Algona, EBF tie for Creston Invitational win

Creston’s annual wrestling tournament continues to attract high-caliber teams as this year featured four state-ranked dual teams. Class 2A’s Eddyville-Blakesburg Fremont (No. 1) and Algona tied for the title with 214 apiece. Class 2A’s No. 9 Mount Vernon, and Class 1A’s No. 5 Nodaway Valley and No. 7 Oakland Riverside finished fourth, third and sixth, respectively.

Creston came away with a ninth-place finish, scoring 75.5 points.

No Panthers made it to the finals, but three competed in the third-place match, all taking fourth place.

Seniors Kylen Parsons (126) and Lane Travis (138) each earned 15.5 team points while senior Gunner Martwick earned 15.

Travis (30-5) had a tough bracket at 138, falling to Owen Duffek (20-7) of Lewis Central in the semifinals. In the consolation semis, he won in a 16-1 technical fall to advance to the third-place match. There, No. 9 Kaden Kirkpatrick (29-4) of EBF won in a 21-9 major decision. Class 1A’s top-ranked Drew Anderson of Riverside won the title.

At 126, Parsons won his first match in a tech fall before being pinned by the one-seed, No. 3 Slater Thomas of EBF, in the semifinals. Parsons came back with a pin over Mount Vernon’s Camden Meyer in the consolation semis.

In the third-place match, Parsons faced No. 7 Kingston Carrigan of Riverside. Parsons earned the first points with a takedown, heading into the second period up 3-0.

Carrigan opted for bottom in the second period, escaping and earning a takedown for a 4-3 advantage. Though Parsons chose bottom in the third, he was unable to escape, and loss the bout in a 4-3 decision.

At heavyweight, Martwick came in the two-seed behind Nodaway Valley’s two-time state champion Ashton Honnold. Honnold won the bracket, remaining perfect on the season at 33-0.

Martwick was upset in the semifinals by Andrew Dix of Mount Vernon who won in 2-1 overtime after they had each only earned one point on escapes during the regular periods.

Martwick pinned North Polk’s Beckett Anderson in the consolation semis, but was pinned by Algona’s Will Limbaugh in the third-place bout.

Three Panthers competed in fifth-place matches, senior Brodrick Phelps and junior Colby Brammer both earning fifth place while junior Tom Mikkelsen placed sixth.

Five Creston wrestlers finished eighth: Colt Key (126), Tyler Travis (132), Nate Bentley (165), Michael Wofford (175), Hayden Levine (190) and Drake Wilson (285).

Wrestlers who competed and did not place were Corbin Jones (132), Zadek Engdahl (138), Jose Avila (157), Will Schaefer (157) and Riggins Hanson (190).

WINNERS:

106: Keller Little (EBF)

113: Charlie Boelman (North Polk)

120: Zander Manz (LC)

126: Weston Porter (LC)

132: Gage Spurgeon (EBF)

138: Drew Anderson (Riverside, Oakland)

144: Landen Davis (EBF)

150: Cael Cotter (North Polk)

157: Mikey Ryan (Mount Vernon)

165: Taevyn Zinnel (Algona)

175: Caysen Curran (Mount Vernon)

190: Caleb Christensen (Nodaway Valley)

215: Jaxon Anderson (Mount Vernon)

285: Ashton Honnold (Nodaway Valley)