Lisbon overcomes forfeits to win bracket at Battle of Waterloo

WATERLOO — Lisbon wrestlers know to bring their lunch pails to work.

The Lions are not strangers to hard work, but this weekend they needed their shovels as well.

Unable to fill the lightest weight class and an open weight due to injury, Lisbon had to dig itself out of a 12-point deficit in its final two duals Friday in the Battle of Waterloo dual tournament at Young Arena. The Lions beat West Delaware, 42-36, capturing a bracket title and advancing to the championship pool Saturday.

'I tell them you're down by 12 when you step on the mat,' Lisbon Coach Brad Smith said. 'Our good kids need to get us bonus points and that's what they did.'

The Lions (14-0) found themselves in a back-and-forth firefight that lasted about 40 minutes. Both teams traded bonus-point victories, leading to a 30-30 tie after 10 weights and a 36-36 score with one match left.

'We knew we were in a tussle with West Delaware,' Smith said. 'They're a much improved team.

'It went back and forth.'

Smith weighed the options and bumped Lisbon's Class 1A fourth-ranked 152-pounder Kaden Kilburg up to 160 when the Hawks' 2A No. 3 Mitch Mangold had to report first. Mangold's pin tied the dual, but Kilburg answered with his own fall, making Smith's strategy pay dividends.

Kilburg said he doesn't mind the pressure of the dual resting on his shoulder.

'It definitely makes you get prepared for your matches better,' Kilburg said. 'I think you wrestle to the best of your ability when it happens.'

The Lions are unfazed by the disadvantage. They know what they have to do and take the mat expecting to get it done.

'We know we have to earn as many bonus points as possible,' Kilburg said. 'Our coaches always tell us that scoring bonus points is how you win matches.'

Lisbon's Bryce Werderman (170) and Jake Jennett (182) opened the dual with consecutive pins and Logan O'Connor executed a big throw at 220, getting a 12-second pin for an 18-6 lead after four matches.

A pin and the two straight forfeits put West Delaware up, 24-18. Lisbon received pins from Cael Happel at 120 and 126-pounder Cobe Siebrecht. The Lions' Ryne Mohrfeld (138) and Cooper Siebrecht recorded back-to-back decisions to set the stage for the final two weights.

'We have some really fine seniors and good leadership,' Smith said. 'Those are the guys who are really stepping up for us and taking the charge to get the points when we need them. Our kids will go out and do what we ask them to do.'

Lisbon beat Cedar Falls 53-30 in the semifinals and opened with a 64-16 win against Waterloo West.

The Lions advance to the championship pool that also includes 1A power Don Bosco. Denver, which dropped down to 1A, could join them in the four-team round-robin Saturday. Those are three of the top ranked 1A programs.

'We'll see how we fare with them and they want to see how they fare with us,' Smith said. 'It would be awesome if we were in the same bracket. That's what I would like to see.'

In addition to Mangold, Harrison Goebel (195), heavyweight Carson Petlon and Ryan Phillips had pins for West Delaware (6-1).

'We thought it could be a 7-7 split with the coin flip being a factor,' West Delaware Coach Jeff Voss said. 'We didn't get the matchups we needed to get.'

The Hawks started the season with a dual victory over 3A power Waverly-Shell Rock and handled Solon in a Wamac Conference dual Thursday night.

'I'm happy with the way we wrestled all week,' Voss said. 'I think we've gotten better evert time we've stepped on the mat.'

BATTLE OF WATERLOO DUALS

At Young Arena

BRACKET A (VIRGIL CARR BRACKET)

1. Don Bosco, 2. New Hampton, 3. Waverly-Shell Rock, 4. C.R. Prairie, 5. Independence, 6. Charles City, 7. Union Community, 8. Waterloo Columbus.

First round

#1 New Hampton 78, #8 Waterloo Columbus 6

#4 C.R. Prairie 59, #5 Charles City 24

#3 Don Bosco 68, #6 Independence 12

#2 Waverly-Shell Rock 46, #7 Union Community 30

Semifinals