IHSAA state duals notes: Sergeant Bluff-Luton forges way to first Class 2A state finals appearance

CORALVILLE — Sergeant Bluff-Luton has climbed the ladder one rung at a time.

The Warriors weren’t blue-bloods in the sport when they started making regular trips to the Iowa High School Athletic Association state duals wrestling tournament a decade ago. They improved steadily, placing sixth and seventh for a handful of years, then fifth in 2021, fourth in 2022 and third last season. The ascension continued this year.

Fifth-seeded Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Bo Koedam and Zayvion Ellington bumped up weights and posted consecutive victories to cap a 36-33 victory over defending state champion and top-ranked Osage in the Class 2A state duals semifinals Saturday at Xtream Arena. The Warriors earned their first championship dual appearance.

“It means a lot to the guys,” SBL Coach Clint Koedam said. “It’s exciting for them. “I just feel like we’ve been that team that has slowly clawed its way to get there over the years.”

The 2A field was considered the most balanced of the three classes and up for grabs to anyone that wanted to snatch it. Koedam knew the any dual was winnable, even facing the defending state champion and returning finalist in consecutive rounds.

“I think 2A was unbelievable more than any other year,” Koedam said. “We could re-wrestle this thing next weekend and it comes out completely different.

“Everybody figures stuff up on paper, but I just tell our guys be the best version of themselves at that moment and that time. If that’s not good enough, it ain’t good enough.”

The semifinal was an exchange of streaks. Osage won the first three bouts for a 15-0 lead followed by SBL’s five-match stretch for a 24-15 lead. Drake Howard (106) and 113-pounder Jayce Curry posted pins, while Ethan Skoglund (126) and Cassidy Craig (132) won by technical fall and major decision, respectively.

The decisive move came at the end when Bo Koedam, ranked second at 157, moved to 165 and earned a fall to tie the dual. The stage was set for Ellington, ranked No. 5 at 165, against No. 2 165-pounder Max Gast at 175.

Ellington realized during the younger Koedam’s match that it would rest on his shoulders.

“I knew when I was out there I had all my teammates counting on me,” Ellington said. “My coaches are counting on me. My parents do great things in my life. I had to go out there and perform.”

He delivered a 3-0 win and the celebration began. First a huddle on the mat and then another with some fans over the barrier separating the arena floor from the stands.

“It was crazy,” Ellington said. “Everybody was super excited. This is a thing we’re not used to. We’re used to success but not at this level. For us being able to do that really turns things for us.”

The Warriors opened the day with a 41-24 over No. 4 West Delaware, a team that beat them in the last two semifinals and the 2021 quarterfinals. The victory snapped West Delaware’s streak of five straight finals appearances.

SBL took eight of the final 10 bouts. Curry, Skoglund, Craig, 150-pounder Ayden McRoberts and Koedam recorded pins. Koedam’s fall in 1:06 sealed the victory for SBL. Not bad for a team that worried about talent lost to graduation.

“Their big thing is they did not want to drop the ball,” Koedam said. “They didn’t want to be the ones that Sergeant Bluff doesn’t have an extra banner or trophy in the trophy case. I think that was a big motivator for them to pick up the torch and keep going.”

Southeast Polk returns to state finals

Southeast Polk was dominant as any team in the first two rounds. The top-ranked Rams throttled rival Waverly-Shell Rock, 54-24, in the opening round and produced a 53-18 victory over No. 4 Fort Dodge.

Southeast Polk has become a regular, wrestling for a 3A state duals crown. The Rams reached the finals for the 11th time in 12 seasons, including each of the last six seasons. They won titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

No. 3 Bettendorf joined Southeast Polk in the final. The Bulldogs dropped No. 2 Indianola, 31-30. Lincoln Jipp (165) notched a pin in the dual’s penultimate bout to secure the win.

Independence rebounds to place 6th

Independence was the only Wamac Conference team to wrestle to its seed Saturday. The sixth-seeded Mustangs rebounded from a hard-fought 35-26 first-round loss to No. 3 Creston that wasn’t decided until the last match.

Independence followed with a 34-20 victory over Algona.

“It was good to come back after that loss, a close loss,” Doyle said. “Get back to wrestling and being on the winning side.

“Algona has a great team. They’re solid up and down the lineup. We knew we had to wrestle hard.”

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