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Wrestlers earn five wins in quad meet
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · December 21, 2017
West Branch wrestlers brought back five wins from a Dec. 14 quad in Camanche.
Morgan Hartz led the team with two wins, while Harold Blakey, Jacob Barnhart and Jacob Graves each had victories as well when the Bears went up against Monticello, Durant and Camanche.
West Branch dual scores suffered since the Bears could only fill eight of 14 weight classes, but in actual match-ups, the Bears defeated Durant two to one. Durant only has three wrestlers on its roster.
That one loss may have been expected on paper — a rematch between West Branch sophomore John Yates and Durant’s Cameron Ragurrio — since Ragurrio beat Yates by a 16-5 major decision on Nov. 30.
But Yates improved significantly since then, nearly pinning the 152-pounder twice, once in the first period and once in the second. Ragurrio managed to survive and the two battled to an 11-11 tie in the third when Ragurrio earned a pin.
“John closed the distance,” assistant Bears wrestling coach Jason Feuerbach said. “It was a much different match than when they wrestled two to three weeks ago. He was getting a lot of good things in there. Obviously John was not happy with the result.”
Feuerbach said Yates, who started wrestling later than many of his opponents, “has a lot of ground to gain.”
“But he’s another one who, if he continues to work hard, if he stays the course with that, we’re going to be beating a lot of kids,” he said.
Senior Jacob “Cheese” Graves weighed in at 145 for the first time this season, dropping from 152 for the first time since football season. Still, he bumped up to wrestle at 152 to take on Monticello’s Thomas Broderick. The two hand-fought for the first, non-scoring period, then Graves chose the down position to open the second. He escaped and earned a take-down on his Panther opponent for a 3-0 lead.
Broderick chose down for the start of the third yet could not escape Graves’ grip.
“Cheese got down to 145 for the first time tonight and he was willing for the team aspect of it to bump up and wrestle the 152-pounder, who was a big, strong kid,” Feuerbach said. “Jacob’s well-conditioned and a physical athlete, so he stepped up to the challenge and out-worked the kid and broke him in the third.”
Freshman Morgan Hartz fought a dominating match against Monticello’s Spencer Avery. In the first period alone, he scored four takedowns and a two-point near-fall. In the second, he opted for the down position and the competitive weightlifter managed to flip himself out of Avery’s grasp to escape and earn two more takedowns. In the third, Avery took the down position, escaped, and Hartz took him down again and pinned him halfway through the period.
“Morgan’s got real good offense when he wants to get to it,” the coach said. “He’s just got to keep working hard in the room and getting more confident on his feet and he can take down some of the better kids in the state of Iowa. … He’s got a lot of growing to do, but he’s showing a lot of growing this year already.”
Hartz’ weightlifting worked in his favor, the coach said.
“He’s a big, strong kid as well,” Feuerbach said. “Morgan works hard in the wrestling room and the weight room. Athletes who compete in multiple sports and put their time in the weight room, those are the type of kids you want on your team”
Senior Jacob Barnhart met Durant’s Mason Bird again. He pinned Bird in the second period when they met on Nov. 30. This time, the Division I football prospect did it in the first.
“Jacob (getting back to wrestling) as a senior is kind of a steep learning curve,” the coach said. “But there are not too many heavyweights in the state of Iowa who will be able to match his strength and athleticism.”
Feuerbach noted Barnhart, who wins about half of his matches, has already faced a couple of state-ranked opponents this season.
“The more he learns body positioning and basic fundamentals, he’s going to be beating some pretty decent kids,” he said. “(Facing ranked wrestlers) he hung pretty tough for awhile, but it was just some greenhorn, rookie mistakes that unfortunately cost him the match. Heavyweight’s a lot of weight to throw around. You can get caught pretty easily, so being patient and proper techniques are important.”
Camanche 54, West Branch 18 — 113: Zack Woeckener (Cam) over (WB) (For.) 120: Brennan Kramer (Cam) over (WB) (For.) 126: Christian Leary (Cam) over Joe Seydel (WB) (MD 12-0) 132: Cade Everson (Cam) over (WB) (For.) 138: Josh Walters (Cam) over (WB) (For.) 145: Eric Campie (Cam) over Jacob Graves (WB) (Fall 3:43) 152: Baylor Crigger (Cam) over John Yates (WB) (TF 17-2 1:40) 160: Logan Waltz (Cam) over (WB) (For.) 170: Morgan Hartz (WB) over (Cam) (For.) 182: Dylan Butler (WB) over (Cam) (For.) 195: Double Forfeit 220: Kolby Snodgrass (Cam) over (WB) (For.) 285: Jacob Barnhart (WB) over (Cam) (For.) 106: Ben Vogel (Cam) over Tyler Siemen (WB) (Dec 7-5)
West Branch 30, Durant 6 — 106: Tyler Siemen (WB) over (Dur) (For.) 113: Double Forfeit 120: Double Forfeit 126: Double Forfeit 132: Double Forfeit 138: Double Forfeit 145: Harold Blakey (WB) over Lily Bassett (Dur) (Fall 0:23) 152: Cameron Ragurrio (Dur) over John Yates (WB) (Fall 4:43) 160: Double Forfeit 170: Morgan Hartz (WB) over (Dur) (For.) 182: Dylan Butler (WB) over (Dur) (For.) 195: Double Forfeit 220: Double Forfeit 285: Jacob Barnhart (WB) over Mason Bird (Dur) (Fall 1:58)
Monticello 48, West Branch 27 — 285: Jacob Barnhart (WB) over (Mont) (For.) 106: Alaina Sunlin (Mont) over Tyler Siemen (WB) (Fall 1:40) 113: Dylan Bowser (Mont) over (WB) (For.) 120: Ethan Tallman (Mont) over (WB) (For.) 126: Kain Luensman (Mont) over Joe Seydel (WB) (Fall 1:23) 132: Andrew Wall (Mont) over (WB) (For.) 138: Chase Luensman (Mont) over (WB) (For.) 145: Bo Kramer (Mont) over Harold Blakey (WB) (Fall 4:26) 152: Jacob Graves (WB) over Thomas Broderick (Mont) (Dec 3-0) 160: John Yates (WB) over (Mont) (For.) 170: Morgan Hartz (WB) over Spencer Avery (Mont) (Fall 4:54) 182: Dylan Butler (WB) over (Mont) (For.) 195: Double Forfeit 220: Lake Stahlberg (Mont) over (WB) (For.)
Regina Invite
West Branch placed in three weight classes Saturday during the Regina Invitational.
Tyler Siemen took fifth place in 106 pounds, Jacob Graves finished sixth at 145 pounds and Morgan Hartz earned fourth place in 160 pounds.
Team scores: 1. Solon 212.5, 2. Mount Pleasant 161, 3. Pekin 113, 4. (tie) Columbus-Winfield-Mt. Union and Marshalltown 108, 6. Davenport West 85, 7. Fairfield 81, 8. Tipton 67, 9. North Cedar 65.5, 10. Signourney-Keota 60, 11. Regina 39, 12. H-L-V 35, 13. Lone Tree 31, 14. West Branch 30.
106: Tyler Siemen (12-8) placed 5th and scored 14.00 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Tyler Siemen (WB) 12-8 won by fall over Seth Lenz (Reg) 2-6 (Fall 0:33); Quarterfinal - Travis Hodges (Davenport West) 7-4 won by decision over Tyler Siemen (WB) 12-8 (Dec 7-5)
Cons. Round 2 - Tyler Siemen (WB) 12-8 won by fall over Tyler Gillum (Pek) 4-11 (Fall 3:38); Cons. Semi - Tyler Siemen (WB) 12-8 won by major decision over Ethan Kupka (H-L-V) 4-11 (MD 15-3); 5th Place Match - Tyler Siemen (WB) 12-8 won by decision over Cohyn Roach (Fair) 4-8 (Dec 5-2).
145: Jacob Graves (6-5) placed 6th and scored 5.00 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Jacob Graves (WB) 6-5 received a bye; Quarterfinal - Cael Baker (Pek) 12-8 won by decision over Jacob Graves (WB) 6-5 (Dec 8-6); Cons. Round 2 - Jacob Graves (WB) 6-5 received a bye; Cons. Semi - Jacob Graves (WB) 6-5 won by decision over Sabon Simons (Fair) 5-10 (Dec 8-5); 5th Place Match - Trent Hendricks (Sig) 8-8 won by fall over Jacob Graves (WB) 6-5 (Fall 3:14).
152: John Yates (4-12). Champ. Round 1 - Seth Bingham (Pek) 1-4 won by fall over John Yates (WB) 4-12 (Fall 0:38); Cons. Round 1 - John Yates (WB) 4-12 received a bye; Cons. Round 2 - Peyton Cline (Fair) 5-7 won by fall over John Yates (WB) 4-12 (Fall 0:55)
160: Morgan Hartz (11-7) placed 4th and scored 11.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Morgan Hartz (WB) 11-7 won by fall over Sean Nugent (Reg) 1-9 (Fall 1:13); Semifinal - Jax Flynn (Sol) 11-6 won by fall over Morgan Hartz (WB) 11-7 (Fall 1:15); 3rd Place Match - Garrett Boecker (Mt. P) 6-10 won by fall over Morgan Hartz (WB) 11-7 (Fall 2:45)
182: Dylan Butler (4-4). Champ. Round 1 - Dylan Butler (WB) 4-4 received a bye; Quarterfinal - Tim Mills (Lone Tree) 7-6 won by fall over Dylan Butler (WB) 4-4 (Fall 0:23); Cons. Round 2 - Dylan Butler (WB) 4-4 received a bye; Cons. Semi - Chayton French (M’town) 3-2 won by fall over Dylan Butler (WB) 4-4 (Fall 0:37)
285. Jacob Barnhart (8-8). Quarterfinal - Brendon Lunsford (Fair) 10-2 won by fall over Jacob Barnhart (WB) 8-8 (Fall 0:29); Cons. Semi - Henry Lutovsky (Mt. P) 8-7 won by fall over Jacob Barnhart (WB) 8-8 (Fall 1:03)
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