Dubuque Hempstead holds off Linn-Mar in regional final for berth to State Duals wrestling meet

Dubuque Hempstead’s Cole Rettenmaier jumps into a coach’s arms following his match during a 3A regional duals final between Dubuque Hempstead and Linn-Mar at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Dubuque Hempstead won the dual 36-34. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

MARION — An overtime loss with the dual on the line isn’t usually grounds for celebration.

But, that specific scenario sent Dubuque Hempstead into a frenzy after Linn-Mar was unable to produce a pin-to-win finish. It also sent the Mustangs to the state duals wrestling tournament.

No. 11 Hempstead recorded five pins and gladly surrendered an overtime loss by decision in the final bout to secure a 36-34 win over the seventh-ranked Lions in a Class 3A regional dual Tuesday night at Linn-Mar.

“It was an unbelievable team effort,” Hempstead Coach Chuck Haas said. “We brought 24 guys here. Those 24 guys, plus my coaches, just did everything you could possibly ask for.”

Hempstead advances to the state duals Saturday at Xtream Arena. The Mustangs will make their third appearance at the dual championships and first since 2018. They are the lone 3A quarterfinalist ranked outside the top eight.

“It was the greatest win of my long career,” said Haas, who has led Hempstead since the 1999-2000 season. “Absolutely. We never won one to get to the state duals when we weren’t in the top eight.”

“Linn-Mar has been a great team. They always compete hard. I have a lot of respect for Doug Streicher and that program. They might have the best coaches in the state and to beat those guys means a ton to me and our staff.”

The outcome was affected before action even started. Hempstead won the coin flip, allowing it to choose odd matches to report first. The choice came into play and allowed the Mustangs to make moves to avoid running into the Lions’ highest-ranked wrestlers.

The Mustangs won toss-up matches and even produced bonus points in some, which proved crucial.

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In the opening bout, Hempstead’s Jackson Rheingans topped James Bouska, 6-0, at 195 pounds, reversing a loss by fall in Linn-Mar’s 44-27 win over the Mustangs on Dec. 1. The result is a nine-point swing.

“He wrestled his tail off,” Haas said. “It kind of set the tone for us.”

Joseph Lewis moved from 220 to heavyweight, recording the first of four pins in the next five matches. Mitchell Pins (106), 120-pounder Mitchell Murphy and Landon Reisen at 126, gave Hempstead a 27-9 advantage at the midway point.

Reisen’s win was a turning point. He trailed Nate Fish, 3-0, after the first period. Reisen took Fish down to his back and got the pin in 2:23. Top-ranked Josiah Schaetzle added a pin at 160 and Garren Christiansen (138) won by decision for the Mustangs.

“We just didn’t wrestle well enough to win,” Streicher said. “We had matches we should have won and we didn’t. That’s the difference in the dual.”

“You can’t get pinned. Even the matches we think we should actually win, we’re getting pinned. You can’t do that in a dual meet.”

Linn-Mar’s second-ranked 182-pounder Tate Naaktgeboren weighed in at 185 so he could bump to 220, but received a forfeit. A similar result for teammates No. 4 Brayden Parke (132) and No. 2 Kane Naaktgeboren, who moved up to 145 from 138.

The Lions still had a chance to win it. Grant Boddicker scored a 13-5 major decision over Dawson Fish at 152 and Grant Kress moved up to 170 to get a first-period fall over Camden Smith, pulling Linn-Mar within 36-31 with one match left.

Linn-Mar’s Landen Bushman overcame an early four-point deficit and used a takedown with a rideout to tie the match, 5-5, and force overtime.

Bushman still had a chance for a pin in sudden victory, needing a feet-to-back move, but Hempstead purposely surrendered a takedown and a three-point decision to ensure the win.

“I knew it was a tough matchup,” Streicher said. “I knew it was going to be a close dual. We didn’t handfight well enough to get to our shots. ... We worked on it. We just didn’t get it done.”

AT LINN-MAR

Dubuque Hempstead 36, Linn-Mar 34

(Individual takedowns in parentheses)

195 pounds – Jackson Rheingans (DH) dec. James Bouska, 6-0 (2,0); 220 – Tate Naaktgeboren (LM) won by forfeit; Hwt. – Joseph Lewis (DH) pinned Griffin Schultz, 1:17 (1,0); 106 – Mitchell Pins (DH) pinned Aiden Kiesey, 1:43 (1,0); 113 – Malik DeBow (LM) dec. Evan Bratten, 9-3 (4,0); 120 – Mitchell Murphy (DH) pinned Nunzio Salantri, 2:59 (3,0); 126 – Landon Reisen (DH) pinned Nate Fish, 2:23 (1,1); 132 – Brayden Parke (LM) won by forfeit; 138 – Garren Christiansen (DH) dec. Evan Pulis, 7-0 (2,0); 145 – Kane Naaktgeboren (LM) won by forfeit; 152 – Grant Boddicker (LM) major dec. Dawson Fish, 13-5 (5,0); 160 – Josiah Schaetzle (DH) pinned Kinnick Lechtenberg, 1:03 (1,0); 170 – Grant Kress (LM) pinned Camden Smith, 1:35 (2,0); 182 – Landen Bushman (LM) dec. Cole Rettenmaier, 7-5 (2,1)

MEET STATISTICS

Takedowns – Dub. Hempstead 12, Linn-Mar 14. Reversals – Dub. Hempstead 0, Linn-Mar 1. Escapes – Dub. Hempstead 13, Linn-Mar 2. Nearfall points – Dub. Hempstead 6, Linn-Mar 3. Penalty points (awarded) – Dub. Hempstead 1, Linn-Mar 3. Total match points – Dub. Hempstead 44, Linn-Mar 38.