Three area wrestling teams and 29 individual grapplers did enough on Saturday at to earn trips to districts this coming weekend.
In Class 2A, seventh-ranked Spirit Lake Park dominated the lower half of the weight classes en route to a meet high 209.5 points, narrowly edging out second place Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (208.5) by one-half point on the Nighthawks home mats. The Indians crowned five sectional champions, led by junior Doug Miner. The defending state champion dropped down a weight class to 106 pounds and remains undefeated at 38-0. Other SLP champions were Zach Skopec (120; 33-5), Isaac Lundgren (138; 31-6), Dylan Bryce (145; 30-6), and Rick Maris (160; 18-6). Kenton Murray made it six wrestlers heading to the district competition, using a wrestle back situation to take runner-up honors at 132 pounds. The district meet will be held next Saturday at Cherokee, with coverage on Q102. Prior to that, Spirit Lake Park will compete as a team at the district duals on Tuesday in Sheldon. The Indians will square off against OA-BCIG, while BH/RV gets matched up with Sergeant Bluff-Luton.
Team Standings
1. Spirit Lake Park 209
2. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 208.5
3. Sheldon/South O’Brien 156
4. Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 155
5. MOC-Floyd Valley 137
6. Sioux Center 125
Also in Class 2A, Estherville-Lincoln Central participated in the sectional meet at Algona, and the Midgets qualified four wrestlers for the next weekend. Oscar Ramirez (120; 32-4), Blake Gjerde (138; 31-9), and Gable Bonner (285; 32-2) all won championships, and Cole Mace (195; 21-18) finished second to qualify. As a team, ELC took fourth with 165.5 points, just 20.5 back of second place and a trip to team duals.
A long day of highly dramatic wrestling in Milford finished with both Emmetsburg and Okoboji securing spots in the team dual tournament, and with a high number of local grapplers keeping their season alive. The Pioneers crowned three champions, undefeated Tanner Taylor (180; 37-0), Zach Jones (160; 36-4), and Kaleb Vanderpool (120; 16-7). The E-Hawks ended the day with seven district qualifiers, including champions Justin Studer (145; 29-12) and Andrew Wellik (170; 12-0). Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire, which finished third in the team standings by 9.5 points, tallied four wrestlers in the top two. The Knights boast two champions in Tyler Dalen (106; 39-1) and Ty Gibson (132; 26-5). From Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn there are three wrestlers with district competition on the horizon. The Hawks were led by two sectional champs, Nick Drenth (126; 38-5) and Brett Flynn (152; 34-4). And the Sibley-Ocheyedan Generals will send two wrestlers beyond sectionals, with Brent Reed (113; 27-14) securing the lone championship. The Class 1A District meet will be Saturday at Sibley-Ocheyedan and Q102 will have live coverage. As for the team results, Emmetsburg, behind a resounding 206 points, and Okoboji, with 161 points, will return to the mats Tuesday for the district dual tournament at West Hancock High School in Britt. The Pioneers are up against second-ranked Clarion-Goldfield and the E-Hawks will battle Lake Mills.
Click here for the post-match interview with Okoboji coach Nate Dau.
Click here for the post-match interview with GT/RA coach Cody Alesch.
Team Standings
1. Emmetsburg 206
2. Okoboji 161
3. Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire 151.5
4. Sibley-Ocheyedan 130
5. Western Christian 124
6. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 120
7. West Sioux 100
8. West Lyon 182.5
