By Becky Walz,
William Fullhart was one of the six Vikings crowned champs Saturday. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)
Following a disappointing loss in NEIC action Thursday, the Decorah boys’ wrestling team bounced back Saturday with a runner-up finish at the Flanagan Invite Saturday in Crestwood.
Matmen at home
Kicking off the new year at home, Decorah hosted Waverly-Shell Rock in a Northeast Iowa Conference dual Thursday, falling 54-18 to the Go-Hawks.
Four Vikes picked up wins on the night starting at 132-pound Mason Avila who took a 10-4 decision from McCony McIlvray. Throwing Layne Epley in 1:36, Decorah’s William Fullhart won at 144 pounds. At 190 pounds, Tommy Sexton earned the 3-1 decision victory over Zander Wedemeier and Gavin Knutson pinned Maddox Westendorf in 1:25 at 106 pounds.
Decorah 18, Waverly-Shell Rock 54
106 – Gavin Knutson (Dec) WBF in 1:25 over Maddox Westendorf (W-SR); 113 – Kelton Casterton (Dec) LBF in 1:17 to Taylor Kibbee (W-SR); 120 – Dec lost by forfeit; 126 – Michael Clement (Dec) LBF in 3:17 to Ryker Graff (W-SR); 132 – Mason Avila (Dec) won 10-4 dec. over McCoy McIlravy (W-SR); 138 – Will Larson (Dec) lost 5-3 dec. to Zane Behrends (W-SR); 144 – William Fullhart (Dec) WBF in 1:36 over Layne Epley (W-SR); 150 – Kollin Henry (Dec) LBF in 4:46 to Bas Diaz (W-SR); 157 – Daniel See (Dec) LBF in 3:52 to Makyver Hagarty (W-SR); 165 – Brody Hanson (Dec) lost 3-2 dec. to Ethan Bibler (W-SR); 175 – Bradan Darling (Dec) LBF in 2:35 to Braxten Westendorf (W-SR); 190 – Thomas Sexton (Dec) won 3-1 dec. over Zander Wedemeier (W-SR); 215 – Kaiden Youngblood (Dec) LBF in 3:08 to Logan Lashbrook (W-SR); 285 – Anthony Putnam (Dec) LBF in 2:49 to Caden Wetherell (W-SR)
Saturday tourney
Six champions highlighted the Viking efforts Saturday at the Flanagan Invite, hosted by Crestwood Saturday. In addition, Decorah finished runner-up in the team standings with 205.5 points, behind Hampton-Dumont-CAL, who tallied 217 points. With 193 points, Waukon claimed third.
At 106 pounds, Gavin Knutson was the first to be crowned a champion for the Vikes. A quarterfinal bye sent him directly into the semifinals against James Knight of Waterloo West, who was pinned by Knutson in 37 seconds. In the finals, Viking earned the win by a 4-0 decision over Kale Berinobis of Waukon.
Mason Avila, wrestling at 132 pounds, also had just two matches en route to gold. The sophomore matman threw Payton Kacher of Waterloo West in 3:26 and secured the title over Jaxson Lundgren of North Fayette Valley by a 3-1 decision.
It took two falls for Will Larson to take the top finish at 138 pounds. Larson put Brody Strother of Hampton-Dumont-CAL on his back 3:17 to advance to the finals. There the sophomore threw Tate Germann of North Fayette Valley in 3:31.
William Fullhart started his quest to the 144-pound title with a fall in 45 seconds over Crestwood’s Ashton Keune. In the semifinals, he turned Luke Lindaman of Waterloo West in 32 seconds before squaring off with Logan Boehm of North Fayette Valley. Fullhart, a freshman, took the final match by a 9-3 decision over Boehm.
At 150 pounds, Kollin Henry came out on top. The senior first put the shoulders of Joe Powers of Hampton-Dumont-CAL on the mat in the quarterfinals before throwing Bralin Regan of Waukon. In the finals, Henry took care of Ryder Strother of Hampton-Dumont-CAL with a 15-0 tech fall in 3:20.
The final champion was Thomas Sexton at 190 pounds, who started his day in the quarterfinals by pinning Mason Regan of Crestwood in 43 seconds. It took Sexton 1:58 to throw Nolan Lamphier of Oelwein in the semifinal to advance in the championship bout. By a 6-3 decision, the sophomore grappler won over Cael Burmester of Hampton-Dumont-CAL.
Flanagan Invite team scores
1. Hampton-Dumont-CAL 217; 2. Decorah 205.5; 3. Waukon 193; 4. North Fayette Valley 174; 5. Crestwood 165.5; 6. Waterloo West 72.5; 7. Oelwein 70
Individual results
106 – Gavin Knutson, 1st place
Quarters – bye; Semis – WBF in 0:37 over James Knight (Waterloo West); Final – won 4-0 dec. over Kale Berinobis (Waukon)
113 – Kelton Casteron, 5th place
Quarters – LBF in 0:50 to Kade Meyer (NFV); Cons. rd. 1 – bye; Cons. semi – lost 9-4 dec. to Jayden Mara (Waukon); 5th place – bye
120 – D’mitry Lesser, 6th place
Quarters – LBF in 1:58 to Sylvester Kotoe (Waterloo West); Cons. rd. 1- bye; Cons. semi – lost 7-1 dec. to Kyson Moss (NFV); 5th place – LBF 4:00 to Will Varrelmann (H-D-C)
126 – Michael Clement, 6th place
Quarters – WBF in 2:00 over Josiah Wendland (Waterloo West); Semis – lost by medical forfeit to Lucas Byrnes (Waukon); Cons. semi – lost by medical forfeit to Ethan Bergan (Crestwood); 5th place – lost by medical forfeit to Josiah Wendland (Waterloo West)
132 – Mason Avila, 1st place
Quarters – bye; Semis – WBF in 3:26 over Payton Kacher (Waterloo West); Final – won 3-1 dec. over Jaxson Lundgren (NFV)
138 – Will Larson, 1st place
Quarters – bye; Semis – WBF in 3:17 over Brody Strother (H-D-C); Final – WBF in 3:31 over Tate Germann (NFV)
138 – Justin Fortman, DNP
Quarters – LBF in 5:08 to Tate Germann (NFV); Cons. rd. 1 – LBF in 3:00 to Ryan Lindaman (Waterloo West)
144 – William Fullhart, 1st place
Quarters – WBF in 0:45 over Ashton Keune (Crestwood); Semis – WBF in 0:32 over Luke Lindaman (Waterloo West); Final – won 9-3 dec. over Logan Boehm (NFV)
150 – Kollin Henry, 1st place
Quarters – WBF in 3:21 over Joe Powers (H-D-C); Semis – WBF in 3:43 over Bralin Regan (Waukon); Final – won 15-0 tech fall over Ryder Strother (H-D-C)
157 – Daniel See, 5th place
Quarters – LBF in 2:11 to Taylor Mahler (H-D-C); Cons. rd. 1 – won 13-2 maj. dec. over Michael Baumler (NFV); Cons. semi – LBF in 2:50 to Holten Palmer (Waukon); 5th place – won 9-4 dec. over Isaac Hernandez (NFV)
165 – Brody Hanson, 2nd place
Quarters – WBF in 1:23 over Emmanuel Hernandez (NFV); Semis – WBF in 1:34 over Colin Bird (H-D-C); Final – lost 9-7 sudden victory to Tyler Pisney (Crestwood)
165 – Steven Munoz, DNP
Quarters – LBF in 1:35 to Tyler Pisney (Crestwood); Cons. rd. 1 – LBF in 0:35 to Hunter Johnson (Oelwein)
175 – Bradan Darling, DNP
Quarters – LBF in 2:29 to Brock Voyna (Crestwood); Cons. rd. 1 – LBF in 0:38 to Matthew Bratten (Oelwein)
190 – Thomas Sexton, 1st place
Quarters – WBF in 0:43 over Mason Regan (Crestwood); Semis – WBF in 1:58 over Nolan Lamphier (Oelwein); Final – won 6-3 dec. over Cael Burmester (H-D-C)
190 – Adrian Smith, DNP
Quarters – LBF in 0:45 to Nolan Lamphier (Oelwein); Cons. rd. 1 – LBF in 0:49 to Mason Regan (Crestwood)
215 – Kaiden Youngblood, 3rd place
Quarters – WBF in 2:29 over Preston McCabe (Crestwood); Semis – lost 3-1 dec. to Tryston Johnson (Waukon); Cons. semi – bye; 3rd place – WBF 1:36 over Preston McCabe (Crestwood)
285 – Anthony Putnam, 6th place
Quarters – LBF in 1:09 to Carter Heilskov (H-D-C); Cons. rd. 1- WBF in 1:36 over Awnan Skoda (Crestwood); Cons. semi – LBF in 2:31 to Isaac Ericson (Waukon); 5th place – LBF in 4:41 to Hector Velica (H-D-C)
Competition Thursday
The next chance to catch the Vikings on the mat is Thursday, Jan. 11, at Crestwood in another NEIC match-up against the Cadets at 7:30 p.m.
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