Iowa Wrestling Weekend That Was: Iowa State earns split at Journeymen Collegiate Duals

Iowa State and University of Northern Iowa close the first half of their seasons. Luther had a strong showing at Gator “Boots” Duals. Battle of Waterloo highlighted high school results in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

IOWA STATE EARNS SPLIT AT COLLEGIATE DUALS

Third-ranked Iowa State went 1-1 in two duals Sunday at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals in Nashville, Tenn. The Cyclones faced No. 2 Ohio State in the most anticipated matchup of the event. Unfortunately for Iowa State, it was the first loss of the season. The Buckeyes won six matches, including a pin from 157-pounder Brandon Cannon, for a 21-13, victory over the Cyclones (3-1). Iowa State’s top-ranked heavyweight Yonger Bastida and Jacob Frost (149) had wins over ranked foes. Bastida scored a takedown in the third period for a 4-2 decision over No. 3 Nick Feldman. Frost, ranked 10th, recorded a takedown in sudden victory for a 4-1 triumph over No. 6 Ethan Stiles. Rocky Elam added a major decision at 197 and Connor Euton (165) topped No. 16 Paddy Gallagher for the Cyclones.

Bastida continued the impressive performance with a 4-2 decision over Lehigh’s No. 6 Nathan Taylor, getting the decisive takedown with 50 seconds remaining. He improved to 12-0 overall and capped the Cyclones 26-11 win over Lehigh. Bastida has seven victories over ranked foes, including four against top-10 opponents, this season.

Elam added a second major decision and Frost also went 2-0 Sunday. Former Linn-Mar prep Kane Naaktgeboren stepped in at 157 for No. 3 Vinny Zerban and posted a 20-5 technical fall over Lehigh’s Griffin Gonzalez. Aiden Riggins wrestled at 174 instead of M.J. Gaitan. He went 1-1 with a major decision against Lehigh.

Iowa State returns to action Jan. 4 for a dual against Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.

NORTH CAROLINA KNOCKS UNI

UNI suffered its first home loss, falling to No. 16 North Carolina, 19-13, Sunday at McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. The Panthers won four matches and were without heavyweight Wyatt Voelker, moving to 3-3 overall this season.

Jared Simma opened the dual with a decision at 174 but the Tar Heels followed with four straight wins, including Jacob Levy’s 10-7 decision over UNI backup Grant Stromberg. North Carolina’s Kysen Terukina, who is familiar with wrestling in McLeod as a former Iowa State 125-pounder, edged Trever Anderson. Julian Farber and Cory Land helped the Panthers respond. Both are key leaders for UNI. Farber beat No. 15 Ethan Oakley, 11-10, at 133. Land added an 11-0 major decision over Luke Simcox at 141, pulling UNI within 12-10. The Tar Heels closed with two wins in the final three bouts, including Bryce Hepner’s 7-4 decision over UNI’s No. 8 Ryder Downey in the finale at 165 to secure the win.

UNI is idle until a dual at Nebraska Jan. 3.

LUTHER GOES 3-1 AT GATOR “BOOTS” DUALS

Luther enjoyed success at the Gator “Boots” Duals, also in Nashville, over the weekend. Loras also attended the holiday break tournament that consists of a men’s dual competition and women’s competition.

Luther posted a 3-1 record, beating Mount St. Joseph (59-0), No. 25 Alvernia (36-15) and Averett (38-11) but suffered a 27-24 loss to Ursinius. The Norse improved to 5-3 this season.

Lucy Miller, Grace Rinehardt, Nina Yankey and Lexi Timmerman wrestled in the women’s competition for Luther. Miller went 2-0, while Rinehardt was 2-1. Both recorded a pin.

Loras men’s and women’s teams also competed in the event. The Duhawks went 3-0 in duals, beating Alvernia (45-0), Averett (38-7) and No. 18 Baldwin-Wallace (34-8) improving to 7-1.

WARTBURG THRIVE AT DESERT DUALS

The Wartburg men’s and women’s teams competed in the Desert Duals last weekend. The top-ranked Wartburg squad went 3-0, beating Manchester (41-10), Vangaurd (37-4) and Menlo (32-9) and outscoring foes by a total of 110-23. The Knights (6-0) ended with a 24-6 match record.

Wartburg women went 2-1, improving to 5-1 overall. No. 16 Wartburg dropped No. 8 Simon Fraser, 24-22, and No. 5 Colorado Mesa, 26-17. The Knights fell to No. 3 Grand Valley State, 38-7, and are 8-7 all-time against ranked teams. Afftynn Stusse (110) had two pins and Gable Hemann (117) had two technical falls against Simon Fraser and Colorado Mesa. Former Cedar Rapids Prairie two-time state champion Mackenzie Childers (131) earned a technical fall against Colorado Mesa.

SOUTHEAST POLK WINS BATTLE OF WATERLOO

Southeast Polk captured the Battle of Waterloo boys dual tournament. The Rams, top-ranked in Class 3A, went 6-0 overall, beating 1A No. 1 Don Bosco (45-26), 2A No. 1 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (46-23) and 3A No. 3 Indianola (40-26) on Saturday. Indianola was second and Don Bosco third.

Independence defeated Linn-Mar, 39-29, in the second-place pool to finish seventh overall. Linn-Mar was eighth. The Mustangs won a tiebreaker after finishing in a three-way tie for second with the Lions and Pleasant Valley in the pool. The Spartans won the tiebreaker, despite losing to Linn-Mar on criteria.

On Thursday, Linn-Mar finished as runner-up in the girls’ tournament. The Lions went 4-1 overall, placing behind Cedar Falls. Linn-Mar blanked Des Moines Public Schools (78-0), Waverly-Shell Rock (59-24) and top-seeded Mason City (57-24) in bracket competition.

The Lions beat Osage, 49-30, and lost to the champion Tigers, 51-24, in the championship pool.

DECORAH WINS DON MILLER INVITATIONAL

Decorah claimed the team crown Saturday at the Don Miller Invitational in Fort Dodge. The Vikings tallied 217 1/2 points, 41 ahead of runner-up Iowa City West.

Decorah crowned four champions and placed seven in the finals. Thirteen Vikings finished fourth or better. Will Larson (138), Gavin Carolan (144), Gavin Knutson at 157 and 165-pounder William Fullhart won titles for Decorah.

West’s Diego Robertty (113), Alexander Pierce (126) and Campbell Janis at 175 placed first for the Trojans. Pierce, a state champion and three-time state finalist, improved to 14-0 this season, scoring two technical falls that bracketed a semifinal pin.

NORTH LINN WINS HOME TOURNAMENT

North Linn has continued its strong start by winning its annual Lynx Invitational Saturday in Troy Mills. The Lynx scored 189 1/2 to win the team race, 31 m1ore than runner-up Columbus Community. North Linn had five finalists, receiving titles from 157-pounder Tate Woods and Jacoby Peyton at 190. Jacob Rauch (120), 150-pounder Westyn Price and Trevor Kaut at 165 placed second.

Woods improved to 16-3 overall, topping Tipton’s Gage Sorgenfrey, 8-5, in the final. Peyton (16-1) capped his title run with a 7-0 decision over Kason Dopler, of Columbus Community.

Linn-Mar’s Jaedn Gallagher (120), Cascade duo Tatum Honda (126) and Bryce Carroll (144), Dyersville Beckman’s Preston Hunter (150) and Cody Hageman at 175, Tipton’s Max Lashmit (165) and Mid-Prairie 215-pounder Tommy Miller placed first.

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