NV pins three teams on fan appreciation night

The Nodaway Valley Wolverines improved to 13-1 as a wrestling team in dual meets with three more wins on Thursday, Jan. 8 at home.

The three meet wins ran the current run of dual wins to 13 for the Wolverines. Two of the three wins were over Pride of Iowa Conference schools and another team that was ranked in Class 2A. The wins carried the Wolverines into their weekend tournament at Tri-Center.

Nodaway Valley’s wins came against Lenox, 54-21, Central Decatur, 42-40 and 2A No. 21 Woodward-Granger, 43-34. The dual against the Hawks avenged a dual last year where the Wolverines and Hawks tied at 42, and on criteria, NV lost.

The wrestling program held a fan appreciation night where they honored a group of supporters between the first and second duals. Head Coach Brad Honnold said that there could have been so many more standing with the 20 that were honored and he and the athletes really appreciate the support of them and the program.

“Absolutely an amazing fan base tonight. Can’t say enough about how great it was to see the stands full and hear the cheers after each win we had. It’s those that come and support these kids that we celebrate as much as we do each of their victories,” Honnold said. “Thanks to the students, community, alumni and mentors that showed up and cheered us on to a few hard fought matches and duals.”

Nodaway Valley won nine matches to four won by Lenox in that dual. NV won five of the first five weights and led 30-0, cruising to the win. The 113-pound weight class was open. The Wolverines took forfeit wins from Thomas Herrick at 120, Ty Strode at 126, Caleb Christensen at 190, Quentin Shaull at 215 and Ashton Honnold at 285. Winning by pin were Josh Nelson at 106 in 1:10, Jett Christensen at 126 in 3:58, Keyin Steeve at 138 in 59 seconds and Matthew Nelson in 1:41 at 157.

While one match against Central Decatur went the other way than expected, the Wolverines earned a win in one that was projected to go to the Cardinals, and they won the dual 42-40. A statement win by Derek Raasch at 175 was the key. Ashton Honnold’s win by forfeit at 285 gave the Wolverines the dual by two points.

Also winning matches against CD were Josh Nelson by pin at 106, Strode by pin at 132, Steeve by forfeit at 138, Nelson by pin at 157 and Caleb Christensen by pin at 190.The Wolverines trailed 16-6 after four matches, 28-18 after eight matches and 34-24 after 10 matches. Nodaway Valley won three of the final four matches with an 18-6 run.

Nodaway Valley never trailed in its dual with Woodward-Granger. Each team got a forfeit win to start the dual 6-6, then the Wolverines got four straight pins from Herrick, Jett Christiansen, Strode and Steeve to put the score at 30-6 through six weights. The Hawks won the next two matches to set the score at 30-16 after a pin and major decision. The teams split the last six matches. Wins for NV came from a forfeit win by Matthew Nelson at 157, a decision win by Caleb Christensen at 190 and a major decision win by Ashton Honnold at 285.

Nodaway Valley will be back in dual meet action this Tuesday at home when Clarke, Van Meter, and Earlham are in town. The Wolverines will also have dual meets on January 22 and 29 before the regional dual team tournament.

“I’m always direct and hard on those kids because we know what they are capable of. Even when things didn’t seem great at times, every kid showed up and reminded me that although many don’t agree, the tough love and honesty approach is helping us grow together as coaches and wrestlers,” Honnold said. “We are finding ways to get the W and still have a lot of things we can improve on. When the entire group puts it together at once it will be super scary for any opponent.”