By Becky Walz,
Decorah took on some difficult competition in the Northeast Iowa Conference wrestling tournament in Waukon Saturday, finishing fifth as a team with 117.5 points, despite having four Vikes in the finals.
Class 3A No. 1 Waverly-Shell Rock picked up the team title with 314.5 points, well ahead of second-place Crestwood who garnered 197 points. New Hampton-Turkey Valley finished third with 178 points.
The runners-up
Will Larson was the first to secure a second-place finish at 120 pounds. A bye in the quarterfinal round put Larson in the semifinal against Waukon’s Max Jones where the Viking picked up the pin in 1:36. It was a high-scoring final between Larson and Class 4A No. 8 Alex Hornyak of Waverly-Shell Rock that ended in the Go-Hawks’ favor by a 14-11 decision.
Competing at 126 pounds, Mason Avila threw McCoy McIlravy of W-SR in 2:52 to advance from the quarterfinal round. There Avila pinned Sam Hornyak, also of Waverly-Shell Rock, in 5:47. In the final, the Decorah grappler narrowly gave up a 2-1 decision to Class 2A No. 5 Jakob Regan of Waukon.
At 132 pounds, Kollin Henry threw Waukon’s Justin Murphy in 5:08 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal, Henry picked up a 10-2 major decision over Jayden Bucknell of New Hampton/Turkey Valley. In the end it was Class 3A No. 8 Zane Behrends of Waverly-Shell Rock winning the title by a 6-0 decision over Henry.
Class 2A No. 3 Brady Stille had a tough final after throwing his first two opponents. The senior grappler opened the day with a pin in 1:06 over Jace Pedretti of Crestwood in the quarterfinal. It took Stille 58 seconds to turn Waverly-Shell Rocks’ Gehrig Tibbitts and ultimately faced Class 3A No. 1 Bas Diaz in the finals. It was a 3-1 decision that pushed Stille into second place.
Coming up
New this year is the elimination of sectional meets as wrestlers will only compete at district which will be held Saturday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m. The top two wrestlers at each weight will advance to the state tournament which will be held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Feb. 15-18.
Decorah will host one of the Class 2A district meets. Competing with the Vikes will be Aplington-Parkersburg/Grundy Center, Charles City, Crestwood, New Hampton/Turkey Valley, North Fayette Valley, Oelwein and Waukon.
NEIC tournament team scores
1. Waverly-Shell Rock 314.5; 2. Crestwood 197; 3. New Hampton-Turkey Valley 178; 4. Waukon 153; 5. Decorah 117.5; 6. Charles City 88.5
Individual results
120 – Will Larson, 2nd place
Quarterfinal – bye; semifinal – WBF 1:36 over Max Jones (Waukon); final – lost 14-11 dec. to Alex Hornyak (W-SR)
126 – Mason Avila, 2nd place
Quarterfinal – WBF 2:52 over McCoy McIlravy (W-SR); semifinal – WBF 5:47 over Sam Hornyak (W-SR); final – lost 2-1 dec. to Jakob Regan (Waukon)
132 – Kollin Henry, 2nd place
Quarterfinal – won 16-0 tech fall in 5:08 over Justin Murphy (Waukon); semifinal – won 10-2 maj. dec. over Jayden Bucknell (NH/TV); final – lost 6-0 dec. to Zane Behrends (W-SR)
145 – Brady Stille, 2nd place
Quarterfinal – WBF 1:06 over Jace Pedretti (Crestwood); semifinal – WBF 0:58 over Gehrig Tibbitts (W-SR); final – lost 3-1 dec. to Bas Diaz (W-SR)
160 – Brody Hanson, 4th place
Quarterfinal – WBF 2:35 over Riley Burington (Waukon); semifinal – LBF 0:18 to Danny Diaz (W-SR); cons. semifinal – won 9-1 maj. dec. over Colton Anderegg (CC); 3rd place – lost 9-6 dec. to Karson Kolbet (NH/TV)
170 – Thomas Sexton, 3rd place
Quarterfinal – WBF 2:54 over Carter Burkhardt (CC); semfinal – LBF 1:59 to Robert Poyner (W-SR); cons. semifinal – WBF 4:37 over Isaiah Perez (W-SR); 3rd place – won 4-2 dec. over Tyler Pisney (Crestwood)
170 – Erik Hjelle, 5th place
Quarterfinal – LBF 3:57 to Robert Poyner (W-SR); cons. rd. 1 – WBF 2:36 over Carter Burkhardt (CC); cons. semifinal – LBF 2:00 to Tyler Pisney (Crestwood); 5th place – won med. Forfeit over Isaiah Perez (W-SR)
195 – Kaiden Youngblood, 5th place
Quarterfinal – won 15-5 maj. dec. over Cody Kerian (Crestwood); semifinal – LBF 1:05 to McCrae Hagarty (W-SR); cons. semifinal – LBF 2:59 to Logan Lashbrook (W-SR); 5th place – WBF 1:36 over Cody Kerian (Crestwood)
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