Independence trio win titles, help Mustangs to first Wamac Conference team title since 2015

MARION — Independence endured a tough week but the ending was well worth it.

Neither Illness and injury, nor the opposition, could stop the Mustangs.

Independence crowned three champions and claimed the team title at the Wamac Conference tournament Saturday at Marion. The Mustangs amassed 215 points, topping rival West Delaware by 5 1/2. Independence won its first conference tournament title since 2015.

“I thought our team did pretty good considering kind of the week that we had,” Independence Coach Michael Doyle said. “We just had a lot of kids that are sick or out. It’s been kind of a mess. I didn’t know what our lineup would be like today. There are a couple of kids that I really hadn't seen since like Tuesday. Under those circumstances, I thought we did pretty good, but we just got to keep getting better and keep improving. More than anything, we just got to get healthy.”

Independence tied West Delaware with a tournament-best three champions and six finalists but modestly increased its three-point lead, entering the final round.

Ben Anderson (120) grabbed the first crown. Freshman Adam Carey followed with a pin in the 126-pound final and Kam Kremer added a technical fall victory for the 150 title.

“Obviously, Adam Carey is really good,” Doyle said. “He’s had a great year, so far. He wrestles at a high pace and it's hard for other people to kind of match that pace, which is good for him.

“Ben Anderson's been doing really good here lately,” said Doyle, who added, “So, he's just been wrestling really good, but a lot of it is attacking and if he's in that right mindset of going out and scoring points, he's a tough out for anybody.”

The Mustangs finished with 13 placewinners and had 10 in the top five.

“Anytime you win the Wamac tournament is a good thing,” Doyle said. “I’m proud of our kids. I'm proud of their resilience and their work ethic. You’ve got to deal with it. They're not going to change the tournament because you don't feel good or postpone this or that because you got a little owie.”

Anderson pinned his way to the final and defeated Williamsburg’s Charlie Foster 9-2. The championships soothes the sting of last season when he came up short of his goal.

“It's pretty big,” Anderson said. “Last year, I lost to a kid that I probably shouldn't have lost to and I got third. Winning it this year is pretty big for me.”

He has come on strong since the holiday break. He started extra work after practice to finetune his wrestling and has reaped the rewards.

“I feel pretty good about my wrestling,” Anderson said. “I think it's mainly because I started working with my coach a little more after practice. Like before Christmas, I kind of didn't do that. So, I think that's one of the big things that helped me get better.”

Solon placed fourth and had two bookend champions in second-ranked duo Anderson Osgood (106) and heavyweight Lucas Feuerbach.

Osgood avenged two previous losses to Vinton-Shellsburg’s top-ranked Jackson Parmater. He scored the only takedown of the match for a 3-1 victory.

“That was really big for me,” Osgood said. “I was appreciative of that opportunity to wrestle him again. For me, even if I got beat, I was thinking there was another opportunity to get to him. Having that revenge was really nice.”

Osgood said he wrestled cleaner with crisper attacks the past matches. The second-period takedown provided a boost of confidence and put the pressure on Parmater to score.

“I feel like that was really big,” Osgood said. “It kind of put him on the ‘oh crap’ mode where it was hard for him to want to come back. I feel like I could have scored more points there but I’m real happy with how I competed.”

Parmater had two decisive victories in the two previous meetings but Osgood had closed the gap. He was finally able to come out on top.

“Our boys work hard in the room and why they deserve to win is because of the work they put in that room,” Solon Coach Aaron Hadenfeldt said. “To me, that's an example of that happening for Anderson.

“I think the biggest thing for Anderson is it just proved to him that he can go with those best guys. Parmater is a stud. I said something to him after the match that after he got his first takedown he started to move his feet and you could just see his confidence grow on the mat.”

Osgood placed sixth in the conference tournament a year ago. At that time, he was undersized for the lightest weight. He has grown into the division, hitting the weight room and adding more protein to his nutrition. Bigger has led to better.

“Shoot, we were lucky to weigh 97 pounds at weigh-ins last year, honestly,” Hadenfeldt said. “His offseason was gaining weight, and that's not easy to do either.”

Work to get better starts immediately. Osgood will waste little time dissecting this performance. He can build on this to peak for the postseason.

“Watching some film over this weekend will be a big key factor, seeing where I can improve and what positions I was sloppy in still,” Osgood said. “There’s always room for improvement. Going over everything with my dad, my coaches and drilling hard and figuring out other ways I can score.”

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Feuerbach, a returning state finalist, beat two ranked foes, including a 17-2 technical fall over Williamsburg’s No. 4 Carson Grier in the final. He was voted Wamac Wrestler of the Year.

“Lucas can do whatever Lucas wants to do,” Hadenfeldt said. “Our goal as coaches is to get him believing that, because I don't know if he believes it, totally. I mean that if that kid wants to go (NCAA Division I) D-I wrestling, he can do it. If he wants to go D-I football, he can do it. Anything that he wants to do, he can do it.”

West Delaware received titles from Lucas Peters (113), Laim Weber at 157 and 165-pounder Lane Gudenkauf. Peters upset Williamsburg’s top-seeded and fifth-ranked Ryker DeWitt, 8-4, in the final.

“Lucas has been doing a really good job this year of getting better at things that have held him back the years past,” West Delaware Coach Jake Voss said. “He’s really been focused on his wrestling lately and it’s fun to see him continuing to grow this year.”

Williamsburg had four finalist and one champion in 12th-ranked Hayden Albaugh at 132. Albaugh scored a takedown with about 10 seconds remaining for a 4-1 decision over West Delaware’s No. 9 Jarrett Engel in the finals. The Raiders finished third with 185 points.

Benton Community had two champions in Jaxson Mehlert (138) and 144-pounder Brady Patterson, who beat Independence’s seventh-ranked Carver Wieland, 9-5, in the championship bout.

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Wamac Tournament

At Marion

Teams — 1. Independence 215, 2. West Delaware 209 1/2, 3. Williamsburg 185, 4. Solon 147 1/2, 5. (tie) Clear Creek Amana and Mount Vernon 117, 7. Benton Community 115 1/2, 8. Center Point-Urbana 95, 9. Vinton-Shellsburg 83 1/2, 10. Grinnell 78, 11. South Tama 65, 12. Marion 64 1/2.

Championship matches

106 pounds — Anderson Osgood (S) dec. Jackson Parmater (VS), 3-1; 113 — Lucas Peters (WD) dec. Ryker DeWitt (Will), 8-4; 120 — Ben Anderson (I) dec. Charlie Foster (Will), 9-2; 126 — Adam Carey (I) pinned Jayden Steapp (S), 2:37; 132 — Hayden Albaugh (Will) dec. Jarrett Engel (WD), 4-1; 138 — Jaxson Mehlert (BC) dec. Kooper Waugh (WD), 4-3; 144 — Brady Patterson (BC) dec. Carver Wieland (I), 9-5; 150 — Kam Kremer (I) tech. fall Lucas Stearns (Mar), 16-0; 157 — Liam Weber (WD) major dec. Elias Bieschke (BC), 20-9; 165 — Lane Gidenkauf (WD) dec. Christopher Meyer (I), 4-2; 175 — Caysen Curran (MV) won by medical forfeit over Blake Mather (WD); 190 — Josh Ringler (G) dec. Braylen Bieber (I), 7-2; 215 — Danny Small (CPU) dec. Jaxon Anderson (MV), 11-7; 285 — Lucas Feuerbach (S) tech. fall Carson Grier (Will), 17-2.

Conference Wrestler of the Year — Feuerbach, Solon

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com