Linn-Mar stockpiles bonus points in wrestling doubleheader sweep over Iowa City High

IOWA CITY — Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher had some concerns.

More like questions.

He said he wondered how the Lions would respond to their first dual in a few weeks and sitting through long competition that left them in the bleachers for a few hours before taking the mat.

“I told them things don’t just happen,” Streicher said. “You have to make them happen. For the most part, I thought most of our guys made things happen for themselves and it turned out good.”

Class 3A No. 7 Linn-Mar won eight matches, including five by pin, and defeated No. 15 Iowa City High, 49-25, in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys’ wrestling dual Thursday night at City High.

The Linn-Mar girls’ wrestling team defeated City High, 48-30, to open the sweep.

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The Lions earned bonus points in each victory, adding two major decisions and a technical fall.

“I thought we wrestled pretty well,” said Streicher, noting the Lions that did lose battled despite being outmatched. “It’s a good starting point for us.”

Streicher compared the return from break to the start of the season. It is tough to get a good barometer of the team from practice. Nothing matches duals or tournaments to gauge progress, which made this dual important.

“Practicing for two weeks straight is not sharpening your skills very much,” Streicher said. “You work out kinks maybe, but you need competition. We needed this to get back in the groove of weighing in and competing.

“Now, we have our first foot forward after the break. Let’s get to it.”

City High’s 190-pounder Raph Etuma built a 10-0 lead before pinning Carson Luense in 5:22 in the opening bout. Linn-Mar answered with three straight wins and never trailed again.

Holden Heideman stepped in at 215 with ninth-ranked Griffin Schultz bumping to heavyweight for the Lions. Heideman posted a 12-3 major decision over Juan Martinez and Schultz followed with a second-period fall over Trey Dervich for a 10-6 lead.

Jaedn Gallagher (106), top-ranked 144-pounder Kane Naaktgeboren, No. 6 Grant Boddicker (150) and Barrett Mieras (165) added falls for Linn-Mar. Nate Fish won by major decision at 126 and Kinnick Lechtenberg posted a technical fall, moving the Lions’ dual record to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the MVC.

“We showed a lot more fight than we normally do,” Naaktgeboren said. “We got some bonus points at a few of those big weights, which helped. It was good to see them go get bonus.”

Both teams combined for 12 ranked wrestlers but they split the two ranked matchups. Naaktgeboren took one of them, building a 14-5 lead before pinning No. 9 Jake Mitchell in 3:11. He was unsure if he would have a match due to strategic moves and bumping weights.

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Photos: Linn-Mar at Iowa City High boys’ and girls’ wrestling

“I was pretty blessed to be able to wrestle,” Naaktgeboren said. “I always like wrestling good kids. I was just glad to wrestle.”

Naaktgeboren is a three-time state medalist and a returning state finalist. The Iowa State commit improved to 15-0 with 14 pins. His lone decision was against Jayden Haueter, of Apple Valley (Minn.) High School, in the finals of the Dan Gable Donnybrook. Otherwise, he has throttled foes and hasn’t reached the third period against Iowa competition.

“I know high school is coming down to the last stretch,” Naaktgeboren said. “I have to stay dominant and stay on my goals — a state championship and Dan Gable Wrestler of the Year award.”

City High (9-2) also stockpiled bonus points. The Little Hawks’ highly-ranked trio earned technical falls. Top-ranked Cale Seaton tallied nine takedowns and a three-point nearfall for a 23-8 triumph over No. 7 Hud Turner at 132. No. 4 Kael Kurtz (138) continued the flurry of takedowns, scoring 12 in his 25-10 win over Cain Boddicker. Top-ranked 157-pounder Kael Voinovich had five takedowns and three turns for eight nearfall to drop Noah Howk-Erwin. Kendall Kurtz, ranked 10th at 113, added a major decision.

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In the girls’ dual, Linn-Mar recorded six first-period pins. Mallory Palmer (105) and No. 6 Kate Seery opened the contested matches with pins in 46 seconds and 1:00, respectively. Seventh-ranked 120-pounder Ally Jelinek, Reese Roberts (125) and Brielle Parke at 130 posted consecutive falls. Parke managed six takedowns before a pin in 1:24. Kayel Roberts added a pin at 140.

City High’s Martha Willard at 115 and Annabelle Stelpflug (145) recorded pins.

AT IOWA CITY HIGH

Linn-Mar 49, Iowa City High 25

(Individual takedowns in parentheses)

190 pounds – Raph Etuma (ICH) pinned Carson Luense, 5:22 (3,0); 215 – Holden Heideman (LM) major dec. Juan Martinez, 12-3 (5,0); Hwt. – Griffin Schultz (LM) pinned Trey Dervich, 2:26 (2,0); 106 – Jaedn Gallagher (LM) pinned Tegan Jones, 1:33 (1,0); 113 – Kendal Kurtz (ICH) major dec. Nunzio Salanitri, 10-2 (5,0); 120 – Malik DeBow (LM) won by forfeit; 126 – Nate Fish (LM) major dec. Edger Mhoon-Lopez, 9-1 (4,0); 132 – Cale Seaton (ICH) tech. fall Hud Turner, 23-8 (9,0); 138 – Kael Kurtz (ICH) tech. fall Cain Boddicker, 25-10 (12,0); 144 – Kane Naaktgeboren (LM) pinned Jake Mitchell, 3:11 (7,0); 150 – Grant Boddicker (LM) pinned Gabe Egeland, 1:19 (1,0); 157 – Kael Voinovich (ICH) tech. fall Noah Howk-Erwin, 19-2 (5,0); 165 – Barrett Mieras (LM) pinned Obed Dominguez, 1:09 (1,0); 175 – Kinnick Lechtenberg (LM) tech. fall Jesse Hendershot, 16-1 (2,0)

MEET STATISTICS

Takedowns – Linn-Mar 23, City High 34. Reversals – Linn-Mar 0, City High 1. Escapes – Linn-Mar 25, City High 14. Nearfall points – Linn-Mar 14, City High 13. Penalty points (awarded) – Linn-Mar 1, City High 0. Total match points – Linn-Mar 86, City High 97.

Linn-Mar 48, Iowa City High 30

(Individual takedowns in parentheses)

100 pounds – Double forfeit; 105 – Mallory Palmer (LM) pinned Hazel Boerner, :46 (1,0); 110 – Kate Seery (LM) pinned Eliza Mitchell, 1:00 (2,0); 115 – Martha Willard (ICH) pinned Payzlee Shaffer, 5:16 (2,0); 120 – Ally Jelinek (LM) pinned Nina Yankey, 1:55 (3,0); 125 – Reese Roberts (LM) pinned Quinn Price, :48 (1,0); 130 – Brielle Parke (LM) pinned Paige Dixon, 1:24 (6,0); 135 – Briana Clymer (LM) won by forfeit; 140 – Kayel Roberts (LM) pinned Jeanica Mbuyi, 1:42 (1,0); 145 – Annabelle Stelpflug (ICH) pinned Melena Garcia, 1:36 (2,0); 155 – Shaona Emmanuel (ICH) won by forfeit; 170 – Molly Carlson (ICH) won by forfeit; 190 – Tali Clements (ICH) won by forfeit; 235 – Rylee Passmore (LM) won by forfeit

MEET STATISTICS

Takedowns – Linn-Mar 14, City High 4. Reversals – Linn-Mar 0, City High 0. Escapes – Linn-Mar 1, City High 8. Nearfall points – Linn-Mar 7, City High 4. Penalty points (awarded) – Linn-Mar 0, City High 0. Total match points – Linn-Mar 36, City High 20.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com