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Bears earn six wins against RVC opponents
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · January 04, 2018
Bears wrestlers brought back six wins against three conference foes before heading out for Christmas break Dec. 21.
Senior Jacob “Cheese” Graves and freshman Morgan Hartz led West Branch with two wins each, with junior Drake Bloem and senior Jacob Barnhart also earning victories at a quad meet at Tipton Middle School.
Despite several open weights against River Valley Conference opponents Tipton, Regina and Camanche, Graves wrestled three times that night – the only Bear to do so – including one that lasted all three periods against Tipton’s Brandon Vallet that ended in a 18-5 major decision for Graves.
Graves dominated Vallet, taking him down three times and letting him go twice in the first period. He then started in the down position for the second period, pulled a reversal and three-point near fall, then another takedown. In the third period, Vallet motioned for a neutral stance, then Graves earned a takedown and another three-point near-fall. Rolling out of bounds, the two wrestlers went to reset when the referee called time-out because Graves had a cut on the bridge of his nose. In the final minute, Graves earned another takedown.
Head Bears Coach Cody Krumweide said Graves “missed a few things” in that match, “he got on offense and hit some things we’ve been working on.”
“He got to mix it up a little bit,” the coach said. “It’s good that he got a chance to work on that.”
Graves had some troubles the previous Saturday at a tournament, so Krumweide said he was glad to see the improvement.
“We really had to readjust this week … and it’s good he made those adjustments,” he said.
Hartz went three periods against Tipton’s Levi Mohr in what seemed like an even battle despite what turned into a 10-3 win for the West Branch grappler. In the first period, Hartz earned a takedown and two-point near-fall before Mohr pulled a reversal. Hartz started the second period in the down position and earned a reversal. Mohr escaped and Hartz took him down a second time to take an 8-3 lead. Mohr would choose the down position in the third, escape and then get taken down again. The Tipton wrestler escaped again before time ran out.
The coach said what caught his attention in that match was Mohr putting Hartz in a double under, yet Hartz broke free of the hold.
“Morgan did a good job,” Krumweide said. “He hadn’t been in that position a lot yet, but he did readjust partway to the mat.”
Hartz saw the same thing in his second match and handled it even better, the coach said.
Bloem returned to the mat after a couple weeks getting over a broken finger received during practice. He wrestled twice that night, earning a 1-1 record. His win came after pinning Regina’s Russell Hingst in less than a minute. He lost to Camanche’s Kolby Snodgrass at the 1:23 mark of the first period.
Krumweide said Bloem returned to practice just the day before the trip to Tipton. In his first match against Snodgrass, Bloem looked a little out of practice.
“That first kid got in his head a little bit,” the coach said. “But that second kid, we had him readjust and that’s a kid he should beat and did beat and he did a pretty good job of actually doing it. It was not perfect form, but he did it.”
Barnhart’s win was his only opportunity to wrestle that night. He defeated Tipton’s Jessie Leisure with a straight takedown-to-pin in the first period.
Krumweide hopes Barnhart can find more opportunities to wrestle with the second half of the season and the lead-up to the conference tournament.
“I wish he would be able to get some more matches, but that’s just how Class 1A is – you’re not always going to have full weights,” he said. “His biggest thing right now is that he needs more matches. He did a really good job there. He outworked the kid. He needs to stay behind the arms a little bit, but still …”
The team had some practices over Christmas break, including one with another team “to see some new wrestling styles,” the coach said.
Camanche 60, West Branch 18: 182: Dylan Butler (WEBR) over (CAMA) (For.) 195: Double Forfeit 220: Kolby Snodgrass (CAMA) over Drake Bloem (WEBR) (Fall 1:23) 285: Jacob Barnhart (WEBR) over (CAMA) (For.) 106: Ben Vogel (CAMA) over Tyler Siemen (WEBR) (Fall 1:37) 113: Zack Woeckener (CAMA) over (WEBR) (For.) 120: Brennan Kramer (CAMA) over Joe Seydel (WEBR) (Fall 0:48) 126: Christian Leary (CAMA) over (WEBR) (For.) 132: Cade Everson (CAMA) over (WEBR) (For.) 138: Jason Huling (CAMA) over (WEBR) (For.) 145: Eric Campie (CAMA) over Jacob Graves (WEBR) (Fall 2:44) 152: Austen Clark (CAMA) over (WEBR) (For.) 160: Morgan Hartz (WEBR) over (CAMA) (For.) 170: Logan Waltz (CAMA) over (WEBR) (For.)
Regina, Iowa City 36, West Branch 30: 220: Drake Bloem (WEBR) over Russell Hingst (REGI) (Fall 0:59) 285: Jacob Barnhart (WEBR) over (REGI) (For.) 106: Tyler Siemen (WEBR) over (REGI) (For.) 113: Double Forfeit 120: Henry May (REGI) over Joe Seydel (WEBR) (Fall 0:53) 126: Double Forfeit 132: Levi Quinlan (REGI) over (WEBR) (For.) 138: Theo Kolie (REGI) over (WEBR) (For.) 145: Jacob Graves (WEBR) over Will Bobst (REGI) (Fall 1:30) 152: Jack Goedken (REGI) over (WEBR) (For.) 160: Morgan Hartz (WEBR) over Sean Nugent (REGI) (Fall 0:53) 170: Ryan Schott (REGI) over (WEBR) (For.) 182: Double Forfeit 195: Nick Milder (REGI) over Dylan Butler (WEBR) (Fall 0:14)
Tipton 57, West Branch 19: 195: Nick Paul (TIPT) over (WEBR) (For.) 220: Drake Bloem (WEBR) over (TIPT) (For.) 285: Jacob Barnhart (WEBR) over Jessie Leisure (TIPT) (Fall 1:33) 106: Austin Lenz (TIPT) over Tyler Siemen (WEBR) (Dec 8-1) 113: Kaleb Mesick (TIPT) over (WEBR) (For.) 120: Ben Emrich (TIPT) over Joe Seydel (WEBR) (Fall 0:40) 126: John Crowley (TIPT) over (WEBR) (For.) 132: Brandon Hines (TIPT) over (WEBR) (For.) 138: Brenden Leeper (TIPT) over (WEBR) (For.) 145: Jacob Graves (WEBR) over Brandon Vallet (TIPT) (MD 18-5) 152: Lucas Barnum (TIPT) over (WEBR) (For.) 160: Morgan Hartz (WEBR) over Levi Mohr (TIPT) (Dec 10-3) 170: Nolan Ohrt (TIPT) over (WEBR) (For.) 182: Dylan Mente (TIPT) over Dylan Butler (WEBR) (Fall 0:26)
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