The Class 2A battle for fifth place came down to the final two matches between No. 7 Spirit Lake Park and eighth-seeded Webster City. The Indians trailed by a dozen at 39-27, needing a pair of pins to pull even, however, Isaac Lundgren was only able to secure a major decision at 138 pounds. After a forfeit at 145, the Lynx won the dual, 45-31. SLP actually trailed 33-3 after the first seven weight classes, with Nathan Kyle giving the Indians their only points with a 6-2 decision at 195 pounds to cap his senior season at 27-15. Junior Cody Clipperton shifted the momentum back to the Indian with a pin at 106, which was followed by two more falls from Doug Miner (113) and Zach Skopec (120). After a Webster City win by fall at 126 over Sam Bosma, who ends his senior season at 24-12, Kenten Murray used 3:25 to pin his opponent at 132, keeping SLP in contention. For the year, Spirit Lake Park finishes 18-8 in dual competition.
Spirit Lake Park rallied to take down #3 Denver-Tripoli by a 49-30 final in the conolation semifinals of the Class 2A State Team Dual Championships in Des Moines this morning. The Titans won four of the first matches to assume a 24-4 lead, with Rick Maris providing the lone victory for the #7 Indians. The senior earned a major decision at 160 pounds. SLP then went on a tear, claiming eight of the final nine matches for the win. Nathan Kyle (220), Cody Norton (285), Cody Clipperton (106), Sam Bosma (126), and Isaac Lundgren (138) all tallied wins by fall during that stretch. Casey Jones won a 7-2 decision at 195 pounds, while Doug Miner (113) and Kenten Murray (132) both won by forfeit. Spirit Lake Park (18-7) will wrestle for fifth place in the consolation championship against Webster City (20-5) at 5pm, and live coverage can be heard on Q102 and at ExploreOkoboji.com.
Earlier in the day, a streak of five straight wins by second-ranked West Delaware, Manchester led to a 53-20 defeat of Spirit Lake Park in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A State Team Dual Championships in Des Moines on Wednesday. The Indians, who qualified made it to state for just the second time in program history, were even through the dual’s first four matches. Isaac Lundgren (138) and Rick Maris (160) earned wins by fall to offset a pair of pin fall losses by Dylan Bryce (145) and David Trucksess (152), making it 12-12 in the team score. The Hawks went on to win the next five matches, four by fall and one via major decision, to storm out to a 40-12 advantage. Top-ranked Doug Miner then went three periods to earn a major decision at 106, which was matched by Zach Skopec two bouts later at 120. West Delaware, Manchester improves to 22-5 in dual competition and will wrestle in the state semifinal against Atlantic (20-1) at 1pm. The seventh-ranked Indians drop into the consolation semifinals at 17-7, where they will take on third-ranked Denver-Tripoli (17-4). The dual begins at 11am.
