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Nine Bears place at Regina invitational
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · December 24, 2024
The West Branch boys’ wrestling team had plenty of high finishers Saturday at the Regal Wrestling Invitational hosted by Regina, placing third with 162 1/2 points with nine of 11 grapplers placing.
“It’s a good start to the competition that’s going to get a lot harder here soon,” Bears Head Coach Jake Slocum said. “Compared to these other tournaments that we’re going to get in, that should have been a cakewalk. But you’ve got Lisbon and Woodbury Central that are ranked above us.
“We had some open weights, some guys got beat out, and that didn’t help us win the tournament. For a little bit, we thought we were going to come back and at least get second, but we didn’t. We got to see some harder guys and learn what we need to work on to get better.”
Logan Christoffel (11-3) was the Bears’ lone champion, taking the title at 132.
Christoffel began wrestling in the quarterfinal, pinning Sigourney-Keota’s Gavin Khali (1-2) in an even two minutes. In the semifinal, he ground out a 1-0 decision against Mount Pleasant’s Jefferson Avalos Ramirez (7-6) to advance to the final. There, he took down Carter Gadberry (12-5) of Lisbon by 4-0 decision.
“His record doesn’t really show how good he is as a wrestler, because everybody he’s lost to is ranked,” Slocum said of Christoffel. “He’s doing the right things, but he’s got to find more offense. He’s definitely going in the right direction and will peak at the right time.”
West Branch had plenty of grapplers finish high on the podium, with four runners-up and two third-place finishers.
At 106, Ethan Humphrey (9-1) began the second-place efforts for the Bears.
Humphrey, who is ranked No. 2 in his class in Class 1A by IAWrestle, rested until the quarterfinal, where he worked a 16-0 technical fall over Tait Zirkel (7-6) of Davenport West. In the semifinal, he breezed past Lisbon’s Jack Gogel (15-3) by fall in 1:03 to secure a spot in the final. Humphrey took his first blemish of the season in the title bout, dropping an 8-4 decision to Ian Maize (11-1).
Teague Thomas (113, 12-2) also took second in his class.
After resting until the semifinal, where he pinned Paxton Wehr (0-2) of Sigourney-Keota in 1:31, Thomas came up short against Cael Stricker (14-3) by 7-0 decision.
Cooper Gates (165, 10-3) joined the second-place finishers.
The junior, ranked No. 9 in 1A by IAWrestle, began his day in the quarterfinal, taking a 20-2 technical fall against Jackson Newman (5-6) of Mount Pleasant. In the semifinal, he took another technical fall to the tune of 16-0 over Lisbon’s Gage Holub (14-5). The junior dropped a tight 7-5 decision to Quinn McGeough (16-0) of MFL MarMac in the title bout.
IAWrestle 1A No. 10 Tate Frantz (190, 12-2) capped off the Bears who took second.
Beginning his run in the quarterfinal, where he pinned Sam Sanchez (3-5) of Independence JV in 1:11, he advanced to the final by pinning Woodbury Central’s Colton Warren (11-7) in 2:47. Frantz then dropped a 15-3 major decision to WACO’s Louden Huisenga.
“Their losses aren’t to scrubs, and they’re wrestling consistently, always wrestling guys that are in the top five,” Slocum said of the quartet of second-place finishers. He added that “it’s good to see where you’re at and what you need to improve on” as the season reached the halfway point.
Keaton Gates (150, 12-5) was one of the two top consolation finishers.
The sophomore wrestled from the opening round, pinning Lisbon’s Lucas Capron (3-3) in 1:20 before falling to Cael Weisskopf (15-3) of HLV–Victor in 5:17. In his first consolation match, Keaton Gates stayed alive with a pin of Davenport West’s Karsten Studer (0-6) in 1:29 before winning the next rung of the consolation ladder by 15-0 technical fall against Jordan Chamberlin (5-10) of Wapello.
In the consolation semifinal, he pinned Max Lashmit (8-7) of Tipton in 1:28 to get a chance at the third place match. There, the sophomore took a 14-11 decision over Ramzy Davis (9-3) of Mount Pleasant.
Maddux Rushton (157, 10-6) also had a third-place effort.
Rushton opened with a first-round win over Max Dopler (5-9) of Wapello in 55 seconds before pinning Woodbury Central’s Abe McGill (11-8) in 43 seconds. In the semifinal, he took his lone setback by pin in 3:14 to Lisbon’s Tiernan Boots (16-1). He rebounded with a 19-2 technical fall over Sigourney-Keota’s Jacob Libe (12-5) and won the third-place match by 7-6 decision over Tipton’s Kendrick Heffernan (7-6).
“You’ve got to be a backside hero, and what I mean is that if you lose you’ve got to come back and get third,” the coach said of Keaton Gates and Rushton. “Maddux lost to the third-ranked guy, and he wrestled tough, came back and got third. I think that’s the best I’ve seen Maddux wrestle in the past three years.”
Slocum added that Keaton Gates is “trying to find what works for him” as the season continues.
Gabe Depoorter (126, 8-6) and Cooper Hartz (215, 7-9) added placings as well.
Deeporter took seventh in his class, collecting a win in the placing match by fall. Hartz had wins by fall in the opening round and his first consolation match.
“All the guys that are thrown in there besides everyone we’ve mentioned are freshmen, are young,” Slocum said. “Just placing at tournaments is a big thing, but coming back for third or fourth would be even better. But not getting beat out, wrestling and finding a way to place. It all starts up here in the [wrestling] room.”
The coach added that the emphasis at this point of the year is “having fun and letting it fly” while saving the grappler’s best wrestling for the postseason
The Bears, who are slotted at No. 19 in the 1A dual rankings by IAWrestle, will look to keep the momentum going with a rigorous practice schedule over the break. West Branch will also get a chance to see some elite competition at its Jan. 4 tournament hosted by powerhouse Osage.
The coach said that live wrestling and running will be the points of emphasis over the break.
“We’ve got to get our conditioning there,” Slocum said. “When your technique fails you, your conditioning should be the thing that comes and saves you at the end of the match. And little stuff. Looking to score at every opportunity. You miss one thing, look for another thing while you’re down there looking for that first thing you’ve tried. Always be ready to chain wrestle.”
Team scores: 1. Lisbon 222.5 2. Woodbury Central 188.5 3. West Branch 162.5 4. Mount Pleasant 134 5. Regina 131 6. Independence JV 112.5 7. Sigourney-Keota 112 8. MFL MarMac 107.5 9. Tipton 107 10. WACO 84.5 11. Wapello 66 12. Davenport West 56.5 13. HLV 45.5 14. North Cedar 16 15. Lone Tree 11.
106: Champ. Round 1- Ethan Humphrey (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Ethan Humphrey (WB) over Tait Zirkel (DW) (TF-1.5 2:30 (16-0)); Semifinal- Ethan Humphrey (WB) over Jack Gogel (LIS) (Fall 1:03); 1st Place Match- Ian Maize (WACO) over Ethan Humphrey (WB) (Dec 8-4)
113: Champ. Round 1- Teague Thomas (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Teague Thomas (WB) received a bye; Semifinal- Teague Thomas (WB) over Paxton Wehr (S-K) (Fall 1:31); 1st Place Match- Cael Stricker (LIS) over Teague Thomas (WB) (Dec 7-0)
126: Champ. Round 1- Gabe Depoorter (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Cade Happel (LIS) over Gabe Depoorter (WB) (Fall 1:33); Cons. Round 2- Gabe Depoorter (WB) received a bye; Cons. Round 3- Sam Boysen (WAP) over Gabe Depoorter (WB) (Fall 1:39); 7th Place Match- Gabe Depoorter (WB) over Bryer Jack (HLV) (Fall 3:32)
132: Champ. Round 1- Logan Christoffel (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Logan Christoffel (WB) over Gavin Khali (S-K) (Fall 2:00); Semifinal- Logan Christoffel (WB) over Jefferson Avalos Ramirez (MP) (Dec 1-0); 1st Place Match- Logan Christoffel (WB) over Carter Gadberry (LIS) (Dec 4-0)
138: Champ. Round 1- Logan Bevans (IND JV) over Clay Gates (WB) (Fall 0:31); Cons. Round 1- Clay Gates (WB) over John Couch (REG) (Fall 0:27); Cons. Round 2- Charlie Bohnenkamp (MP) over Clay Gates (WB) (TF-1.5 4:13 (20-3))
150: Champ. Round 1- Keaton Gates (WB) over Lucas Capron (LIS) (Fall 1:20); Quarterfinal- Cael Weisskopf (HLV) over Keaton Gates (WB) (Fall 5:17); Cons. Round 2- Keaton Gates (WB) over Karsten Studer (DW) (Fall 1:29); Cons. Round 3- Keaton Gates (WB) over Jordan Chamberlain (WAP) (TF-1.5 2:35 (15-0)); Cons. Semi- Keaton Gates (WB) over Max Lashmit (TIP) (Fall 1:28); 3rd Place Match- Keaton Gates (WB) over Ramzy Davis (MP) (Dec 14-11)
157: Champ. Round 1- Maddux Rushton (WB) over Max Dopler (WAP) (Fall 0:55); Quarterfinal- Maddux Rushton (WB) over Abe McGill (WC) (Fall 0:43); Semifinal- Tiernan Boots (LIS) over Maddux Rushton (WB) (Fall 3:14); Cons. Semi- Maddux Rushton (WB) over Jacob Libe (S-K) (TF-1.5 4:53 (19-2)); 3rd Place Match- Maddux Rushton (WB) over Kendrick Heffernan (TIP) (Dec 7-6)
165: Champ. Round 1- Cooper Gates (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Cooper Gates (WB) over Jackson Newman (MP) (TF-1.5 3:50 (20-2)); Semifinal- Cooper Gates (WB) over Gage Holub (LIS) (TF-1.5 6:0 (16-0)); 1st Place Match- Quinn McGeough (MFL) over Cooper Gates (WB) (Dec 7-5)
190: Champ. Round 1- Tate Frantz (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Tate Frantz (WB) over Sam Sanchez (IND JV) (Fall 1:11); Semifinal- Tate Frantz (WB) over Colton Warren (WC) (Fall 2:47); 1st Place Match- Louden Huisenga (WACO) (over Tate Frantz (WB) (MD 15-3)
215: Champ. Round 1- Cooper Hartz (WB) over Dracen Howe (MFL) (Fall 5:53); Quarterfinal- Carter Wright (WC) over Cooper Hartz (WB) (Fall 1:29); Cons. Round 2- Cooper Hartz (WB) over Tate Nelson (LT) (Fall 5:11); Cons. Round 3- Zach Guffey (S-K) over Cooper Hartz (WB) (Dec 4-2); 7th Place Match- Dracen Howe (MFL) over Cooper Hartz (WB) (Fall 0:58)
285: Champ. Round 1- Jaime Prado (WAP) over Jerricho Hobbs (WB) (Fall 1:24); Cons. Round 1- Jerricho Hobbs (WB) received a bye; Cons. Round 2- Juan Lopez (MP) over Jerricho Hobbs (WB) (Fall 2:23)
Don Bosco 54, West Branch 11
West Branch took part in the Don Bosco Triangular on Dec. 17, falling to their hosts, 54-11.
165: Kyler Knaack (DOBO) over Cooper Gates (WEBR) (MD 13-3) 175: Brady Wayson (DOBO) over (WEBR) (For.) 190: Tate Frantz (WEBR) over (DOBO) (For.) 215: Aidan Nielsen (DOBO) over Cooper Hartz (WEBR) (Fall 5:18) 285: Kyler Sallis (DOBO) over Jerricho Hobbs (WEBR) (Fall 0:52) 106: Ethan Humphrey (WEBR) over Kash Frost (DOBO) (TF 17-0 3:04) 113: Hendrix Schwab (DOBO) over Teague Thomas (WEBR) (TF 17-1 1:56) 120: Hayden Schwab (DOBO) over (WEBR) (For.) 126: Blake Irvine (DOBO) over Gabe Depoorter (WEBR) (Fall 0:48) 132: Jaxon Larson (DOBO) over Logan Christoffel (WEBR) (Dec 4-2) 138: Double Forfeit 144: Dawson Youngblut (DOBO) over (WEBR) (For.) 150: Kanaan Delagardelle (DOBO) over Keaton Gates (WEBR) (Dec 8-4) 157: Ty Christensen (DOBO) over Maddux Rushton (WEBR) (Dec 7-4)
West Branch 51, North Linn 24
Also at the Don Bosco Triangular, the Bears defeated North Linn, 51-24.
150: Westyn Price (NOLI) over Keaton Gates (WEBR) (Dec 9-5) 157: Tate Woods (NOLI) over Maddux Rushton (WEBR) (Dec 6-1) 165: Cooper Gates (WEBR) over Trevor Kaut (NOLI) (Fall 1:29) 175: Macoy Winn (NOLI) over (WEBR) (For.) 190: Tate Frantz (WEBR) over Jacoby Peyton (NOLI) (Dec 15-8) 215: Cooper Hartz (WEBR) over Trevin Melville (NOLI) (Fall 1:45) 285: Jerricho Hobbs (WEBR) over Melvin Hintze (NOLI) (Fall 2:00) 106: Maksim Fernandez (WEBR) over (NOLI) (For.) 113: Ethan Humphrey (WEBR) over Jacob Rauch (NOLI) (Fall 1:54) 120: Teague Thomas (WEBR) over Carson Zimmerman (NOLI) (Fall 0:47) 126: Gabe Depoorter (WEBR) over Cooper Pillard (NOLI) (Fall 1:05) 132: Logan Christoffel (WEBR) over Jack Hopwood (NOLI) (Fall 1:52) 138: Jorden Rawson (NOLI) over Clay Gates (WEBR) (Fall 1:40) 144: Kyle Doyle (NOLI) over (WEBR) (For.)
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