March 28, 2024

Cardinals beat Mustangs on the mat

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Newton High doesn’t have any ranked wrestlers in Class 3A. Prairie City-Monroe’s Mustangs have four ranked wrestlers — all in the middle weights — in Class 2A.

Although Newton and PCM are not in the same conference, there is a rivalry between the two schools, which are 14 miles away from each other. The Cardinals hosted the Mustangs in a non-conference wrestling dual Tuesday.

By the luck of the draw, varsity competition began at 182. Newton won the first four matches to lead 21-0. PCM made a run, winning six of the next nine matches, but Newton held on for a 39-31 victory.

“It’s a good way to go into Christmas break. We have a chance to get healthy from illness and injuries,” Newton head coach Andy Swedenhjelm said. “The 195-pound match was a good one for us. It was toss-up match between the teams. It was good to see Jaise (Gulling) win that one.”

Each team had to adjust its varsity lineup for the competition. Newton was without its 195-pounder Blayden Rhone, who is sidelined with a knee injury, and Blake Cockerton at 113 and Ross Hull at 126 were out of the lineup. PCM’s Class 2A ninth-ranked 170-pounder Jarron Trausch was not dressed out to wrestle.

“The matches went as I expected them tonight,” PCM head coach Cory Waddell said. “I knew we had to have some bonus points, and we didn’t get them. Not having Jarron in the lineup at the last minute, we had to do some jockeying around. I knew it was going to be a close dual.”

Brady Smith opened the dual for Newton with a pin of PCM’s Dalton Schlangen at the 3:06 mark of the 182-pound match. Jaise Gulling stepped in at 195 pounds to take on the Mustangs’ Leevi Telfer.

Gulling scored first on a takedown, but it was knotted at 2-2 by end of the first period as Telfer had a reversal. Gulling reversed positions with Telfer in the second period followed by Telfer scoring one point on an escape.

A takedown by Gulling late in the period put him up 6-3 heading into the final two-minute period. Telfer had single points on an escape and stalling call on Gulling. Gulling claimed a 6-5 decision.

“We knew this was going to be a tough dual with their four ranked kids. I knew my guy was a senior, so I was prepared for a tough match,” Gulling said. “We were a little down coming into this one. Getting this win was big for us and good for the rivalry with them.”

Next on the mat was the 220-pound bout with Newton’s Alex Miller and PCM’s Clayton Welch. Both are seniors. Miller used three takedowns to lead Welch 6-2 by the end of the first period and was up 7-1 when he turned Welch over for a pin in the third period.

Newton junior Landon Hansen collected his first varsity dual win at 285. Hansen took down PCM’s Jace Smith and pinned him in 43 seconds.

Neither team had a wrestler at 106 and the Mustangs got on the scoreboard with a forfeit win to Payton Drake at 113. Aren Sorensen, who came up from the Cardinal junior varsity, pinned PCM’s Clay VanWyk in 1 minute, 3 seconds at 120 to put Newton up 27-6.

At 126, the Mustangs’ Jakeb Fenton made quick work of Newton’s Blake Iske with a pin in 36 seconds. Noah Cook got those six team points right back for the Cardinals by pinning PCM’s Nathan Fagg in 1:49 at 132 pounds.

“Our younger kids have been doing great all year. We have four seniors on the varsity and the rest are underclassmen. They are going to have ups and downs, but they are responding well,” Waddell said.

Chase Shirk sparked a three-match run for the Mustangs. Shirk pinned Newton’s Reece Caves with 17 seconds left in the second period of their 138-pound match.

Xavier Miller is ranked No. 4 in 2A at 145 pounds. Miller piled up eight points against Newton’s Jon Lawton then recorded a pin at the 3:23 mark. PCM trimmed Newton’s lead to 33-24.

At 152, PCM’s fourth-ranked Wes Cummings led Newton’s Logan Zibert, 5-0, after one period and was up 8-0 after two periods. Zibert did not give up a fall, but lost to Cummings on a 13-2 major decision. The Mustangs were within five points of the Cardinals, 33-28, with two matches remaining.

With Trausch out of the PCM lineup, the Mustangs’ third-ranked 160-pounder Lucas Roland moved up to 170 for the dual. Brady Fagen stepped on the mat at 160 for PCM against Newton’s Tristin Langmaid.

Langmaid worked a takedown late in the first period then had a reversal in the second period. Langmaid secured the team victory for Newton with a pin of Fagen in the second period.

Roland controlled much of the action in the final match — 170 — against Newton’s Tanner Petro. Roland was up 5-0 after one period and still had that margin going into the third period. Roland scored on an escape, but Petro had a takedown. Petro could not turn Roland, losing 6-2.

“Our kids wrestled well against their ranked kids. Logan Zibert got better toward the end of his match. He gave up a flurry of points early then settled in and wrestled well,” Swedenhjelm said. “Any time you watch our guys, they go out there and never quit.”

Swedenhjelm said he was glad to see Sorensen, a senior, who stepped in from the junior varsity and got a win. Cook and Hansen had big wins for the team, he said, to help get off to a good start against PCM.

PCM competes at 4 p.m. Thursday in a quadrangular at Solon to finish up the first semester. Newton is done until after the break when it goes to Oskaloosa on Jan. 5.

Newton won two of the three junior varsity matches against PCM. Bobby Yarges and Coltin Whitten won by pins at 120 and 145 for Newton while PCM’s Connor Fagen had a pin at 132 pounds.

Varsity

Newton 39, PCM 31

182: Brady Smith (N) over Dalton Schlangen (PCM) (Fall 3:06) 195: Jaise Gulling (N) over Leevi Telfer (PCM) (Dec 6-5) 220: Alex Miller (N) over Clayton Welch (PCM) (Fall 4:08) 285: Landon Hansen (N) over Jace Smith (PCM) (Fall 0:43) 106: 113: Payton Drake (PCM) over (N) (For.) 120: Aren Sorensen (N) over Clay VanWyk (PCM) (Fall 1:03) 126: Jakeb Fenton (PCM) over Blake Iske (N) (Fall 0:36) 132: Noah Cook (N) over Nathan Fagg (PCM) (Fall 1:49) 138: Chase Shirk (PCM) over Reece Caves (N) (Fall 3:36) 145: Xavier Miller (PCM) over Jon Lawton (N) (Fall 3:23) 152: Wes Cummings (PCM) over Logan Zibert (N) (MD 13-2) 160: Tristin Langmaid (N) over Brady Fagen (PCM) (Fall 2:56) 170: Lucas Roland (PCM) over Tanner Petro (N) (Dec 6-2)

Junior Varsity

Newton 12, PCM 6

120: Bobby Yarges (N) over Caleb Peter (PCM) (Fall 2:49) 132: Connor Fagen (PCM) over Skyler Tool (N) (Fall 4:00) 145: Coltin Whitten (N) over Lane Raske (PCM) (Fall 2:41)

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