Creston sends 10 to district

LEON — Creston is sending 10 wrestlers to the Class 2A district tournament in Glenwood on Feb. 12, including five champions crowned Saturday in the first sectional tournament hosted by Central Decatur since 1994.

Two wrestlers from each weight class advanced to meet the top two finishers from the sectional hosted by Harlan on Saturday. Although Atlantic outscored Creston 263-238 for top scoring honors Saturday, the fifth-ranked Panthers drew the first-round bye at home in regional dual action Tuesday, meeting the winner of the 6 p.m. match between 11th-ranked Atlantic and Glenwood for the right to advance to the State Dual Tournament.

Atlantic also advanced 10 wrestlers to the district tournament, including seven sectional champs.

Taking first place in the sectional for Creston and earning the right to open against a sectional runner-up next Saturday for the Panthers were Christian Ahrens (113 pounds), Lincoln Keeler (120), Austin Evans (138), Triston Barncastle (145) and Will Bolinger (160). Bolinger was seeded third and Barncastle was seeded second.

Finishing second for Creston Saturday and moving on to the district tournament were Trey Chesnut (132), Briley Hayes (152), Kaden Street (170), Jagger Luther (195) and Quinton Fuller (285).

A total of 10 Panthers were seeded in the top two Saturday, so while it didn’t work out exactly to form as to who advanced, coach Cody Downing was pleased with the outcome.

“If you had told me going in that we’re going to get 10 qualifiers and five sectional champs, with Barncastle and Bolinger getting first in their weight classes, I’d probably said yes I’ll take it,” Downing said. “We’re in a pretty good spot, especially with some of the illness that’s been going through the team the past week.”

Missing out on advancing were second-seeded Brandon Briley at 126 pounds and a pair of third seeds that Downing had high hopes for in Justin Parsons (106) and Max Chapman (220). Austin Seaton (182) lost in the first round and placed fifth.

All three who lost in semifinal matches were beaten by wrestlers who ran up against highly-ranked opponents in the finals, so there was no opportunity to earn a wrestleback match for second place. (Finals losers automatically advance if they have previously defeated the third-place wrestler.)

Briley and Chapman rebounded to win their consolation matches. There were only three wrestlers in the 106-pound division, but all three had outstanding season records. Kaden Whipp of Clarinda (24-7) pinned Parsons (34-9) and then was pinned by Atlantic’s Aiden Smith (44-7).

“The Parsons loss was tough,” Downing said. “We were ahead and in a good position but got caught. I really think all three of those guys are capable of winning matches at state. It’s just a shame they all had to be in the same sectional.”

Top seeds Ahrens and Keeler dominated the 113 and 120 weight classes Saturday. Ahrens won by a first-period fall and a 10-0 major decision. Keeler, seeking a return trip to state, had byes all the way to the finals, where he rolled past Cruz Weaver of Atlantic, 16-4.

Cole Scamman of Shenandoah and Creston’s Briley had split earlier matches this season, and in the 126-pound semifinals Saturday Scamman came out on top, 10-8. Scamman broke an 8-8 tie by countering a takedown shot by Briley in the final seconds. Briley came back to major decision Clarke’s Ethan Domina in the consolation match for third, 12-4.

In a match with the opposite pace of Briley’s semifinal match, Chesnut advanced in the 132 semifinals with a 1-0 win over Clarinda’s Michael Mayer with a second-period escape accounting for all of the scoring. He was defeated by Atlantic’s Easton O’Brien in the finals, but held second place as Mayer won the consolation match.

Creston’s Austin Evans matched his No. 1 seed at 138 pounds by pinning Clarinda’s Leland Woodruff in the semifinals before earning a hard-fought 10-6 decision over Dante Hendrington in the finals.

Upset victory

Creston’s Barncastle had not beaten top-seeded 145-pounder Kale Downey of Clarinda, including the preceding week at the Hawkeye Ten Tournament. But, on Saturday after rolling 9-0 in the semifinals, Barncastle edged Downey 4-3 for the sectional title.

The Panther senior trailed 2-0 early but used a tilt for a nearfall in the second period to go ahead 3-2. He escaped in the third period for a 4-2 advantage, and that score stood until Downey was awarded a late stalling point.

“Triston was moving his feet and moving his hands, and when he does those things he’s a better wrestler,” Downing said.

“More hand fighting and just being a lot more offensive,” Barncastle said in explaining the turnaround against Downey. “I stayed in my attacks and rode hard in the top position.”

Downing was encouraged in how Hayes closed the gap against Atlantic’s Brian South, falling 8-4 in the finals. Hayes led 4-2 early in the second period on a reversal. Hayes had pinned Clarinda’s Tyler Raybourn in the semifinals.

“That kid (South) beat us 13-2 last time, so we gained some there,” Downing said. “That’s just like Trey Chesnut, who took it from a major decision last time to a match we had a chance in today (10-6 loss).”

Overtime drama

Bolinger, who didn’t wrestle early in the season after suffering a leg fracture in the final football game of the season at Atlantic, had a pair of dramatic overtime victories to earn the 160-pound title.

In a slow developing championship match against top-seeded Karson Downey of Clarinda, Bolinger escaped with 46 seconds left in regulation to tie the match 1-1. Neither wrestler scored in the first one-minute overtime period, so it went to two 30-second periods with each of them starting in the top position for one of them.

Bolinger rode out Downey to maintain the 1-1 tie in the first 30 seconds. He escaped for a 2-1 lead early in the second period and then countered a desperation throw attempt by Fry in the final seconds for the final 4-1 win.

“It was big when he didn’t score in the first (30-second period), because then I just had to escape,” Boinger said. “He tried throwing me when I got the last takedown. It was kind of tough, being sick all week.”

Just to reach the finals, Bolinger had to use late scoring against Clarke’s KJ Fry. Trailing 4-2 in the third period, Bolinger worked a switch with 12 seconds left for a reversal to send it into overtime at 4-4. His slide-by takedown earned the overtime victory, 6-4.

“That was a great day for Boinger after being seeded third in a tough sectional,” Downing said.

Creston’s Street won 9-5 in the semifinals at 170 and was in a close match early against Atlantic standout Kadin Stutzman before the Trojan senior earned a fall in 1:47 to improve to 48-3.

“Street looked good in the semis and he took down Stutzman early, and just got caught trying a big move,” Downing said. “I think he can grind it out with him.”

Luther battled through two close matches Saturday at 195 pounds. He secured a 4-2 victory over Clarinda’s Brayden Nothwehr in the semifinals before dropping a 6-3 decision to Atlantic’s Brenden Casey in the finals. There was no wrestleback as Nothwehr won the consolation match.

“Jagger had a chance in the finals late against Casey so that’s a good day for him, especially since he’s been one of those guys battling sickness,” Downing said.

With original heavyweight Chris Wilson undergoing knee surgery this season and Chapman winning the 220-pound position, the 205-pound Fuller ended up as the Panther heavyweight and advanced to districts on Saturday.

Fuller won a wrestleback match for second against Jarius Davis of Clarke, who had lost to champion Logan Green of Clarinda in the semifinals before Fuller was defeated by Green in the finals.

“Good for Q. What a story!” Downing said. “He started out as our third-string heavyweight and now he’s on to districts with a shot to be a state qualifier. He’s a 205-pound heavyweight battling 260-pound guys and he looked pretty good today.”

District action begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Glenwood High School. Teams in the Harlan sectional were Carroll, Glenwood, Greene County, Harlan, Red Oak and Southwest Iowa (Sidney). Carroll won the team scoring with 183.5 points, followed by Glenwood (175) and Harlan (168).

2A Sectional 3

Team scoring — 1. Atlantic/CAM 263; 2. Creston 238; 3. Clarinda 177; 4. Clarke/Murray 113; 5. Shenandoah 80; 6. Central Decatur 66.

106 — 1. Aiden Smith (Atlantic) pinned Kaden Whipp (Clarinda), 0:38. 3. Justin Parsons (Creston), bye.

113 — 1. Christian Ahrens (Creston) major dec. Josh Haas (Atlantic), 10-0. 3. Cassius Henry (Clarke) pinned Davin Holste (Shen), 2:24.

120 — 1. Lincoln Keeler (Creston) major dec. Cruz Weaver (Atlantic), 16-4. 3. Cord Hamilton (CD), bye.

126 — 1. Ethan Follman (Atlantic) pinned Cole Scamman (Shen), 2:16. 3. Brandon Briley (Creston) major dec. Ethan Domina (Clarke), 12-4.

132 — 1. Easton O’Brien (Atlantic) dec. Trey Chesnut (Creston), 10-6. 3. Michael Mayer (Clarinda) major dec. Jade Spangler (Shen), 13-2.

138 — 1. Austin Evans (Creston) dec. Dante Hedrington (Atlantic), 10-6. 3. Devin Adams (CD) pinned Leland Woodruff (Clarinda), 3:26.

145 — 1. Triston Barncastle (Creston) dec. Kale Downey (Clarinda), 4-3. 3. Tanner O’Brien (Atlantic) pinned Owen Laughlin (Shen), 3:05.

152 — 1. Brian South (Atlantic) dec. Briley Hayes (Creston), 8-4. 3. Tyler Raybourn (Clarinda) pinned Kacey Boyer (Clarke), 2:17.

160 — 1. Will Bolinger (Creston) dec. Karson Downey (Clarinda), 4-1, TB-1. 3. Owen Hoover (Atlantic) pinned KJ Fry (Clarke), 1:54.

170 — 1. Kadin Stutzman (Atlantic) pinned Kaden Street (Creston), 1:47. 3. Jayden Dickerson (Shen) pinned Dominick Polsey (Clarinda), 1:15.

182 — 1. Jarrett Armstrong (Atlantic) pinned Jase Wilmes (Clarinda), 1:29. 3. Cole Binning (Clarke) pinned Logan Dickerson (Shen), 3:08.

195 — 1. Brenden Casey (Atlantic) dec. Jagger Luther (Creston), 6-3. 3. Brayden Nothwehr (Clarinda) dec. Jesse Niebauer (CD), 8-5.

220 — 1. Tegan Carson (CD) pinned Tyler Binning (Clarke), 4:26. 3. Max Chapman (Creston) dec. Miles Mundorf (Atlantic), 5-3.

285 — 1. Logan Green (Clarinda) pinned Quinten Fuller (Creston), 3:28. 3. Jarius Davis (Clarke) pinned Nathan Keiser (Atlantic), 1:47. Wrestleback for 2nd: Fuller (Creston) pinned Davis (Clarke), 1:47.