Four Greene County wrestlers reached the championship round of the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference wrestling tournament in Jewell hosted by South Hamilton on Friday night. Two were crowded champions.
Freshman McKinley Robbins, ranked second or third in Class 2A at 106 lbs., depending on the poll, won by fall twice, including overcoming a 4-0 deficit after one period in the title match vs. Drew Robinson of Nevada. Robbins, the top seed at the weight class, improved to 23-1 by pinning the Cub in 3:36. Robinson fell to 26-4.
Junior Sawyer Schiltz also finished in first place, but his run to the title at 220 lbs. was more improbable Schiltz pulled one of the night’s big upsets in the semifinals when he came from 7-1 down after one period and won by fall in 2:58 over top seeded Caden Meskan of Gilbert, ranked eighth in Class 2A. The Ram junior pinned Caden Jones of Nevada in the title match in 2:53. In fact, Schiltz went three for three with three falls Friday night after pinning Benjamin Ewing of North Polk in the opening round. Schultz won a tournament title for the first time in his varsity career and improved to 20-9.
Sophomore Brenner Gallagher finished in second place at 113 lbs. He lost in the title match by a 15-5 major decision to senior Joe Howick of Roland-Story (Story City) to fall to 25-8 while the Norseman improved to 33-3. That weight class had just three entires and Gallagher won by fall in the semifinals to reach the finals.
Junior Brady Stauffer at 138 lbs. was the runner-up, dropping a 5-2 decision in the finals to eighth ranked Payton Drake, a PCM senior, who improved to 27-4. Stauffer fell to 30-5. The Ram earlier won by fall in the first round and by a 3-0 decision in the semifinals.
The other five Rams and their placings were senior Braden Gallagher, third at 120 lbs.; sophomore John Sprague, third at 126 lbs.; junior Joe Davis, sixth at 145 lbs.; senior Gage Michaelsen, fourth at 195 lbs; senior Matt Naberhaus, fourth at 285.
Due to injuries and other issues, the Rams took just nine wrestlers to Jewell and finished fourth in the team race. Gilbert won the team title with 238 points and fourth champions. North Polk (Alleman) was second with 209 points and three champions and PCM (Monroe) placed third with 150 points and three first place finishes. The Rams had 148.5 and the two champions, followed by Nevada with no champions and 113 points, South Hamilton 99 points and one champion, Roland-Story 85 points and one champions, and Saydel had no champions and 67.5 points.
Freshman Emma Hoyle wrestled at the two-day Iowa Wrestling Coaches & Officials Association State Tournament in Waverly on Friday at Waverley-Shell Rock High School. Hoyle wrestled at 138 lbs., which had 40 girls in the weight class. She had a first round bye, then won by fall in 3:40 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, Hoyle fell to the number four seed by a 10-0 major decision. On the consolation side of the bracket, Hoyle’s tournament ended with a loss by fall in 5:17. She is now 8-3 on the season.
The Rams have scheduled another home meet for this Tuesday, Jan. 28 in the middle school gym in Jefferson. Greene County will host ADM (Adel) and Colfax-Mingo, then travel to Huxley on Jan. 30 to close out the dual meet season with Ballard, Perry, and Humboldt. The regular season ends for the Rams on Feb. 1 in Guthrie Center at the ACGC Charger Invitational. The postseason begins on Feb. 8 in Adel at ADM High School with a Class 2A Sectional Tournament.