NV/O-M grapplers second at POI

GREENFIELD — Nodaway Valley/O-M stayed in contention to win for quite some time, but Bedford/Lenox pulled away and the Wolverines placed second in the Pride of Iowa Conference Wrestling Tournament Friday night on their home mats.

Bedford/Lenox scored 209 points while the Wolverines had 176.5. Southwest Valley was third, scoring 150.5.

The last time the Wolverines finished top-2 as a team was in the 2010-11 school year.

“In the preseason [co-coach Kolby] Baier and I kind of both circled this date on the calendar. We really thought it would be a dog fight,” Nodaway Valley/O-M co-head coach Brad Honnold said. “I couldn’t ask for a better performance out of the guys. They came out, fought, wrestled hard, and even though we didn’t win that ultimate goal of getting the championship, to be runner-up, we’re pretty proud and pleased with the effort.”

Senior 132-pounder Elliot Cooney was one of two champions, the other being senior Jaxon Christensen (138). Cooney was one of three to become four-time conference tournament champs this year.

“This was one of those goals I always hoped I’d be able to accomplish,” Cooney said. “It’s been great to get some of those I’ve always been looking for. The finals match was late in the match that I got the pin. I got the points for the team to try to bump our score up so we could take first place but we settled for second tonight.”

The Wolverines had four other finalists in Zackery Gebbie (132), Jevin Christensen (145), Caelen DeVault (182) and Adam Ayase (195), who all placed second.

Ayase plays basketball but gave the hometown wrestling crowd excitement with his first round pin. He had another pin in his third-place match, but he had beaten the wrestler who placed second, so he took second.

“At the beginning of the season I was on the edge of which sport to pick, and ultimately I picked basketball,” Ayase said. “They needed me for POI so I wanted to come out and try and help the guys get the title. I’ve only been to two open mats in my life, but I think I did well.”

Kasen Hansen (113), Bradley Gebbie (120) and Trenton Warner (285) were third for NV/O-M. Colt Slocum (160) and Brandon Raasch (170) were both sixth.

“We had a lot of guys in the finals, and there’s nothing more fun than sitting in that coach’s seat [for several straight matches]. The guys came out and performed really well that last round,” Honnold said. “You get the ball rolling and things start piling on each other. I really think we’ve instilled that mindset into our kids. They’re believing right now. Wrestling’s a mental sport as much as it is a physical sport. They get into a tough match and they believe they can work through it.”