L-S rises to challenge at sectionals

BROOKLYN — When Lynnville-Sully wrestling coach Steve Northcutt left BGM High School on Saturday, he thought his Hawks came up three points shy of a regional team dual berth.

The news he got later that night was much more pleasing.

After a correction was made to the 138-pound bracket at a Class 1A Sectional, it was determined that Lynnville-Sully moved into the runner-up position, one point ahead of Iowa Valley.

The Hawks finished with 170 points, while Iowa Valley, a South Iowa Cedar League rival, finished with 169.

West Marshall won the sectional title with 251 points and will join the Hawks at a 1A regional dual tournament on Tuesday. The unranked Hawks will face No. 2 Southeast Warren in the semifinals, while 13th-ranked West Marshall faces 25th-ranked Interstate 35. Action from Liberty Center kicks off at 6 p.m.

“I told the kids there were going to be a lot of upsets today,” Northcutt said. “So I am really happy with the day. It was a great effort by our guys.”

Aside from advancing to the regional duals, the Hawks also sent five individuals through to Saturday’s district tournament in Pleasantville. Collins-Maxwell/Baxter and Colfax-Mingo also kept their seasons alive with two district qualifiers each.

Cole Nikkel (113) and Shannon Dunsbergen (285) both won titles at their respective weights, while Hawk teammates Noah Zylstra (182), Josh Dunsbergen (106) and Blake Wherle (195) all won wrestleback matches to advance.

“For all three of them to gather their composure after coming off a loss and go 3-for-3 in the wrestlebacks, that was quite a feat so I was really happy with the way the kids wrestled today,” Northcutt said.

CMB’s lone sectional champion was junior Charles Robertson (220), but senior Jake Hennick also advanced after claiming runner-up at 126.

“He wrestled the best he’s wrestled all year. He definitely rose to the occasion today,” CMB coach Mike Leslie said of Robertson. “He stayed aggressive and got after it and that helped him I think.

“He put in extra work and it paid off. Hopefully he can build on that and realize that if you put in extra work, you can get rewarded for it.”

For the Tigerhawks, senior Richard Blom advanced with a runner-up finish at 138 and junior Ty Carlson was second at 113.

Carlson lost to Nikkel in the 113-pound championship but did not have to wrestleback. Blom wasn’t so fortunate but, after losing his title match, he rallied for a win by fall in his wrestleback to advance.

“Richard went through the whole emotional up and down with being in the finals and then having to realize he had a wrestleback,” Colfax-Mingo coach Bryan Poulter said. “It looked at first like he was taking things in the wrong direction, but fortunately the break was long enough and he gathered himself, stayed composed and rolled through the headlock and got himself in position for the pin. He earned it.

“Ty has been a tremendous leader all year. He hasn’t missed a practice in the last two years, at least. His dedication in the room has been great. He’s a grinder.”

It was the first sectional berth for Carlson but Blom advanced to districts as a sophomore.

Nikkel was second last year at sectionals but has never qualified for state.

“I felt pretty good. I was tired in the third periods so I have to work a little more,” Nikkel said. “I needed to keep moving. That can help with a lot of things on the mat. I did my sweeping single well today and that helped me a little bit too.”

Dunsbergen is a sectional champion for the first time in his career. He also has never been to the state meet.

“I came in with a good mindset. There were a lot of tough kids here today,” Dunsbergen said. “I fell into the good luck of the bracket. It was set up just right and it was a good day overall.”

Robertson went 3-0 with three pins on the day for CMB. After his best week of practice, Robertson will take a 23-7 record into districts.

“It feels a little crazy. I really didn’t expect to advance. I get the end-of-the-year slump sometimes where I feel like there’s nothing left for me,” Robertson said. “But I wrestled my heart out today and that paid off.

“When I saw the ref’s hand hit the mat, it was slow motion. I couldn’t tell you how long it took him to hit the mat. It felt like forever.”

Lynnville-Sully and CMB’s team points changed because Hawk freshman Cayden Johnson was not originally given credit for win by fall over CMB’s Ethan Cozad in their fifth-place match. The originally results handed out to media members after the meet had Cozad winning by fall.

The point change did not affect the Raiders. They still finished in fourth with 120 points, while host BGM (109) rounded out the top five. HLV (91) was sixth, Colfax-Mingo (88) finished in seventh and Belle Plaine (70.5) ended up eighth.

Lynnville-Sully nearly sent a few more wrestlers to districts. Carson and Caden Dunsbergen both went 2-1 at 126 and 132, respectively, but each ended up third. Neither got a chance to wrestleback.

Besides Robertson’s win and Hennick’s runner-up finish, the Raiders also got third-place finishes from Tate Ewing (113) and Archer McFadden (285). Logan Mitchell (195) finished a disappointing fourth and ended his season at 24-9.

McFadden was 27-8 on the year. He led his first-round opponent 5-0 but eventually lost by fall after getting out of position. He won his third-place match but did not get a wrestleback after Dunsbergen beat West Marshall’s Cole Gilmore in the finals.

“t could have gone either way. It was kind of fluke match. We were hoping he would get a wrestleback but it didn’t happen,” Leslie said. “It was the second straight year he was third. There is a lot of upside for him in the next few years.”

Jac Fisher returned to the Colfax-Mingo lineup and was third at 120 pounds. He ended his year at 16-4.

The district meet over in Pleasantville will begin at noon this Saturday. The two finishers at each weight class advance to next week’s Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships.