Versteeg, Dawson Medal at Council Bluffs Classic

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Newton High’s Cardinals had two wrestlers post top-10 finishes at the 2014 Council Bluffs Classic over the weekend. There were 32 teams from five states competing in the two-day event at the Mid America Center.

“This is a good tournament for our kids to compete against not only quality wrestlers from our state but from other states in the Midwest,” said Andy Swedenhjelm, Newton head coach.

“I was happy with the way our kids did compete this weekend. I think they had a lot of fun. This group really enjoys competition and they have fun together.”

Junior Hunter Versteegh moved unscathed through the four-man round robin action Friday in the 113-pound division. He lost in the first round of the championship bracket, dropping him in the consolation side.

Versteegh pinned his next two opponents, then lost by a pin to put him in the seventh-place match Saturday. Versteegh claimed the seventh-place medal at 113 with a 6-1 decision over Gabrieal Kjeldgaar of Lewis Central.

Dakota Dawson, Newton senior, went 3-0 in the 138-pound round-robin matches Friday. He, too, moved into the Gold Bracket of his weight class. Dawson opened the championship bracket with a 3-1 decision over Christopher Taylor of Omaha North (Neb.).

In the quarterfinals, Dawson lost 14-2 to Andrew Null of Plattsmouth, Neb., which bounced him to the consolation side. He won by pin and lost a 3-2 decision to Stephen Tujague of St. James Academy of Lenexa, Kan.

Dawson faced Taylor of Omaha North again in the seventh-place match. Taylor claimed a 4-3 win over Dawson. Dawson earned the eighth-place medal.

The top two wrestlers in each round-robin Friday moved into the championship (Gold) bracket and the bottom two went to the consolation bracket (Silver). The top eight finishers in each weight class received medals.

“Hunter and Dakota are a little disappointed, but they have high expectations for themselves. They learned a lot going up against good competition, which will help them later in the season as we get to districts and state,” Swedenhjelm said.

Three other Newton wrestlers — all with 2-1 records in Friday’s round robins — made the Gold Brackets of their respective weight divisions.

Alex Bentley and Duncan Lee took 13th in the 120 and 195 weight classes. Bryce Tish finished 14th in the 145-pound division. In their final matches of the tournament, Bentley pinned Gavin Kramer of Spirit Lake in 29 seconds, Lee tallied a 10-5 win in overtime against Roger Freese of Underwood, and Tish was pinned by Cody Zellmer of Woodbury Central in 2 minutes, 28 seconds.

Brett Wolf took first in the Silver Bracket of the 152-pound division, which put him 17th overall. Wolf went 4-0 in the consolation bracket, pinning Hudson Snider of Kearney, Neb., in 1:53 in the consolation championship match.

Swedenhjelm said Wolf is a wrestler who gives his all and it paid off for him in Saturday’s matches. He also said Lee, who is just a second-year wrestler, competed well against some state-ranked opponents in the 195-pound division.

Ross Hull reached the first-place match of the Silver Bracket’s 106-pound division. Hull had a bye and notched back-to-back 15-0 technical falls over opponents. He was pinned by Corbin Harrington of Lincoln East in 1:56 in the consolation championship match.

Jordan Henning like Hull finished 18th overall in the tournament. Henning took second in the 220 consolation bracket. He moved to the first-place match with a bye and two wins by pins, but lost by a fall to Matt Muthersbough of Lincoln East in 5:13.

Brady Smith finished third in the 160-pound division in the Silver Bracket. Smith won by pin and a 6-3 decision in overtime to reach the consolation third-place match. Smith recorded a 12-4 major decision over Winston Veatch of Missouri Valley, which made him 19th overall.

Also taking 19th overall in his weight class was Caden Manning. Manning was third in the 285-pound class in the Silver Bracket.

Parker Schuster took seventh in the 126-pound division’s Silver Bracket. Schuster went 2-2 to reach the seventh-place match. He pinned Jeffery Molina of Olathe South (Kan.) in 23 seconds. Schuster was 23rd overall.

Newton has a full week of action including two home duals in Little Hawkeye Conference action. The Cardinals host Pella Tuesday, then Norwalk comes to NHS Thursday. The Tuesday meet, which also includes Carlisle for a non-conference dual, begins at 5:30 p.m. and Thursday’s dual starts at 6:30 p.m.

Newton wraps up the first semester of wrestling Saturday when the varsity goes to the Fort Dodge Invitational and the junior varsity is at North Polk.

“It’s a busy time of the season for us. Our kids will have about 17 matches in the final eight days of the first semester,” Swedenhjelm said. “We’re a bit tired, but the guys will refocus to compete this week.”

2014 Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic

106 - Ross Hull (4-8), 18th

Round 1 - Zach Thompson (Perry) won by 19-10 maj. dec. over Hull

Round 2 - Hull pinned Seth Noel (St. Albert) (0:30)

Round 3 - Andrew Nielsen (Plattsmouth) pinned Hull (1:23)

Cons. Round 1 - Hull, bye

Cons. Quarter - Hull won by 15-0 tech fall over Fernando Zetina (LeMars) (4:11)

Cons. Semi - Hull won by 15-0 tech fall over Jayden Gilge (Spirit Lake) (3:27)

Consolation 1st - Corbin Harrington (Lincoln East) pinned Hull (1:56)

113 - Hunter Versteegh (10-3), 7th

Round 1 - Versteegh, bye

Round 2 - Versteegh pinned Jordan Robinson (Woodbury Central) (1:59)

Round 3 - Versteegh pinned Dalton Wade (Maysville) (2:34)

Champ. Round 1 - Drew Ernsdorff (St. James Academy) won by 13-7 dec. over Versteegh

Cons. Round 1 - Versteegh pinned Kolton Sliva (Grand Island) 5-7 (Fall 5:21)

Cons. Round 2 - Versteegh pinned Ronald Taylor (Plattsmouth) (1:12)

Cons. Round 3 - Jordan Bober (Kearney) pinned Versteegh (3:30)

7th Place Match - Versteegh won by 6-1 dec. over Gabriel Kjeldgaard (Lewis Central)

120 - Alex Bentley (4-9), 13th

Round 1 - Bentley pinned Garrett Tierney (Missouri Valley) 5-10 (Fall 1:34)

Round 2 - Bentley won by forfeit

Round 3 - Gabe Crocker (Kearney) won by 2-1 dec. over Bentley

Champ. Round 1 - Riley Pelster (Creighton Prep) won by disqualification over Bentley

Cons. Round 1 - Jackson Ott (St. James Academy) won by 7-3 dec. over Bentley

Cons. Round 2 - Bentley pinned Colby Anderson (Norris) (0:48)

13th Place Match - Bentley 4-9 pinned Gavin Kramer (Spirit Lake) (0:29)

126 - Parker Schuster (2-4), 23rd

Round 1 - Kyle Kuckta (Lewis Central) won by 9-6 dec. over Schuster

Round 2 - Michael Menth (Totino-Grace) pinned Schuster (1:37)

Round 3 - Schuster, bye

Cons. Round 1 - Schuster, bye

Cons. Quarter - Adam Skopec (Spirit Lake) pinned Schuster (1:52)

Cons. Round 3 - Schuster pinned Trent Jones (Abraham Lincoln) (3:40)

Cons. Round 4 - Josh Ross (Kearney) pinned Schuster (1:59)

Cons. Round 5 - Schuster pinned Jeffery Molina (Olathe South) (0:23)

138 - Dakota Dawson (10-4), 8th

Round 1 - Dawson pinned David Qudus (Lincoln East) (1:31)

Round 2 - Dawson pinned Garrett Martin (St. Albert) (0:40)

Round 3 - Dawson pinned Skeeter Bostwick (Missouri Valley) (0:41)

Champ. Round 1 - Dawson won by 3-1 dec. over Christopher Taylor (Omaha North)

Quarterfinal - Andrew Null (Plattsmouth) won by 14-2 maj. dec. over Dawson

Cons. Round 2 - Dawson pinned Lanny Herzog (Abraham Lincoln) (2:40)

Cons. Round 3 - Stephen Tujague (St. James Academy) won by 3-2 dec. over Dawson

7th Place Match - Christopher Taylor (Omaha North) won by 4-3 dec. over Dawson

145 - Bryce Tish (6-6), 14th

Round 1 - Tish, bye

Round 2 - Tish pinned Keonte Tolbert (Omaha North) (1:35)

Round 3 - Austin Martz (Lincoln East)won by 15-0 tech fall over Tish (3:21)

Champ. Round 1 - Trevar Bigelow (Kearney) pinned Tish (4:53)

Cons. Round 1 - Tim Reis (Grand Island) pinned Tish (5:34)

Cons. Round 2 - Tish pinned Jac Radcliffe (Spirit Lake) (2:36)

13th Place Match - Cody Zellmer (Woodbury Central) pinned Tish (2:28)

152 - Brett Wolf (5-5), 17th

Round 1 - Wolf, bye

Round 2 - Marcus Coleman (Ames) pinned Wolf (3:40)

Round 3 - Reid Nichols (Atlantic) won by 5-3 dec. over Wolf

Cons. Round 1 - Wolf, bye

Cons. Quarter - Wolf pinned Noah Wilkerson (Plattsmouth) (5:53)

Cons. Semi - Wolf pinned Mark Garwick (Lincoln East) (2:51)

Consolation 1st - Wolf pinned Hudson Snider (Kearney) (1:53)

160 - Brady Smith (5-8), 19th

Round 1 - Codie Kraus (Norris) won by 7-3 dec. over Smith

Round 2 - Smith pinned Jeremiah Nickerson (Spirit Lake) (1:50)

Round 3 - Anthony Sherry (Glenwood) pinned Smith (1:54)

Cons. Round 1 - Smith pinned Tanner Gesink (LeMars) (1:17)

Cons. Quarter - Smith won 6-3 in OT over Patrick Haase (Olathe South)

Cons. Semi - Colton Lear (Lewis Central) pinned Smith (3:19)

Consolation 3rd - Smith won by 12-4 maj. dec. over Winston Veatch (Missouri Valley)

195 - Duncan Lee (6-5), 13th

Round 1 - Lee, bye

Round 2 - Zach Haggstrom (Glenwood) pinned Lee (5:50)

Round 3 - Lee won by medical forfeit over Drew Fowler (Spirit Lake)

Champ. Round 1 - Chris Thomas (Lewis Central) pinned Lee (4:52)

Cons. Round 1 - Armando Pro (Nebraska City) won by 6-4 dec. over Lee

Cons. Round 2 - Lee won by 11-6 dec. over Alex Albin (Ames)

13th Place Match - Lee won 10-5 dec. in OT over Roger Freese (Underwood)

220 - Jordan Henning (3-6), 18th

Round 1 - Henning, bye

Round 2 - Allen Svoboda (Grand Island) pinned Henning (2:59)

Round 3 - Keagan Hosfelt (Atlantic) pinned Henning (1:59)

Cons. Round 1 - Henning, bye

Cons. Quarter - Henning pinned Parker Jungjohan (Spirit Lake) (1:18)

Cons. Semi - Henning pinned Enrique Cabrera (Olathe South) (0:35)

Consolation 1st - Matt Muthersbaugh (Lincoln East) pinned Henning (5:13)

285 - Manning (0-3), 19th

Round 1 - Bradley Eastlack (Millard North) pinned Manning (0:35)

Round 2 - Manning, bye

Round 3 - Nick Mitchell (Thomas Jefferson) pinned Manning (1:37)

Cons. Round 1 - Manning, bye

Cons. Quarter - Manning, bye

Cons. Semi - Trenten Murray (Spirit Lake) pinned Manning (1:23)

Consolation 3rd - Manning, bye

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com