March 28, 2024

Wolverines cap regular season of duals with two Ws

They were fresh off an announcement just a few days earlier that their program had qualified for Class 1A regional duals. The Nodaway Valley/O-M wrestling team responded to adversity like a team of their caliber likely would and beat two more teams Thursday, Jan. 26 in a triangular at Corning.

The Wolverines edged Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas 39-31 in the opening round, then Southwest Valley more comfortably, 48-30, in the third round.

NV/O-M moved their dual record to 16-2.

“There are a lot of duals that you have a lot of opens and kind of know who’s going to win or lose the dual, but these were ones we knew we needed to win certain matches,” NV/O-M co-head coach Kolby Baier said. “We lost a couple we shouldn’t have, but we also had guys step up, come out and win the ones that we needed to. We came out ahead on both of them and that’s what we wanted.”

Freshman 120-pounder Slade Gettler jump-started his team with a pin over the Warhawks’ Kael Calkoski in 3:55. He came from behind to get the job done.

“On the first one, I went out and got it going with the cradle,” Gettler said.

Following Gettler’s match, the Wolverines fell behind by losing three straight matches. Carmine Shaw pinned his man in 2:46, which picked his team back up. Aidan Kuster then won a 4-2 decision.

The Warhawks won at 170 and 182 before NV/O-M freshman Ashton Honnold and sophomore 220-pounder Charles Rudolf each recorded falls.

Rudolf was in a car accident last summer and is thankful he’s able to be on the mat this winter. His win was crucial for the Wolverines in defeating SEW/MD.

“It means a lot to be able to overcome all the struggles I had to overcome in order to be active playing sports. I had to sit out football, but I was cleared so I could wrestle,” Rudolf said. “It means a lot to me and gave me an opportunity to prove how strong I could be.”

In the Southwest Valley dual, Gettler again kicked off the meeting with a pin, followed by one from sophomore 126-pounder Eli Harris. The Wolverines fell at three straight weights in the middle of the lineup, however they got back on track at 195, when Honnold won by fall. Not long after, 285-pounder Trent Warner and 113-pounder Keyin Steeve followed suit.

“Southwest Valley was short a couple of guys, but our guys went out and went right at them,” Baier said. “When you can win matches by fall that makes a big difference in these duals. Our young guys like Slade, he started the dual off. That was a big one, and you just have to keep rolling from there.”

NV/O-M’s trip to Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center’s tournament Saturday was canceled because of inclement weather, so they immediately turned their attention to the regional duals at Logan. They were to face West Monona (Onawa) in the first round there and the winner gets Logan-Magnolia in the finals. The winner advanced to the state duals tournament.

The Wolverines were searching for a few more matches in some form after regional duals due to losing the ACGC tournament, however no announcements had been made by Monday morning.

“Regional duals have changed. When I was in high school you had to at least be second at sectionals. Now it’s off the rankings, which is a good thing. It gets the teams there that need to be there,” Baier said. “Wrestling’s a team sport but there are a lot of individual successes that can be celebrated toward the end of the year at regional duals. That’s an event that shows you that everyone makes a difference.”

In the middle round, Southwest Valley defeated SEW/MD 34-32.

Caleb Nelson

Caleb Nelson

Caleb Nelson has served as News Editor of the Adair County Free Press and Fontanelle Observer since Oct. 2017. He and his wife Kilee live in Greenfield. In Greenfield and the greater Adair County area, he values the opportunity to tell peoples' stories, enjoys playing guitar, following all levels of sports, and being a part of his local church.