Alburnett captures first sectional team title (Updated with video)

ALBURNETT - If Alburnett opponents were smart they would take an eraser to the whiteboard in the Pirates wrestling room.The fifth-ranked Pirates list their goals on that very board and for the second straight weekend they have achieved one of them. Alburnett followed its first Tri-Rivers Conference tournament title with the school's first Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 1A sectional tournament team title Saturday, crowning six champions and tallying 224 points at Alburnett High School. No. 7 Lisbon was second with 196.Another goal the Pirates can remove from the list.“This is one of ours,” said Alburnett's Zach Hoyle, who won the 152-pound title. “We checked it off.”Alburnett Coach Kane Thompson said the sense of urgency increases at edge stage of the postseason. Now, the tests get tougher with districts and regional duals just to get a shot at the ultimate goal of a state title.“All that is a little more important than the previous week,” Thompson said. “Each week you have to heighten your level.”Alburnett was impressive claiming pins in 14 of its 17 wins. The Pirates pushed nine to the finals and qualified all of them to next weekend's district meet. It is more than a year ago, when they ended the year with the school's first state trophy, placing third in Des Moines.“The team did great,” Alburnett senior Christopher Halblom said. “This is better than last year and I thought that was pretty amazing. I think all nine of us have a great shot of making it on to state.“Getting the third-place team trophy at state really opened our eyes and made the full team believe how good we are and how good we can be when we all wrestle well."Top-ranked Halblom won the 125-pound title. He is attempting to become a three-time state champion and four-time finalist but he had his hands full with Lisbon's second-ranked Kolbi Kohl. Halblom defeated Kohl, 4-2, with two escapes and a takedown.Watch the match between the No.1 and No. 2 125-pound wrestlers in Class 1A. (Sorry for the late start that missed Kohl's quick takedown on a slide by at the start and Halblom's escape)Kohl scored the opening takedown off the opening whistle for a 2-0 lead, and was close to scoring a takedown on another occasion, but a scoreless third preserved Halblom's two-point lead. Halblom shook his head as head left the mat.“I'm not thrilled about the outcome,” said Halblom, whose takedown came with 14 seconds to go in the first. “A win's a win when it comes down to this, but I just have to keep pushing forward, put it behind me now and focus on next week.”Next week could likely mean another match-up with Kohl in the district final. If both wrestlers reach state, it could result in a third straight finals match between them, which could be a fourth meeting in two weeks if they wrestling at regional duals. Halblom won his first state title at 112, facing the second-ranked wrestler from Don Bosco in the sectional, district and state finals, so he's been down this road before. Halblom has no problem with it.“We've done that before and Chris knows how to win tight matches,” Thompson said. “He does a good job with that. It's something we'll be prepared before and been through before.”Hoyle experienced a first. He had never one any tournament until he claimed the sectional championship with an 11-5 win over Cascade's Brad Gravel. The timing was perfect.“It's a really nice feeling,” Hoyle said. “Usually I end up third or fourth and it's nice to finally win one.”Hoyle was about .500 last season. He has improved immensely, owning a 31-15 record. Hoyle is indicative of the program that has become a top small-school team.“It tells me he really bought into our program,” Thompson said. “That's a big turn around. Last year he got fifth or sixth at sectional. Now he's winning sectional.”Top-ranked 119-pounder Tyler Shulista, who won a state title at 112 last year, Zach Fowler (103) and Dylan Windfield (145) pinned their way to titles for the Pirates. Alburnett's Colton Martin nipped Seth Hall of  Lisbon, 4-2, for the 130-pound crown. The Pirates' crowd erupted when the final team scores were announced.“We've been winning a lot all year,” Hoyle said. “It's nice for the fans. They always come to watch us and we have a huge home crowd. It's nice to see us win something real big at our tournament.”Lisbon claimed four titles and sent six total to district. The Lions' third-ranked Tait Simpson scored three back points to win a thrilling 7-4 match over Alburnett's Alex German in an overtime tiebreaker.Simpson was able to catch German on his back in the first 30-second tiebreaker to earn the Lions' first gold. The two have wrestled a number of times and Simpson was ready for a counter that proved to be the winning move.“He tried a roll and I slipped out,” Simpson said. “I got kind of a reverse half-nelson and held it there for a three-count which got me back points. I went down and all I had to do was not get turned.”Simpson (30-2) caught fire in the postseason last year, reaching the state semifinals before placing fifth. He is looking to improve that finish.“I want to place higher and get better,” Simpson said. “My goal is still to get that state title.”Kal Alger (160), Preston Russell (215) and third-ranked heavyweight Tyler Smith scored falls in the finals for the Lions. Alger and Smith each had semifinal pins. Smith, a junior, has increased his off-season workouts and lifts after practice to fill out into a strong 285-pounder. A state title is in his sights, according to Lisbon Coach Jamie Kamberling.“He wrestles with the coaches every day in the room,” Kamberling said. “He doesn't complain, and it shows because he gets better and better.”Midland had two champions and advanced three to district. Ninth-ranked Ryan Leonard scored the final four points for a 6-4 win over Alburnett's Sam Bowers at 189. The Eagles' Kyle Pegorick won the 112-pound title.Midland tied for third with Tipton, who also had three qualifiers. Tipton's fourth-ranked Drew Proctor scored the first four points to edge Alburnett's Grant Henderson, 4-3, to win at 135.North Cedar's Tanner Tenley scored two falls to win at 171. The top-seeded Tenley reached the finals with a first-period fall in the semifinals before pinning Cascade's Adam Koffron in 1:03.Alburnett and Lisbon will compete in the 1A regional duals Tuesday at Troy Mills at 6 p.m.. Alburnett will open with Wapsie Valley and Lisbon will face East Buchanan in regional dual semifinals. The winners will wrestle for a berth to the State Dual tournament Saturday, Feb. 26 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.Teams – 1. Alburnett 224, 2. Lisbon 196, 3. (tie) Midland and Tipton 115, 5. Cascade 107, 6. North Cedar 99, 7. Central City-Springville 65.

AT ALBURNETT

District qualifiers

103 – 1. Zach Fowler (A), 2. Kody Wallick (T);

112 – 1. Kyle Pegorick (M), 2. Clayton Visek (CC-S);

119 – 1. Tyler Shulista (A), 2. T.J. Bowen (M);

125 – 1. Christopher Halblom (A), 2. Kolbi Kohl (L);

130 – 1. Colton Martin (A), 2. Seth Hall (L);

135 – 1. Drew Proctor (T), 2. Grant Henderson (A);

140 – 1. Tait Simpson (L), 2. Alex German (A);

145 – 1. Dylan Windfield (A), 2. Scout Kasik (NC);

152 – 1. Zach Hoyle (A), 2. Brad Gravel (Cas);

160 – 1. Kal Alger (A), 2. Cole Cook (T);

171 – 1. Tanner Tenley (NC), 2. Adam Kofron (Cas);

189 – 1. Ryan Leonard (M), 2. Samuel Bowers (A);

215 – 1. Preston Russell (L), 2. Dakota Richards (CC-S);

Hwt. – 1. Tyler Smith (L), 2. Alex Steffen (Cas)