Panther wrestlers cap busy week in Clear Lake

CLEAR LAKE – Creston/O-M capped off a long week of travel with the Clear Lake Invitational, taveling three hours north for a fourth place finish.

Eleven wrestlers placed in the top-6 for the Panthers, giving them 154 points. Fort Dodge was the clear winner, scoring 296 points to win by over 100 points.

With 10 1/2 points separating the Panthers’ fourth-place from second place Charles City, head coach Cody Downing feels it was a good showing to cap the week after making trips earlier in the week to North Polk and St. Albert.

“We had a decent showing, I thought, Saturday,” said Downing. “Two long road trips (during the week) and then the weekend road trip, it was a long week. All things considered, I thought we handled it pretty well.”

Jackson Kinsella (182) continued his hot start to the season, taking first over Forest City’s Reese Moore by a 15-6 majority decision.

At 182, Sam Chapman, who picked up his 100th career victory in the tournament, took second to Fort Dodge’s Levi Egli, going the distance in the final, but falling in a 3-0 decision. Andy Weis (220) picked up a third-place finish by going to sudden victory over Sawyer Springer of Fort Dodge, winning 5-3.

Of matches where wrestlers placed, Downing said Trey Chesnut had a good day out and is showing signs of improvement, along with other lightweights.

Chesnut topped Charles City’s Drew Staudt in a 7-2 decision after falling in the quarterfinals to eventual second-place finisher Brock Moore. Chesnut fell in 1:51 before working his way back to third.

“Trey Chesnut is really starting to come out for us at 120,” said Downing. “I’ve been watching him get better every match and he’s starting to really believe in what we practice in the room. It was good to see him have some wins and finish the day strong in third. All of our little guys are young and starting to really grasp what we’re doing in the room.”

Of other lightweights, Justin Parsons (106) finished sixth, Owen Henderson (113) took fifth and Beau Thompson (126) took fourth.

Downing said he was satisfied with multiple individual results against tough competition from Saturday.

“We don’t have a team to compete at that level right now,” said Downing on Fort Dodge’s team. Fort Dodge is currently ranked No. 3 in Class 3A with eight wrestlers receiving an individual ranking from The Predicament. “That’s our goal, ... but we’re not there yet. You look at second through fifth (in team results) and we’re all really close together. Really, Charles City and Emmetsburg, they’re getting votes as dual teams, ... I thought we were right there with them.”

UP NEXT – The varisty Panther wrestlers get a short break, getting back into it Thursday, but the junior varsity grapplers will be hitting the mat Monday night against a bevy of area teams.

The Panthers will hit the mat at 5 p.m. versus News Advertiser area schools Bedford/Lenox, Nodaway Valley, East Union and Mount Ayr.

Team standings – 1. Fort Dodge 296, 2. Charles City 164.5, 3. Emmetsburg 160.5, 4. Ccreston/O-M 154, 5. Forest City 153, 6. Algona 121, 7. North Butler-Clarksville 111, 8. Clear Lake 96, 9. Okoboji 74, 10. Saint Ansgar 26, 11. West Fork, Sheffield 10.

Individual results

106 – 1. Max Bishop (Fort Dodge) dec. Jacob Zabka (Algona) 11-4; 3. Nic Lowe (Emmetsburg) pinned Jacob Vais (Charles City) 2:10; 5. Robay Birri (Forest City) pinned Justin Parsons (Creston/O-M) 4:57.

113 – 1. Lane Cowell (Fort Dodge) dec. Kellen Moore (Forest City) 7-3; 3. Max Currier (Clear Lake) pinned Ryerson Boevers (Emmetsburg) 1:29; 5. Owen Henderson (Creston/O-M) pinned Nathan Brumm (Saint Ansgar) 5:08.

120 – 1. Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge) tec. fall Brock Moore (Forest City) 23-8 3:31; 3. Trey Chesnut (Creston/O-M) dec. Drew Staudt (Charles City) 7-2; 5. Tate Mayer (Saint Ansgar) dec. Klayton Adams-Blackdeer (North Butler-Clarksville) 8-2.

126 – 1. Carson Taylor (Fort Dodge) pinned Cade Hardy (North Butler-Clarksville) 1:32; 3. Hunter Abrahamson (Okoboji) pinned Beau Thompson (Creston/O-M) 4:41; 5. Reece Eakins (Algona) dec. Ethan Sesker (Forest City) 5-2.

132 – 1. Brooks Cowell (Fort Dodge) maj. dec. Bronson Forsyth (Charles City) 14-4; 3. Connor Morey (Clear Lake) dec. Blake Abrahamson (Okoboji) 9-6; 5. Sean Brennan (Emmetsburg) tec. fall Triston Barncastle (Creston/O-M) 16-1.

138 – 1. Dreyson Phillips (Fort Dodge) pinned Alec Staudt (Charles City) 3:52; 3. Kaleb Umbaugh (Forest City) pinned Noah Strantz (Okoboji) 1:15; 5. Kaden Bolton (Creston/O-M) over Ryan Brennan (Emmetsburg) by forfeit.

145 – 1. Brandon Mills (Fort Dodge) dec. Brad Wirtz (Emmetsburg) 6-0; 3. Teryn Joebgen (North Butler-Clarksville) maj. dec. Hayden Hoffmeyer (Forest City) 11-2; 5. Brandon Harris (Algona) pinned Caden Larue (Okoboji) 4:36.

152 – 1. Kody Cook (Fort Dodge) dec. Bret Hoyman (Emmetsburg) 3-1; 3. Roush Jaeger (Charles City) maj. dec. Kristian Gunderson (Forest City) 12-4; 5. Hunter Berry (Algona) pinned Lorne Isler (Saint Angar) 0:18.

160 – 1. Thomas Gansen (Clear Lake) pinned Savion Wheat (Fort Dodge) 3;50; 3. Luke McKenna (Algona) dec. Cadin Fleener (Forest City) 7-2; 5. Austin Seaton (Creston/O-M) pinned Izaac Ramirez-Woodley (Okoboji) 4:19.

170 – 1. Mason Griffin (Emmetsburg) dec. Ellitt Sinnwell (Charles City) 7-4; 3. Connor O’Tool (Clear Lake) pinned Dylan Zimmerman (Fort Dodge) 2:33; 5. Kolben Miller (North Butler-Clarksvile) pinned Hayden Green 2:57.

182 – 1. Jackson Kinsell (Creston/O-M) maj. dec. Reese Moore (Forest City) 15-6; 3. Caden Collins (Charles City) maj. dec. Matthew Wirtz (Emmsburg) 11-3; 5. Austin Lee (Fort Dodge) pinned JC Ulrich (North Butler-Clarksville) 2:12.

195 – 1. Levi Egli (Fort Dodge) dec. Sam Chapman (Creston/O-M) 3-0; 3. Jack Sindlinger (Charles City) dec. Cole Lewis (Algona) 3-2; 5. Dylan Kruckenberg (Clear Lake) maj. dec. Jon Lace II (Emmetsburg) 18-4.

220 – 1. Andrew Hamilton (Algona) pinned Jase Wiebke (North Butler-Clarksville) 0:47; 3. Andy Weis (Creston/O-M) SV-1 Sawyer Springer (Fort Dodge) 5-3; 5. Tino Tamayo (Charles City) pinned Sam Pas (Okoboji) 0:53.

285 – 1. Chet Buss (North Butler-Clarksville) dec. Jordan Anderson (Emmetsburg) 9-4; 3. Austin Kelso (Forest City) dec. Gavin Meints (Algona) 3-2; 5. Chase Crooks (Charles City) dec. Levi Janssen (West Fork, Sheffield) 4-1.