Iowa Wrestling Weekend That Was: Iowa State tops Purdue at Humboldt in battle of hometown coaches for Kevin Dresser’s 200th career dual victory

Heated competition before things chill for the holidays. Iowa State Coach Kevin Dresser and Purdue Coach Tony Ersland met in their hometown with Dresser earned his 200th dual victory. Waverly-Shell Rock conquered the Battle of Waterloo and more in the last weekend of action before the holiday break in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

Hometown heroes return to Humboldt

This dual was a year in the making. Iowa State and Purdue were originally set to dual in Humboldt last season, but that was canceled when the Big Ten opted for a conference-only schedule.

Well, the two teams faced off Sunday in a sold out Humboldt Gymnasium to watch the teams led by former two-time state champions Dresser and Ersland. The 13th-ranked Cyclones won the last four bouts to beat the No. 15 Boilermakers, 23-13.

“It actually came from Coach Ersland and Coach (Chad) Beaman here at Humboldt High School,” Dresser said. “I think Coach Beaman went to Coach Ersland about it, so good for them.

“The work that Coach Beaman has done to pull this off just in terms of set up and tear down is phenomenal. I can’t say enough about him and Tony Ersland. He’s just a quality guy to bring his team here. It’s something we’d like to keep doing every year, but I will talk to them later. What a great event.”

Dresser won the Class 2A 126-pound title in 1980 and added the 132 crown the following year. Ersland won consecutive 2A 171 championships in 1991 and 1992. Both went on to wrestle for legendary coach Dan Gable at University of Iowa. Dresser was an NCAA champion, two-time Big Ten titlist and two-time All-American. Ersland was an NCAA qualifier and was part of Iowa’s NCAA title teams from 1995-1997 and conference champions from 1994-1997. He also excelled in the classroom, earning all-Big Ten academic honors four years and posting the highest grade-point average among seniors.

Humboldt’s population was listed at 4,792 in 2020. Consider how special it is a community that size produced two NCAA Division I wrestling coaches, who lead Power-5 programs. Incredible, really.

The dual itself was excited, regardless of the circumstances that surrounded it. Purdue jumped out to an early lead, but Iowa State claimed six of the last seven matches including four straight decisions at the end with two over higher-ranked foes.

“This is a special place,” Dresser said to the crowd after the dual. “I remember a long time ago, getting my hand raised here a couple times. It was a lot of fun.

“You guys are the best. I need you at Hilton (Coliseum).”

Cyclones defending national champion and top-ranked 157-pounder David Carr notched the most impressive victory, tilting and pinning No. 11 Kendal Coleman in 4:29. It came on the heels of the triumphant return of Jarrett Degen’s 21-1 technical fall over Trey Kruse at 149.

Carr led, 7-1, at the time of the fall.

“That shows you what kind of competitor David Carr is,” Dresser said. “Two years ago, when he was young, he would have been happy with a three-point decision for the team, but he’s continued to mature and get mentally tougher. He puts that on his shoulders and that’s a special guy.”

Among the four-match streak to close the dual was a battle between former Iowa preps. Iowa State’s Marcus Coleman was a three-time state champion for Ames, while Max Lyon was a two-time state champion and four-time state medalist for Western Dubuque. The pair squared off at 184. Coleman won the battle, 8-2, which set up teammate Yonger Bastida to secure the dual. He scored three takedowns in a 6-4 victory over No. 10 Thomas Penola at 197.

“I said a couple months ago don’t underestimate that dude,” said Dresser, noting his improvement in control and mat wrestling. “He’s a dangerous cat on his feet.”

Dresser recorded his 200th dual win. He went 160-51 in 11 seasons at Virginia Tech. Dresser reached 40 dual wins during his fifth season at Iowa State, winning eight or more duals in each season for a 40-23 dual record, including 3-1 this season.

“Trust me, nobody would have ever told me in a million years I would have won 200 matches,” Dresser said. “and then to win 200 matches and to have it in my high school gym, no way.”

GO-Hawks take a B.O.W.

Waverly-Shell Rock has been strong again this season and the Go-Hawks flexed their muscle again last weekend. They went 6-0 and captured the title at the Battle of Waterloo Saturday, beating some of the state’s top dual teams.

The Class 3A top-ranked Go-Hawks, who are ranked in the top-15 nationally, handled Waterloo Columbus (57-16), Nashua-Plainfield (58-20) and Osage (54-17) to reach the championship pool with 1A power Don Bosco, 2A top-ranked West Delaware and Indianola.

WSR dropped Indianola, 49-18, in the first round. The Go-Hawks split 14 matches with third-place West Delaware, posting four pins, a technical fall and two major decisions for a 37-33.

It was the second time in less than three weeks WSR beat West Delaware, opening the season with a 49-21 win. The Go-Hawks also beat runner-up Don Bosco, 50-14. The Dons edged West Delaware, 30-29.

WSR also won the girls competition, going 6-0. The Go-Hawks beat Charles City and Crestwood by similar 36-24 scores.

Linn-Mar finished second to West Delaware in Friday’s bracket competition. The Lions won the second pool Saturday to place fifth overall with a 5-1 record. Linn-Mar defeated Independence (39-36), Ankeny (37-35) and Osage (49-24).

Kane Naaktgeboren went unbeaten for the Lions, tallying five pins and a technical fall at 132 and 138.

Sigourney-Keota wins at Regina

Sigourney-Keota won the Regina Invitational team title Saturday in Iowa City. Sigourney-Keota had seven finalists and received championships from Reanah Utterback (106), Aidan Schuster (182), Cade Streigle at 195 and heavyweight Zachary Smithhart for 227 total points.

The Regals had a good outing in their own tournament. They were second with 191 points, crowning champs in Sam Aitchison (152) and Aidan Udell at 170. Second-ranked Udell beat Sigourney-Keota’s No. 6 Jack Clarahan, 12-3.

Cougars second at Fort Madision

Cedar Rapids Kennedy placed second at the Fort Madison Invitational on Saturday. Colin Falck (145) and Collin Flannagan at 195 won titles for the Cougars, who had 382 points, 11.5 back of Ottumwa. Jonah Hallam was second at 126, while Ashtin Falck (138) and 182-pounder Alex Koch were third..