC) in :10 to finish third.

Only a pair of dates are left for the Indians before heading into the postseason. Thursday, Feb. 3, the Indians will host La Crescent in a 6:15 p.m. dual. Friday, Feb. 4, Waukon will wrestle Postville and Valley on the Pirates' home turf. Competition gets underway at 6 p.m. as the Tribe faces Valley. Waukon and Postville square off in the night's second dual with Valley and Postville battling in the night's final meet.