:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/AIAQMRG3IVH5HJTSMWGKX53IJI.jpg)
The Nodaway Valley/OM boys wrestlers didn’t have to travel far to get a good tournament Saturday, Jan. 18. A short jaunt to Creston gave the Wolverines a look at perennial powerhouse programs such as Mount Vernon, Algona and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in an 11-team tournament.
Of the 11, eight had 10 or more wrestlers at the event. The Wolverines took nine to the meet and tied for seventh place with North Polk with 105 points. The Wolverines were one of three Pride of Iowa Conference schools there as Lenox placed ninth and Martensdale-St. Marys 11th.
Mount Vernon won the team title with 199 points followed by Algona with 194 and EBF third with 182.
The Wolverines had one champion and a pair of runners-up at the tournament. All but one Wolverine placed at the tournament.
Junior 215-pounder Ashton Honnold improved to 32-0 with a first place finish at his weight class. Honnold won three matches at the tournament, all by pin. All three of his foes had 10 or more wins with his last two having 16 wins each. Honnold won by pin in 2:58 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he pinned Gavin Goche from Algona in 1:45. In the finals, he pinned Kael Rinker from Mount Vernon in 1:56.
The Wolverines had two others reach the finals of their respective weight classes. Ty Strode placed second and collected his 30th win in the 120-pound weight class. Strode pinned Laine Brown from Lenox in 33 seconds in the first round and won by tech fall, 19-3 in 4:14 in the quarterfinals over a 20-win Kylen Parsons from Creston. In the semifinals, Strode won a 17-7 major decision over Jake Haugse from Mount Vernon, who was 24-4. In the finals, Strode fell to Michell Schmauss from Crestwood to place second.
At 285, Trent Warner suffered his first loss of the season and is 33-1. Warner pinned Frank Martin from Creston in 1:18 in the first round, Chance Studer from Algona in 2:40 in the quarterfinals, and Maverick Kalb from Treynor in 1:29 in the semifinals. In the finals, Warner had to withdraw due to injury in his match against Ethan Wood from Mount Vernon who was 30-0 and highly ranked in Class 2A.
Caleb Christensen improved to 27-7 with three wins in five matches. Christensen lost in the quarterfinals and had to work back through the consolation rounds. In the first round, he pinned Jayden Arnold from Lenox in 3:02 and in the second round he pinned Noel Ornelas-Perez from Creston in 1:21. In the consolation semifinals, Christensen lost to 16-win Jaxon Anderson from Mount Vernon. He came back and place fifth, winning by disqualification.
The Wolverines had a pair of sixth and a pair of eighth place finishers. Seniors Kasen Hansen was sixth at 144 and Eli Harris was sixth at 150.
Hansen improved to 24-13 and won one match in the consolation round with an 8-4 decision over 27-win Colby Brammer from Creston. He lost to North Polk’s Augustin Schaffer in the fifth place match.
Harris improved to 24-11 with a win in the consolation round with a pin over Jose Lievano from Crestwood. He lost to 17-win Evan Kelsick from North Polk in the fifth place match.
Jett Christsensen (132) and Matthew Nelson (157) both finished eighth.
Christensen had two byes in the weight class and did not win a match. He lost to 13-win CJ Martin from Mount Vernon in the seventh place match. He was 19-16 heading into this week.
Nelson improved to 18-14 with a win at the tournament by tech fall, 16-0 in 3:07 in the first round. He lost in the seventh place match to Caleb Keegan from Mount Vernon. Josh Nelson wrestled in a pair of matches and did not place at 106.
The Wolverines will be in action once this week with the ever-tough John J. Harris Invitational at Corning, held Friday and Saturday. Also upcoming is a home triangular with Southeast Warren and Southwest Valley Thursday, Jan. 30, which will be the Wolverines' senior night. They will also send JV wrestlers to a tournament at Harlan Monday, Jan. 27.