Top-seeded Alburnett shocked in dual semifinals

DES MOINES -- Clarion-Goldfield turned the table on top-seeded Alburnett.Two years from suffering an upset as the top-seed, the Cowboys derailed the tournament favorite.Fourth-seeded Clarion-Goldfield beat defending state champion Alburnett, 35-28, in the semifinals of the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 1A State Duals tournament Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.The loss was hard to swallow for this team, striving for a second straight state duals title.“They had the goal to win and it's not going to happen,” Alburnett Coach Kane Thompson said. “It's not defending that we didn't do it. It's just that this group didn't get the job done.”The Pirates were already looking beyond the disappointment and turning their attention to the third-place match with Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, who they beat in last year's championship. They will try to end on a high-note, even if it won't contain the same satisfaction.“Not winning it hurts,” Thompson said. “The next best thing is winning your next match. It will make it feel a little better but it won't take it everything away, by any means. I don't think we'll feel complete when we leave here.”The Cowboys won the final four matches, including pins from Elliott Ahrens (195) and heavyweight Mitch Gambrill, eclipsing a 28-17 deficit. The Pirates had a shot in the final match but Clarion-Goldfield's second-ranked Justin Portillo beat Alburnett's No. 9 Ben Moyer, 6-1,at 106.“They just matched up pretty well with us up in those weights,” Thompson said. “We didn't have much room to move guys around. We had to wrestle straight up and see what happened. We missed some opportunities with some other weights I felt we could have capitalized on.”Don Bosco will make its 14th trip to the State Duals finals, coming from behind to beat second-seeded EBF, 39-32. The third-seeded Dons closed the dual with three straight pins.“We knew some other teams were going to be tough in the traditional and we knew we had a fairly solid dual team,” Hogan said. “To get to this point is great, but I know the boys are hungry for a gold trophy.”Don Bosco won claimed seven matches, but none bigger than heavyweight. The Dons' Brandon French entered the State Duals with a .500-record, while the Rockets' Luke Welch had 30 wins. Don Bosco needed a win to maintain its chance for a win.They were scoreless in regulation when French put Welch on his back in the sudden-victory overtime period, recording a fall in 6:46.Jordan Schmitz (106) added the final fall at 106.“That's the crazy thing about wrestling,” Hogan said. “A guy gets in a bad position and boom the match is over.”