Cardinals split double dual

TAMA — It was No. 10 against No. 10 in the 113-pound match Monday between Newton High’s Cardinals and the South Tama Trojans.

Newton senior Hunter Versteegh is ranked No. 10 at 113 in Class 3A. South Tama sophomore Brady Fritz is No. 10 in 2A. The two wrestlers squared off in “the match of the night,” according to Cardinal head coach Andy Swedenhjelm.

Versteegh and Fritz gave the wrestling fans at South Tama a three-period thriller. Versteegh pulled out a 2-0 victory. The only points scored came in the second period when Versteegh came off the bottom for a reversal.

Versteegh’s victory helped the Cardinals to a 43-27 win over their hosts. Newton held a 28-27 lead on South Tama with three matches remaining. All three were wins for the Cardinals.

Officially, Newton was 1-1 on the night in dual action, losing 40-36 to Little Hawkeye Conference foe Grinnell.

“I would call our night 2-0* with the asterisk, as I have never seen a ref completely decide a dual like what happened in our first dual,” Swedenhjelm said. “Bryce Tish wrestled well, and should have been 2-0 if not for a very questionable call from the official against Grinnell.”

Tish wrestled Jevin Wyatt of Grinnell at 152 pounds and was pinned at the 1 minute, 56-second mark of the match. The wrestlers were tied 2-2 in the first period. Grinnell was up 34-30 in team points going into the match.

Newton’s Tanner Petro, a junior, recorded a second-period pin of Grinnell’s Palmer Schulte at 160 in the final match of the dual.

“Our kids wrestled pretty well tonight,” Swedenhjelm said. The Cardinals 8-7 in dual action and 2-2 in Little Hawkeye duals.

Newton opened against Grinnell with senior Harley Walker losing 16-8 at 170 pounds. Senior Duncan Lee gave the Cardinals the lead in team scoring with a pin of Isaiah McAlexander in 1:16 of their 182-pound match. Sophomore Blayden Rhone earned a forfeit win at 195 to put Newton up 12-4.

Junior Caleb Kite pinned Grinnell’s Brett Clayton in 38 seconds in the 220 match, but the Tigers’ Tanner Hoffstetter put Newton junior Alex Miller on his back in 14 seconds at 285. Freshman Blake Cockerton lost his 106 match by fall in the first period at 106.

Newton led 18-16 when Versteegh pinned Grinnell’s Robert Mart in 1:50 in the 113-pound bout. The Tigers answered with a win by fall at 126 with Lane Milner pinning Newton’s Eonn Springer in 32 seconds.

With two one-point escapes in the third period, Cardinal senior Cole Peters notched a 6-4 win over Kaiden Gosselink in the 132-pound match. Grinnell won the next two matches by falls at 138 and 145 to gain the 34-30 lead. Tish lost at 152 and Petro won at 160 to finish the dual.

Lee and Rhone put Newton in front of South Tama with decision wins at 182 and 195. South Tama gained a 9-7 lead winning the 220 and 285-pound matches. Cockerton earned six team points with a forfeit win at 106 and Newton never trailed again.

After Versteegh’s win at 113, sophomore Ross Hull pinned Ryan Simpson at the 3-minute mark at 120 pounds. South Tama recored back-to-back wins as juniors Aren Sorensen and Jon Lawton were pinned by their Trojan counterparts at 126 and 132.

Schuster kept the Cardinals in front with a pin of Dallas Horne in 1:25 of the 138-pound match. Junior Logan Zibert got pinned by South Tama’s Duylan Cronk at 145 pounds to make it 28-27.

Tish found himself down 7-1 in the second period to South Tama’s Isacc Judge, who is ranked No. 5 in Class 2A 160, in their 152-pound match. Tish reversed Isacc and pinned him at the 3:52 mark.

Petro made it a 2-0 night for himself with a pin of Josh Theisson at the 1:53 mark in the 160-pound match pushing Newton’s lead to 40-27. Walker led the Trojans’ Cael Kellogg, 2-1, after two periods of their 170-pound bout. Walker used a third-period takedown to go on to a 4-1 win.

In junior varsity matches, wins were recorded by Jacob Smith, Tristin Langmaid, Reed Sheperd, Coltin Whitten, Josh Miller, Spencer Patterson and Reece Caves. Losing junior varsity matches were Lawton, Damir Gumerov, Sheperd, Landon Hansen, Caves and Patterson.

Newton takes on Des Moines Roosevelt and host Indianola Thursday. The double dual begins at 5:30 p.m.

Grinnell 40, Newton 36

170: Trenton Miller (G) over Harley Walker (N) (MD 16-8) 182: Duncan Lee (N) over Isaiah McAlexander (G) (Fall 1:16) 195: Blayden Rhone (N) (For.) 220: Caleb Kite (N) over Brett Clayton (G) (Fall 0:38) 285: Tanner Hoffstetter (G) over Alex Miller (N) (Fall 0:14) 106: Joe Simon (G) over Blake Cockerton (N) (Fall 1:04) 113: Hunter Versteegh (N) over Robert Mart (G) (Fall 1:50) 120: Ross Hull (N) over Ethan Kirby (G) (Dec 11-5) 126: Lane Milner (G) over Eonn Springer (N) (Fall 0:32) 132: Cole Peters (N) over Kaiden Gosselink (G) (Dec 6-4) 138: Dalton Kies (G) over Parker Schuster (N) (Fall 1:11) 145: Jake Simon (G) over Logan Zibert (N) (Fall 3:38) 152: Jevin Wyatt (G) over Bryce Tish (N) (Fall 1:56) 160: Tanner Petro (N) over Palmer Schulte (G) (Fall 2:43)

Newton 43, South Tama 27

182: Duncan Lee (N) over Dalton Rosenberg (ST) (MD 13-2) 195: Blayden Rhone (N) over Andrew Peters (ST) (Dec 7-4) 220: Justin Suchanek (ST) over Caleb Kite (N) (Fall 3:05) 285: Kyle Kucera (ST) over Alex Miller (N) (Dec 5-2) 106: Blake Cockerton (N) (For.) 113: Hunter Versteegh (N) over Brady Fritz (ST) (Dec 2-0) 120: Ross Hull (N) over Ryan Simpson (ST) (Fall 3:00) 126: Tanner Probasco (ST) over Aren Sorensen (N) (Fall 0:39) 132: Colton Vest (ST) over Jon Lawton (N) (Fall 2:49) 138: Parker Schuster (N) over Dallas Horne (ST) (Fall 1:25) 145: Dylan Cronk (ST) over Logan Zibert (N) (Fall 2:59) 152: Bryce Tish (N) over Isacc Judge (ST) (Fall 3:52) 160: Tanner Petro (N) over Josh Theisson (ST) (Fall 1:53) 170: Harley Walker (N) over Cael Kellogg (ST) (Dec 4-1)

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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