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"It was a fun dual with 2 solid teams. We happened to pick up more bonus points to get the win. It was a great team effort all the way around," was the way Iowa-Grant/Highland coach Ryan Allen described his team's 37-35 huge win over visiting Lancaster.
The match was originally scheduled for last Tuesday but snow forced it to be changed to Wednesday.
The match was decided in the final three matches. Mason Welsh, at 126, registered a pin, then Dax Smelzer lost by a majordecision, but not getting pinned were the two points his team would need to secure the win.
Allen talked about each wrestler saying, "138- Starkey got the ball rolling for us with a big pin. Treyton has been a rock for us this year. He really works hard everyday at practice and leads by example. He is one of those guys who no one wants to be partners with because he works so hard.
145- Emmerson lost a very close match 1-0. He had a few chances in this match to score but it just didn't happen. He is a tough freshman who works his butt off and I'm confident he will find a way to get to his offense more.
152- Andrew Winders had a big win against a tough kid. As a senior, Andrew has done a great job this year. We will need him to keep up the good work as regionals approaches.
160- Colton was right in this match but unfortunately once we were on bottom we struggled. Oyen is pretty tough on top and did a good job keeping the pressure on Colton. Hopefully we can improve so this doesn't happen again.
170- Blake Dax did a great job getting the pin for us. Blake is a team player who moves up weight classes a lot for the team. Tonight he got to wrestle his own weight class and looked very good scoring bonus points for our team.
182- Jayden, who is a very undersized 182 pounder bumped up for the team and did his best. He is another hard worker who has the potential to be really good.
195- Cal looked very dominate, like he has all year. We will need his leadership at practice to continue all year. Cal is ready for regionals.
220- Isaac had a few opportunities to score but I think a lack of confidence slowed him down a little and he got caught on his back. If he can build up his confidence, I think he will feel better about pulling the trigger when it is time for him to score.
Hwt- Donald got right to work tonight and got the big pin for us in the first period. If Don can keep working hard in practice he will be a force at regionals.
106- Ryder is a small 106 pounder and was just out matched in this one. He goes out and battles hard but he will need to keep working to get bigger and learn more.
106- Ryder is a small 106 pounder and was just out matched in this one. He goes out and battles hard but he will need to keep working to get bigger and learn more.
113- Elliot really opened up in this match. He has been wrestling for a long time and knows lots of ways to score points. When he figures out how to put all right moves together he is going to be very tough to beat.
120- Mason got a huge pin for us and it didn't come easy. Mason did a good job of grinding on top and being relentless with his turns. He eventually got a bar good and tight and it was all over.
126- Dax Smelzer might be the most improved guy on our team and although he lost this match, he did a lot of good things. Im confident that he will continue to work hard and keep getting better.
132- Caden was right in this match, and I believe he was actually winning at the time, but he got in a dangerous position and got put right on his back. Hopefully he can learn to stay away from certain positions and stay where he knows he can score."
He concluded by saying, "Like I said, it was overall a great dual. We had 25 exhibition matches plus a few jv matches. Hopefully many lessons were learned and we can improve from each one."
Results
138 Treyton Starkey (IG/H) over Logan Wolf (Fall 2:58), 145 Colby Lull (L) over Emmerson Moen (Dec 1-0), 152 Andrew Winders (IG/H) over Dustin Tydrich (Dec 4-3), 160 Isaac Oyen (L) over Colton Cutts (MD 10-2), 170 Blake Dax (IG/H) over Bryce Galle (Fall 3:29), 182 Ryan McCartney (L) over Jayden Bompkamp (Fall 3:30), 195 Cal Dorota (IGH) over Brayden Mahr (Fall 0:55), 220 Allen Cohen (L) over Isaac Biba (Fall 3:57), 285 Donald Laufenberg (IGH) over Synger Runde (Fall 1:16), 106 Jamin Crapp (L) over Ryder Welsh (Fall 1:25), 113 Elliot Biba (IG/H) over Devin Tydrich (MD 14-6), 120 Mason Welsh (IG/H) over Owen Yoose (Fall 2:55), 126 Joe Esser (L) over Dax Smelzer (MD 16-5), 132 Remington Bontreger (L) over Caden Lindner (IG/H) (Fall 3:40)