West Delaware shines in “old-school” wrestling sweep

MANCHESTER - The atmosphere was intense and the outcome was an old-school sweep.

West Delaware blanked Decorah, 74-0, last Friday in a high school wrestling dual after a long, practice-filled winter break.

The teams met in West Delaware's 'old gym” because the girls' basketball team hosted Maquoketa in the new gym.

Being in the old gym gave the meet an old-school feeling. It was darker, with just a single spotlight on the mat, as the spectators packed the limited bleacher space.

'You could tell the atmosphere was serious because it was quieter than it is at a meet in the new gym,” said senior Sydney Morris, who attended the dual. 'It was pretty cool to see us have a throwback moment to how wrestling meets used to be.”

As matches carried through, some were easy while others were more intense, such as 132-pounder Alex Maury's 15-7 major decision over Decorah's Brady Stille.

Equally intense, Logan Peyton continued with his great freshman season by pinning Decorah's Nils Holskevik at 138.

Senior 182-pounder Jack Neuhaus believes the team's win will benefit the its confidence.

'Taking down Decorah the way we did just shows us that everything we've been working for is paying off,” he said. 'It just pushes us into the rest of the season with a confidence that you can't fake.”

The Hawks host Marion and Maquoketa tonight in a double dual, followed by the varsity traveling to Van Horne for Benton Community's Jerry Eckenrod Invitational.

'Our team is making steady progress throughout the season,” head coach Jeff Voss said. 'They are challenging each other and holding each other accountable in the practice room, which allows them to be competitive against some of the best wrestlers in the state.”