Before eastern Iowa came to a standstill over the weekend, the West Liberty, West Branch and Camanche wrestling teams lit up the mat during a triangular at Camanche High School last Thursday.
West Liberty skunked the Storm with an emphatic 77-0 victory in enemy territory. Only five weight classes were contested, but none of the matches were particularly competitive.
Tytan Griffith at 165 and Jamison Rud at 175 each picked up first-period pins. Rud only needed 28 seconds and Griffith secured his at the 1:26 mark.
At 157, Kaden Wiele earned a technical fall with a 17-2 domination of Olyver Fuller.
Briggs Collins nearly shut out his opponent at 138 winning a 6-1 decision against Jayden Krontz. Also, 106-pounder Lincoln Daufeldt won a decision by a 12-8 margin over Logan Edens.
The Comets also faced off against the Bears Thursday in a dual full of runs.
Of the 11 contested matches, West Branch won the first six. Two forfeits kept the Comets in the match with a 27-12 scoreline midway through the contest.
Then, the Comets’ middleweights stepped in to flip the scoreboard.
Gable Underbakke (144), Ryker Dengler (150) and Wiele (157) each scored pins to put the Comets on top 30-27.
Unfortunately, that’s where the West Liberty scoring stopped. A Bears forfeit win at 165 put them right back in the lead, and their 175 and 190-pounders each won major decisions to close out the night.
After the Comets’ weekend tournament last Saturday in Solon was canceled, they will be back on the mat in a heavyweight battle against Class 1A powerhouse Wilton on January 18.
On Saturday, it is off to the Columbus/WMU duals with North Scott, Southeast Polk and Tipton.
West Liberty (77) vs. Camanche (0)
285: Julio Flores receives a forfeit. 106: Lincoln Daufeldt def. Logan Edens (CAM) by decision (12-8). 113: Ryan Cassady receives a forfeit. 120: Robinson Paredes Morado receives a forfeit. 126: Landon Wainwright receives a forfeit. 132: Isaac Aragon receives a forfeit. 138: Briggs Collins def. Jayden Krontz (CAM) by decision (6-1). 144: Gable Underbakke receives a forfeit. 150: Ryker Dengler receives a forfeit. 157: Kaden Wiele def. Olyver Fuller (CAM) by technical fall (17-2, 5:50). 165: Tytan Griffith pinned Preston Rumler (CAM) at 1:26. 175: Jamison Rud pinned Nicholas Graham (CAM) at 0:28. 190: Joe Akers receives a forfeit. 215: Perry Lehman receives a forfeit.
West Branch (41) vs. West Liberty (30)
215: Quintyn Rocha (WB) def. Perry Lehman by major decision (11-0). 285: Logan Wright (WB) pinned Julio Flores at 1:19. 106: Ethan Humphrey (WB) pinned Lincoln Daufeldt at 1:42. 113: Ryan Cassady receives a forfeit. 120: Lincoln Edwards (WB) def. Robinson Paredes Morado by major decision (14-2). 126: Timmy Hosier (WB) def. Landon Wainwright by major decision (14-2). 132: Logan Christoffel (WB) def. Briggs Collins by decision (5-4). 138: Isaac Aragon receives a forfeit. 144: Gable Underbakke pinned Keaton Gates (WB) at 5:18. 150: Ryker Dengler pinned Auron Marsh (WB) at 3:18. 157: Kaden Wiele pinned Cale Seydel (WB) at 5:17. 165: Cooper Gates receives a forfeit. 175: Shae Farmer (WB) def. Tytan Griffith by major decision (13-3). 190: Tate Frantz (WB) def. Joe Akers by major decision (19-9).