Iowa Wrestling Weekend That Was: Coe continues strong season with A-R-C Duals sweep

Coe continued its strong start to the second half of the season, American Rivers Conference women competed, the Iowa men steamrolled Purdue and Linn-Mar and Anamosa won tournament titles during the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

Coe unbeaten at American Rivers Conference duals

Coe nearly doubled its dual win total Saturday, recording a dominant 4-0 mark at the American Rivers Conference Duals hosted by Luther in Decorah. The fifth-ranked Kohawks improved to 10-1 overall, winning their eighth straight dual that dated back to a fifth-place finish at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Multi-Divisional Duals earlier this month.

“We felt good about our momentum coming off of national duals,” Coe Coach John Oostendorp said. “We have guys that are believing in themselves and creating habits that allow them to have success. We need to continue working on our consistency in our competitions this last month in preparation for the postseason.”

Coe handled Nebraska Wesleyan (40-9) and blanked Simpson (54-0). The Kohawks beat No. 20 Luther, 33-12, and edged Loras, 21-19. They are unbeaten in conference competition with a clash at top-ranked Wartburg looming on Feb. 2.

Six Kohawks won at least three matches. Jared Voss (184) and Mathieu Arsenault at 197 led the way with 4-0 performances. Former Linn-Mar prep Bryce Parke (133) and former West Liberty state champion Will Esmoil (165) were 3-0 Saturday. Cade Hornback at 125 and 149-pounder Ty Koedam added three wins apiece.

Heavyweight Damari Dancy and Dylan Falck at 157 were 2-0 for Coe, which avenged its only loss this season, splitting NWCA duals with Johnson & Wales.

“I thought this past weekend had some good things to build off of,” Oostendorp said. “it obviously feels good to go 4-0 but I think our best wrestling is ahead of us for this group.”

The sum of Coe’s parts are much more than the individuals. The Kohawks don’t have a single wrestler ranked in the top 10 by d3wrestle.com. Although, Hornback, 141-pounder Dresden Grimm, Esmoil, L.J. Richardson (174), Voss, Arsenault and Dancy are listed as ranked contenders, which is the next eight wrestlers outside the top 10 at each weight.

The Kohawks have good balance in the dual format and will return to tournament competition with Loras’ Duhawk Open on Saturday.

Simpson, Wartburg crown 4 at American Rivers Conference Invitational

The American Rivers Conference held its inaugural women’s wrestling invitational. Wartburg host the first conference tournament in Waverly.

The host Knights and Simpson, coached by former Iowa City High four-time state champion and University of Iowa NCAA champion Jeff McGinness, each crowned four titlists in the meet where no team scores were totaled.

Afftynn Stusse (116), Kylie Rule (130), Ali Russler (136) and Aniyah Kelly (143) won titles for Wartburg, which is ranked 13th nationally. Wartburg had multiple placewinners in two brackets. Khylie Wainwright was second and former South Winneshiek prep Riley Meyer finished third at 123. Hadley Boshart was third at 130, joining Rule.

Simpson’s Devyn Moore (101), Sarah Zimmerman (109), Ashley Cannon at 123 and 170-pounder Kassidee Savaria win titles. Moore and teammate Emaline Hicks finished 1-2 in their bracket.

Buena Vista, Central, Dubuque and Loras also had wrestlers compete. All six teams combined for a 50-wrestler field. Luther has announced that it is adding a women’s wrestling program, proof that women’s wrestling continues to grow.

The A-R-C schools will compete at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships regional Feb. 24-25 with a chance to wrestle at the NCWWC national tournament March 8-9 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids.

Iowa’s numbers against Purdue

The Iowa men’s team’s offensive numbers were impressive in Friday’s 34-6 win over Purdue. The Hawkeyes racked up 34 takedowns, allowing just three to the Boilermakers. Five Hawkeyes scored 19 points or more with four technical falls.

Two of those technical falls came in the final two bouts. Zach Glazier (197) and heavyweight Bradley Hill capped the dual by combining for 39 points. Glazier almost ended his match in the first period, using an early second-period escape for his 20-5 win and fifth technical fall this season. He also improved to 16-0, joining top-ranked 141-pounder Real Woods (12-0) as the only unbeaten full-time starters.

Hill also ended his match in the second period, giving him four technical falls this season.

Purdue is 5-6 and only had five starters with winning records when it faced No. 3 Iowa.

No place like home for Anamosa

Anamosa’s boys’ team won its home tournament Saturday. The Blue Raiders scored 237 points for the team title at its Denny Christenson Invitational, topping Iowa City Liberty by 37.

Anamosa advanced six to the finals with Hudson Welton (113), Easton Wheeler (144), Ayden Antonelli (165) and 175-pounder Austin Scranton winning titles.

The Anamosa girls hosted the River Valley Conference tournament Friday. They finished second behind champion West Liberty. Adison Musser tallied two pins en route to the 130 title. Hadley Frater was 2-0 with two pins, winning the 145 division for Anamosa, while teammate Addison Appelhans was second at 140.

Vinton-Shellsburg girls win Wamac

The Wamac Conference girls’ wrestling tournament was held at Clear Creek Amana in Tiffin on Friday. Vinton-Shellsburg won the team title with 198 points. West Delaware was second at 163.

The Vikings’ Ellie Weets (115), Bree Swenson (120), 130-pounder Chloe Sanders and Dakota Cornell at 155 each won titles.

Vinton-Shellsburg will compete in the Region 6 tournament Friday at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

Linn-Mar, Iowa City West lead Lueders

Class 3A fifth-ranked Linn-Mar and Mississippi Valley Conference rival Iowa City West finished first and second in the team race Saturday at Clinton’s Bob Lueders Invitational. The Lions tallied 246.5 points and the Trojans ended with 206.5.

Linn-Mar received championships from Malik DeBow (120), top-ranked 144-pounder Kane Naaktgeboren and Grant Kress at 157. DeBow’s 7-1 win in the finals avenged a previous loss to West’s Matthew Tran. West state champion Alexander Pierce (113) and Justin Avila at 150 won titles.