Four Cardinals take third at Fort Dodge Invite

FORT DODGE — With several weights left open, a strong finish in the team standings would be hard to come by Saturday for the Newton wrestling team.

However, four individual grapplers went 2-1 on the day and finished in third place at the 36th annual Don Miller Fort Dodge Invitational.

Senior Chase Eggers, junior Evan Rethmeier and sophomore twin brothers Joe and Ragan Brock all went 2-1.

Eggers won his first match 9-3 and then lost to sixth-ranked Dominic Chase (Bettendorf), 10-3. He rallied in the third-place match to win by fall. His 140-pound weight class also featured second-ranked Elijah Sullivan of Council Bluffs Lewis Central.

Rethmeier was perhaps the most impressive Newton wrestler on the day. He won his first battle, 7-0, before losing to No. 7 Bobby Bradham of Sioux City East in overtime. He also won his third-place match by fall.

Like their teammates, the Brock brothers also won their first match, lost their second and came back to win their final battle.

Joe Brock won by fall in his opening bout and then lost 8-2 before winning his third-place match, 6-4. Ragan Brock won his opener 10-0, lost by fall in the second battle and then took third with a 13-7 decision.

The other wrestler to gain a win at the tournament Saturday was sophomore Blake Tish, who went 1-2 at 130. Sophomore Alex Spangenberg and seniors Steven Hansen and Brandon Tish all went 0-1.

No. 7 Council Bluffs Lewis Central (190.5) edged No. 2 Bettendorf (188.5) for the team title, while Sioux City East was third with 163.5 points. Host Fort Dodge came in fourth.

Newton is off until 2010 when it travels to conference rival South Tama on Thursday, Jan. 7.