West Delaware finds dual success with team-first approach to an individual sport

MANCHESTER – A team philosophy for an individual sport.

West Delaware has stressed that approach and parlayed it into dual success, especially over the last decade. The tenets remain true.

“We always put an emphasis on duals,” Hawks Coach Jake Voss said. “Through the test of time, it’s been a good thing for our team. It's helped everybody get better. It keeps our guys pushing one another and wrestling for each other. It's definitely still the forefront of the program.”

West Delaware has climbed to No. 4 in the Class 2A dual rankings and will host No. 16 Williamsburg and No. 23 West Liberty Tuesday night when boys wrestling teams across the state compete in Iowa High School Athletic Association regional wrestling duals.

“No matter which team we wrestle, they're going to be tough,” Voss said. “They're going to want it just as much as we do. We’ve got to be ready to go.”

The Hawks receive a bye and face the winner of the Raiders and Comets in the final, looking to secure their ninth straight State Duals appearance. It would be the seventh-longest streak in state history. They have waited for this opportunity since a state runner-up finish a year ago.

“Ever since we took that loss in the finals last year, we all made a promise to ourselves that we were going to be back and better,” Hawks junior 157-pounder Liam Weber said. “We lost a lot of seniors and a lot of good wrestlers from last year, but we've had guys step up. It's really good to see. We're excited for it.”

Weber said he thought the season started with doubters. The Hawks banded together and benefited from unity, camaraderie and depth in the practice room. They were determined to maintain the same level of success of past teams.

“We believed in ourselves and not many people did,” Weber said. “Now, we're ranked fourth or something like that. It's really good to see because a lot of our guys stuck together.

“We really have guys that bring each other up and it's really awesome to see. I'm glad I'm part of such a good team.”

Team success is special to everyone in the program. Reserves are ready to contribute if they are inserted in the lineup. Starters are looking for more than just win, attempting to score bonus points to help the team win.

“I think that's what we do so well,” Weber said. “We might have a guy that's injured and somebody will come in, take that challenge and be able to compete for that guy. It's not just competing for them. It's competing for the team.”

West Delaware has five ranked wrestlers. Weber is third, Croix Gudenkauf is fifth at 150, Jarrett Engel (132) is ninth and Lane Gudenkauf (165) and 175-pounder Blake Mather are both No. 10. The sum of the whole is worth more than the individual parts, making the Hawks a strong dual team.

“We've got a lot of depth on our team,” Voss said. “Most importantly, our guys want to wrestle for each other. I think they definitely have a strength as a dual team.”

No. 1 Decorah hosts No. 14 North Fayette Valley and No. 22 Anamosa in another 2A regional. Also in 2A, No. 5 Independence hosts No. 12 Mount Vernon and No. 18 Wilton. Alburnett has moved up to 2A. The Pirates are ranked sixth and face the winner of No. 10 Davenport Assumption and No. 17 Solon.

In 3A, No. 7 Iowa City West hosts a regional dual for the first time since 2014. The Trojans will wrestle the winner of No. 13 North Scott and No. 17 Bondurant-Farrar. No. 10 Linn-Mar is coming off a Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet title. The Lions face No. 19 Cedar Rapids Prairie in a regional semifinal with the winner advancing to take on host Dubuque Hempstead, which is ranked sixth.

Lisbon, ranked No. 8, welcomes No. 9 Nashua-Plainfield and No. 20 North Mahaska. Second-ranked Jesup will host No. 12 South Winneshiek and No. 21 Iowa Valley.

Regional dual champions will advance to the State Duals tournament Saturday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

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