March 29, 2024

Cardinal wrestlers pin down Toreadors

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When former Newton High teammates Reece Caves and Norbert Riyazimana came on the wrestling mat Tuesday, Newton’s Cardinals led visiting Boone, 12-6. The two sophomores faced off in the varsity 138-pound match in the 2016-17 season opener.

Caves, who is on the Newton team, built a 6-2 lead over Boone’s Riyazimana by the end of the first two-minute period. Riyazimana used a reverse to open the second period, but Caves got an escape to take a 7-4 lead into the third period. Caves won 7-4.

Newton’s Cardinals opened the season as part of the Newton Winter Classic featuring wrestling and boys’ basketball action against the teams from Boone.

The Cardinal wrestling team won six of nine matches contested on the mat against the Toreadors. The Cardinals claimed four victories on forfeits on their way to a 49-20 win over Boone.

“It’s always good to build on a win,” Newton head coach Andy Swedenhjelm said. “We had good things and some disappointing things tonight which is to be expected with the first match of the season. We have areas to work on such as conditioning.”

Sophomore Blake Iske won by forfeit at 120 followed by a victory by pin from junior Ross Hull over Boone’s Parker Reiff at 126 pounds.

Hull had a first-period takedown. He came off the bottom for a reversal in the second period and put Rieff’s back to the mat with 1 minute, 12 seconds left in the period.

“I went in feeling pretty confident for the first match of the season,” Hull said.

“I just let my mind clear, and went out and did what I do best. This was a good step one for us as a team. We did what we were supposed to do — win. We have things we need to improve on, but I think we’ll get better as the season progresses,” Hull said.

Boone’s first team points came when Jame Runestad pinned Newton freshman Noah Cook in the 132-pound match.

After Caves’ win, Boone had back-to-back victories to make it a one-point Cardinal lead, 15-14. Junior Mason Hulse, who is ranked No. 9 in the preseason Class 3A 145-pound poll, posted a 17-1 technical fall in the second period over Newton sophomore Coltin Whitten.

At 152, Newton senior Jon Lawton lost 3-0 to Boone’s Jimmy Boustead.

Wrestling up a weight class at 160, Newton senior Logan Zibert pushed out to a 14-0 lead after two periods. Boone’s Anthony Keller did not fold.

“It was the first match and I was trying to figure out where I stood. He wasn’t doing much so, I got offensive and scored points,” Zibert said after winning 19-7. “Then he caught me in the third quarter, and I was fighting for my life. Once I got back on top, I slowed down and got the win.”

Keller used a takedown to score his first points of the match in the third period. He had Zibert on his back twice, scoring five points with near falls. Zibert bridged out and off his back. Zibert reversed Keller and earned three more points with a near fall.

“I’m pretty excited to see where this season goes,” Zibert said. “I feel I’m a better wrestler than I used to be and I’ve put on some muscle.”

Newton junior Blayden Rhone needed a little more than a minute to pin Boone’s Vince Castillo in the 182-pound match. Newton had a 37-14 lead when Boone’s Jacob Melton threw Newton senior Caleb Kite to his back with a headlock to get a pin in 24 seconds.

Newton had forfeit wins at 170 and 195 by seniors Tanner Petro and Brady Smith, respectively.

Senior Alex Miller took on Boone’s Jordan Angle in the 285-pound bout. The two heavyweights were active with the score tied 6-6 after one quarter. Angle took an 8-6 lead in the second period, but Miller made the switch again to tie it up.

Miller scored two points on a near fall. With 36 seconds remaining in the second period. Miller finished the match with a pin of Angle to put Newton up 43-20.

Boone forfeited the final match of the dual with Newton sophomore Blake Cockerton getting the win at 113. Both teams were open at the 106-pound division.

“Logan Zibert and Ross Hull wrestled good matches. Alex Miller did as well. It was good seeing the offensive output Alex had tonight compared to last year,” Swedenhjelm said. “It shows the work he has put in in the wrestling room.”

Newton won two of the three junior varsity matches against Boone. Sophomore Joe Carolus pinned Wade Penick at 126 pounds and senior Skyler Tool earned an 8-4 decision over Wyatt Oppedahl at 132. At 138, Newton sophomore Ethan Braaksma lost 7-4 to Boone’s Kaden Zanoni.

Swedenhjelm said he told the Cardinal wrestlers they would have to wrestle a lot better come district time so they have work to do.

Newton wrestles against Albia in non-conference action and Little Hawkeye Conference Indianola at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Indianola. On Saturday, Newton hosts the Cardinal Classic starting at 10 a.m. at NHS.

Varsity

Newton 49, Boone 20

113: Blake Cockerton (N) (For.) 120: Blake Iske (N) (For.) 126: Ross Hull (N) pinned Parker Reiff (B) (0:49) 132: James Runestad (B) pinned Noah Cook (N) (1:49) 138: Reece Caves (N) dec. 7-4 over Norbert Riyazimana (B) 145: Mason Hulse (B) tech fall 17-1 over Coltin Whitten (N) (2:24) 152: Jimmy Boustead (B) dec. 3-0 over Jon Lawton (N) 160: Logan Zibert (N) maj. dec 19-7 over Anthony Keller (B) 170: Tanner Petro (N) (For.) 182: Blayden Rhone (N) pinned Vince Castillo (B) (0:24) 195: Brady Smith (N) (For.) 220: Jacob Melton (B) pinned Caleb Kite (N) (0:24) 285: Alex Miller (N) pinned Jordan Angle (B) (3:22)

Junior Varsity

Newton 9, Boone 3

126: Joseph Carolus (N) pinned Wade Penick (B) (0:00) 132: Skyler Tool (N) dec 8-4 over Wyatt Oppedahl (B) 138: Kaden Zanoni (B) dec. 7-4 over Ethan Braaksma (N)

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