HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM: Maquoketa Valley wrestlers ready for sectionals

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By Emily Krapfl, Maquoketa Valley sophomoreDELHI -Four recents wins came at the perfect time for Maquoketa Valley wrestling coach Tim Andrews.On Jan. 30, Maquoketa Valley traveled to Cascade to take on Tipton, Cascade, Dyersville Beckman and North Cedar. The Wildcats came away with a win in each dual.Maquoketa Valley beat Tipton, 44-33, with Ryan Parmely (pin), Tyler Yonkovic (pin), Carter Klostermann (forfeit), Jared Coyle (forfeit), Zach Cornell (pin), Dylan Wright (16-4 decision), Trevor Koopmann (16-5 decision) and Steve Huber (pin) all winning.Next the Wildcats took on the host Cougars and won, 60-19. Wrestlers who helped get this win were Alec McDowell (pin), Eric Heims (forfeit), Parmely (pin), Yonkovic (forfeit), Klostermann (forfeit), Mason Hermanson (pin), Coyle (pin), Trevor Koopmann (pin),  Huber (forfeit) and Jordy Downs (forfeit).The Wildcats then beat Beckman, 57-21. Wrestlers who also helped get points during this dual were Parmely (pin), Yonkovic (forfeit), Greg Guetzko (forfeit), Carter Klostermann forfeit), Cornell (pin), Coyle (5-2 decision), Wright (forfeit), Trevor Koopmann (pin),  Huber (pin) and McDowell (forfeit).Lastly the Wildcats faced North Cedar and won, 60-22. Yonkovic (forfeit), Guetzko (forfeit), Carter Klostermann (forfeit), Coyle (forfeit), Jeremy Fischer (forfeit), Wright (pin), Trevor Koopmann (pin), Huber (pin), McDowell (pin) and Parmely (pin) all help with wins."Anytime you can pick up four dual victories in one day it's a good thing, especially when it's only a couple days before our conference tournament," Andrews said. "I was very satisfied with how our guys performed especially some of our younger guys in the line-up.”Maquoketa Valley traveled to Lisbon last Saturday for the Tri-Rivers Conference tournament. Other teams in the tournament were Midland, Lisbon, North-Linn, East Buchanan, Central City-Springville and Alburnett.The Wildcats ended the day with four conference champions, one runner-up, two third-place finishers, four fourth-place finishers, a sixth-place finisher, and a seventh-place finisher.At 106 pounds Guetzko finished by receiving fourth place. Guetzko had two pins and two losses by decision.At 113, Carter Klostermann also placed fourth. Klostermann had one loss by decision, and one loss by technical fall.At 12o, Hermanson finished sixth. He had one pin, two losses by decision, and one loss by technical fall.At 126, Coyle was conference champion, getting one pin and a 3-2 decision.At 132, Cornell finished seventh. Cornell had two losses by fall.At 145, Wright had a fourth-place finish. He had two pins, one loss by decision, and one loss by fall.At 152, Koopmann was a runner-up. He had one pin, and a 3-1 decision loss in overtime.At 160, Huber was the conference champion. Hewas undefeated with a pin and a 12-3 decision.At 170, McDowell received third place. He had two pins and one loss by decision during the tournament.At 182, Jordy Downs placed third with a win by fall and a loss by fallAt 195, Heims finished fourth. He had one win by fall and two losses by fall.At 220 pounds, Parmely was the conference champion. He was undefeated, getting two pins.At heavyweight, Yonkovic won the conference championship, remaining undefeated with two pins. He also won his 150th career match.“This is a great accomplishment for Tyler with all the hard work he has put into this sport,” Andrews stated. “To have that many wins says a lot about the quality of wrestler he is. I know racking up wins is not his ultimate goal but hopefully we can accomplish that in the next couple weeks.”Andrews said he was encouraged by the entire team's performance.“To get four champions, a runner-up, and a number guys wrestling for third place in any tournament it's a good thing, especially that tournament being the conference tournament," he said. "Overall I was satisfied but not content with how everyone performed."The scary but good thing with this team is everyone is not peaking right now and hopefully we have a good week of practice to get that squared away. We have a number of wrestlers that should be district qualifiers for us but all we can do right now is prepare them the best we can and hope for the best. Once we get through this weekend anything can happen next weekend in Jesup in regards to districts.”Sectionals are Saturday.