~by Dustin Teays for The Scranton Journal
A pair of Ram wrestlers earned champion titles at the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference tournament at Roland-Story Jan. 24.
Overall, the team netted two champions, two second-place finishes, one fifth-place finish, and one sixth-place finish.
The two champions on the day were Jaron Jacobs, who took first place at 113 pounds with a 13-2 major decision over West Marshall’s James Decker in the championship match; and Crew Conner, who took first place at 144 pounds with his pin of Perry’s Townes Wilson in the championship match.
“Jaron Jacobs was very dominant and continues to improve and gain confidence every week. Crew Conner won his first high school tournament championship and is improving every time he steps on the mat,” head coach Kirk Davis said. “I’m very proud of all that competed. We have been dealing with some adversity in sickness and injuries, but as a team, we continue to work and focus on improving every chance we get.”.
The Rams placed sixth out of eight teams with 92.5 points. West Marshall took the top spot with 234 points, and Roland-Story took second with 199 points.
Brennan Jacobs took second place at 106 pounds, falling by a 23-7 technical fall to West Marshall’s Urijah Courter. Gavyn Winters took second place at 120 pounds as he lost an 8-5 decision to West Marshall’s Jon Gonzalez. Roman Sebourn took fifth place at 138 pounds, and Degan Miller took sixth place at 165 pounds, losing by medical forfeit to Saydel’s Grady Godwin.
This year has been successful for both Jarob Jacobs and Crew Conner. As of the conclusion of the HOAIC tournament, Jacobs had an overall record of 26-7 and Conner had a record of 22-10 for the Rams.
They aren’t the only ones experiencing that success though as the team as a whole has experienced solid results all season long. As they buckle down and prepare for districts ahead of them, the chances of getting someone to state tournament feels like a possibility but the wrestlers know there is still work to be done ahead of that chance.
“I like our chances of qualifying a good number of wrestlers on our team, but wrestling is not decided on paper so we need to continue to get healthy and improve every day and good things will happen for our guys,” Davis said.
This week, the Rams were expected to continue their season with a triangular against the CAM Cougars and Manson-NW Webster Cougars on Jan. 28. They finish their week at the Charger Invitational on Saturday in Guthrie Center.
Looking a littler further ahead, the Rams know where they will be headed for their District Assignment for Class 2A as they will be participating in the District #7 which will include Eagle Grove, Gilbert, Humboldt, North Polk, Perry, Southeast Valley and West Marshall.
Districts will be taking place beginning Saturday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m. The top two place winners from each weight class will qualify to go on to the state tournament. The state tournament will take place from Feb. 19-22.
