~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
The Greene County wrestling team has four wrestlers going to the state tournament this week in Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines. Sophomore McKinley Robbins and seniors Brady Stauffer and Sawyer Schiltz won their weight classes. Freshman Gavin Scheuermann was runner-up at the Class 2A District 1 tournament held Saturday in Adel.
Class 2A competition at the state tournament starts Thursday, Feb. 18, with first round and first round consolation matches taking place from 6 to 9 pm at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Rams finished in second place at the District meet in Adel with 89 points, just 1.5 points behind first place Bondurant-Farrar with 90.5.
Robbins remains undefeated on the season, winning the 120-pound title. He pinned both of his opponents, including fourth-ranked Rylie Anderson, senior from Bondurant-Farrar. Robbins trailed Anderson 5-3 early in the third period before taking the Bluejay down to his back and securing the fall. It was just the second loss for Anderson.
Stauffer took on #8 Gage Long of Ballard in the title match. Down 1-0 going into the final period, Stauffer scored an escape to tie the match. Then with 17 seconds remaining in the bout, Stauffer took Long to the mat for the two-point take down, winning 3-1.
Schiltz posted a pair of pins on his way to the 285-pound championship. The senior has excelled in this weight class. He started the season at 220-pounds going 5-4 before entering the 285-pound division where he is currently 25-9.
Scheuermann won his first match by decision, then lost by fall to #4 Landon Fenton of PCM for second place. He is the fourth freshman in Rams history to go to the state tournament.
Nathan Black just missed his chance at state competition. The junior won his first match, then lost to the seventh-ranked wrestler in Class 2A. He had a wrestle back opportunity but was pinned in the closing seconds of the match. He compiled a stellar record of 28 wins against six losses.
Coach Zach Beekman was happy with how the Rams are wrestling now and was thankful to still be wrestling, saying, “There’s not a program in the state that hasn’t been affected in some way by this (COVID-19), and that was a big topic on Saturday in Adel at our coaches meeting. We’re all so thankful to be wrestling at our state tournaments. It’s a testament to so many people, and especially our athletes, for getting to this point.”
Second seed Robbins is scheduled to wrestle Dawson Townsend of Davis County in his first match. The top seed at 120-pounds is Blaine Frazier of Danville. It is a tough weight class featuring eight ranked contestants.
Stauffer must get past #9 Brady Ortner of Vinton-Shellsburg to advance to the second round at 138-pounds. Ortner, a junior, is 35-9 on the season. There are nine ranked wrestlers in this class.
Schiltz has Aaron Graves for his first round match. Graves, a Southeast Valley junior is 30-3 with a number 10 ranking. If Schiltz gets past Graves, he will likely meet the top seed in the 285-pound class.
Scheuermann’s class is loaded with all 10 of the top ranked wrestlers in the 145-pound division. The freshman has drawn Nick Fox of Osage for his first round match. Fox, a sophomore, is 32-2 and ranked second.
Class 2A District Results
- 120 – McKinley Robbins (30-0) pinned Kolton Keller (Saydel) 2:30; pinned #4 Rylie Anderson (Bondurant-Farrar) 5:19, first place
- 126 – John Sprague (17-9) lost to #3 Chase Fiser (Bondurant-Farrar) by tech fall 16-0; lost by decision to Daniel Gorskikh (Knoxville) 0-7, fourth place
- 138 – Brady Stauffer (27-5) won by injury default over Austin Chally (Saydel) 4:35; won by decision over #8 Gage Long (Ballard) 3-1, first place
- 145 – Gavin Scheuermann (17-9) won by decision over Easton White (North Polk) 5-2; lost by fall to #4 Landon Fenton (PCM, Monroe) 1:37, second place
- 160 – Nathan Black (28-6) won by decision over Sean Golwitzer (North Polk) 8-1; lost by fall to #7 Gabriel Christensen (Ballard) :59; lost by fall to Dustin Harney (Woodward Granger) 5:54, third place
- 170 – Noble Hoyt (13-15) lost by fall to #9 Dylan Meiners (North Polk) 1:12; lost by fall to Porter Smith (Bondurant-Farrar) 3:31, fourth place
- 220 – Broc Hamann (12-15) lost by fall to Nick Wacha (Ballard) :45; pinned Nic Romero (Gilbert) 1:18, third place
- 285 – Sawyer Schiltz (25-9) pinned Kinser Sloan (PCM, Monroe) 3:23; pinned Cole Sanger (North Polk) 1:47, first place
Team Standings: 1) Bondurant-Farrar 90.5; 2) Greene County 89; 3) Ballard 74; 4) PCM 65; 5) Woodward-Granger 63; 6) North Polk 48; 8) Gilbert 45; 9) Knoxville 17; 10: Saydel 9; 11) Perry 8; 11) Van Meter-Earlham 8
