March 19, 2024

Cardinals top Panthers, lose to Mustangs

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Momentum is what the young Newton High’s wrestling team needs heading into Saturday’s Little Hawkeye Conference tournament, especially since the Cardinals host the conference meet.

The Cardinals got it in winning a non-conference dual against Knoxville, a former LHC team, on Senior Night Thursday. The Cardinals built up an 18-0 lead over the Panthers on their way to a 45-27 victory.

“Having conference at home is big. We got some momentum from this home dual meet, although the first one tonight didn’t go as planned,” said Duncan Lee, the Cardinals’ 195-pounder. “The second one, we came out with some fire and took care of business. That’s what we have to do at conference too.”

Newton dropped at 54-18 decision to Dallas Center-Grimes’ Mustangs Thursday in a LHC dual. The Cardinals finished conference dual action at 2-3. The Mustangs decked Knoxville 41-25 in non-conference action at Newton.

It was the first time the Cardinals have wrestled at home since before the Christmas break.

Lee had one of the intense matches of the night. The NHS junior faced Knoxville junior Travis Poffenbarger. Going into the 195-pound match, Newton led Knoxville 36-21.

Lee and Poffenbarger had a scoreless first period, then Poffenbarger scored two points on a reversal. Lee was able to escape for a point. Down 2-1, Lee attempted several times in the third period to stand up and get the tying point.

“It was intense and he’s a really good kid,” Lee said of Poffenbarger. “I almost had a takedown in the first, but didn’t quite get it. We went back-and-forth the rest of the way. I realized I wasn’t going to stand up on him (in the third period) so I tried to hit the switch at the end, and I got it in.”

Lee twisted around enough to get control with Poffenbarger on his back to be awarded two points on a buzzer-beating reversal at the edge of the mat.

Jordan Henning followed with a pin of Knoxville’s Jordan Beal in 46 seconds to give Newton the win at 220. Henning said he changed from an under hook to an over hook hold “stepped over and I tossed him.”

“We’ve been lacking lately with momentum. It was a little rough tonight against DCG, but it was nice for us to comeback and get the win against Knoxville,” Henning said.

Knoxville got the final six points of the dual on a forfeit win at 285 by Brock Caviness.

Sophomore Aren Sorenson set the tone of the Knoxville dual for Newton. In a 2-2 match with Ben Wooldridge, Sorenson hit the reversal in the second period. On the switch, Sorenson immediately put Wooldridge on his back for a pin at the 1:13 mark in the period.

Newton earned 12 points via forfeits at 113 and 120 with Hunter Versteegh and Jonothan Lawton. Knoxville’s first points came on a forfeit win at 126 pounds.

Newton freshman Reece Thurman went 2-0 on the night. His second win came in a wild two-period match with Knoxville’s freshman Cody Ray Smith. The two went into the second period tied at 3-3. Thurman scored five more points before pinning Smith with 37 seconds remaining in the frame.

“I’m not sure how I got the head lock,” Thurman said. “It was awesome to get the win. Last year he beat me at a middle school match and this year I pinned him, so it felt great.”

Junior Bryce Tish followed suit with a pin Riley Spaur in 41 seconds at 145 pounds. Brady Smith went the distance against Kevin Woodhouse, who won 11-4 for the Panthers.

Knoxville’s Mansel Johnston pinned Harley Walker in 1 minute, 51 seconds. Freshman Tristin Langmaid, who was one of three Newton wrestlers with a 2-0 mark on the night, pinned Cameron Brown in 3:26 in the 170 match.

Jacob Smith faced Knoxville senior Jac Agan and trailed 2-1 after one period. Agan pinned him with 1:18 left in the second period. Then came Lee’s and Henning’s wins to push up the Newton lead.

Against Dallas Center-Grimes, the Mustangs dominated early with a 42-0 lead. Thurman scored a 9-3 win over Jacob Murrillo at 138 pounds. Langmaid notched a 9-6 decision over Sean Kelley at 160 and Lee won by forfeit at 195. Jacob Smith was a winner at 182 with a forfeit for Newton.

“Dallas Center-Grimes has a lot of good kids, who are ranked, and their coaches do a good job of preparing them,” said Andy Swedenhjelm, NHS head coach. “Our guys are growing. With a young team like we have, sometimes the kids are just not ready to go. They give the effort, but still learning how to compete.”

Henning was pinned by Class 3A fourth-ranked Cole Baker of DCG in 2:24 at 220. Sorenson was pinned by eighth-ranked Max Tracy in 4:46 at 106. Newton’s Hunter Versteegh and Zane Mulder battled in the 113-pound match with Mulder get a win by fall at the 5:27 mark.

Dallas Miles pinned Tish in 1:32 of the 145-pound match. Nick Brushaber notched a 5-1 win over Newton’s Brady Smith at 152 pounds. In the 170-pound match, Alex Winter defeated Newton’s Walker 9-4.

Before the Knoxville dual, Newton recognized three senior NHS Mat Maids — MaKayla Schwabe, Sarah Kalkhoff and Ali Hollinger Stout — and four senior wrestling cheerleaders — Paitin Burroughs, Jordyn Faver, Abby Morgan and Morgan Robson — for Senior Night. There were no senior wrestlers.

“Between matches, we talked about controlling the things we can — our (takedown) shots and tempo. When we focus on those things, our guys start wrestling better.” Swedenhjelm said.

“Getting this win tonight at home and having the conference meet here Saturday are huge for our kids. Our team is a close group. They cheer each other on. They are engaged with what is going on. It means a lot to our guys to be at home, wrestling in front of their friends and family.”

The 2015 Little Hawkeye Conference tournament is an eight-man bracket event in each weight class. Matches begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at NHS.

Newton’s Versteegh is the defending LHC 113-pound champion. Swedenhjelm said he expects his wrestlers to be very competitive Saturday.

Grinnell, which is the only Class 2A school in the conference, has three wrestlers currently ranked — seniors Garrett Jay ninth at 152, Julio Sanchez fourth at 182 and Anthony Clayton eighth at 220.

In Class 3A, DCG has Tracy at 106 and Baker at 220. Oskaloosa’s Skyler DeJong is ranked No. 2 at 126 pounds and teammate Cody Jones is ranked No. 7 at 170 pounds. Norwalk senior Trystan Minnis is ranked 10th at 220.

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