Tigerhawk grapplers claim two SICL wins

MARENGO — Junior Colton Lourens, sophomore Cauy Fitch and freshman Zack Barnes went 3-0 on the night, and the Colfax-Mingo wrestling team picked up two big South Iowa Cedar League wins Thursday night during a quadrangular at Iowa Valley High School.

The Tigerhawks lost their opener to Class 3A Pella but rebounded against SICL foes Tri-County and host Iowa Valley.

Pella, which also fields athletes from Pella Christian, defeated Colfax-Mingo 47-22. The Tigerhawks received 10 forfeits against Tri-County and rolled to a 78-6 victory. In the finale against Iowa Valley, Colfax-Mingo rallied from a 24-6 deficit to win 42-39.

“That one felt good,” Colfax-Mingo coach Erin Hume said of the win over Iowa Valley. “It was a big confidence booster. It was good to end the night with two wins.”

The Tigerhawks are now 4-1 on the season after starting 1-4 last year.

Iowa Valley, which finished second in the SICL tournament last year, jumped out to an early lead, but four straight wins put the Tigerhawks up 30-24.

The Tigers led 39-36 with one match to go, but Colfax-Mingo clinched the win when senior Adam Teed recorded a 54 second pin. Teed went 2-1 on the night and is now 4-1 on the season.

“He is developing the way we thought he would,” Hume said of Teed. “He usually starts slow and gets better as the year goes on. For him to start fast this year is a good sign.”

Barnes went 3-0 at 106 and is now 5-0 on the season. All three of his wins Thursday were by fall and two of them came in the first minute.

“He works really hard and practices really hard,” Hume said of Barnes. “I am really glad he is part of our team this year. He’s just an athlete, and when you’re that good of an athlete at 106, you’ll win a lot of matches.”

Fitch also is 5-0 on the season. He was 3-0 Thursday with two pins at 120 and a forfeit at 113. In his brief high school career, Fitch is 31-3 overall.

“He’s made some big strides from last year,” Hume said of Fitch. “He’s working hard and opening up his offense more.”

Pella started its dual with Colfax-Mingo with eight straight wins. That gave the Dutch a 37-0 lead.

Lourens put the Tigerhawks on the board with a major decision, and then Barnes, Cyden Fitch and Cauy Fitch picked up consecutive pins to close to within 41-22.

Pella ended the dual with a fall.

Hume said the Tigerhawks had chances to knock off Pella. The Dutch lost to Iowa Valley later in the night.

“We just didn’t show up for that dual,” Hume said. “We lost leads in three matches.”

The Tigerhawks went 3-1 in contested matches against Tri-County.

Barnes got a pin at 106, Isaac Clouse won his 182-pound match by fall, and Lourens also pinned his opponent at 220.

Lourens, who wrestled at 182 last year, went 3-0 on the night and is now 4-1 on the season.

“He’ll hold his own all season,” Hume said of Lourens. “It may take a few matches but he’ll get adjusted to the heavier weight here soon.”

Freshman Trystin Ross started the Tigerhawks’ dual with Iowa Valley with a first-period pin at 145. Iowa Valley won the next four bouts to take a 24-6 lead.

Colfax-Mingo regained the lead when Nick Barnes (195) and Ben Mead (285) each took forfeits and Lourens (220) and Zack Barnes (106) each won by fall.

The Tigerhawks led by three with four matches to go, and Cauy Fitch (120) and Teed (138) clinched the victory with pins.

“The guys rallied, and we were able to finish,” Hume said. “It was good to see.”

Iowa Valley defeated Colfax-Mingo 42-27 last season.

Joining Teed with a 2-1 mark on the night were Ross (145) and Mead. Ross took a forfeit against Tri-County and got a win by fall against Iowa Valley. Mead took two forfeits.

The Tigerhawks finish a busy week with a trip to Woodward-Granger at 9 a.m. Saturday.