TigerHawks send 3 to State

 

With North Fayette Valley cheerleaders and crowd urging him on, Nick Baumler sets up round one opponent Seth Niichel of Charles City for the winning throw. In the crowd (l-r) are NFV FB coach Clint Rodgers, former wrestling coach Jim Guyer, assistant FB and SB coach Justin Heins, NFV boys’ golf coach Derick Heins, and assistant wrestling coach Moss. On the far right are NFV wrestlers Ethan Lape and Austin DeMuth. Baumler gos into the State tournament with a 38-match win streak. (Kris Van Sickle photo)

 

TigerHawks send 3 to State

 

 

By Jerry Wadian
Sports Editor
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

 

 

In its first season of wrestling, North Fayette Valley will send three TigerHawk wrestlers to the State Wrestling Tournament at the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines this week.

Nick Baumler, Tyler Johansen, and Dalton Lape will all appear in Des Moines. For Johansen and Lape, it is a repeat visit. Last year, Johansen finished on the awards stand with an eighth-place finish.

All earned the right to go to the State Tournament by winning their respective weight classes at the District Tournament in New Hampton on Saturday, Feb. 15.

NFV had four wrestlers in contention, but Zach Bruns just missed a second straight State berth. The 138-pound junior had one of the toughest brackets in the District as three of the four grapplers were ranked in the top seven. None of the other NFV wrestlers had to face a ranked opponent.

Bruns was thrown in round one but came back to pin Lee Hanson of Columbus in the first period.

In the wrestleback, Bruns was caught in a pair of second-period cradles, giving up six near-fall points in a 13-8 loss to fourth-ranked Christian Fox of Osage.

Baumler dominated Charles City’s Seth Niichel in round one, earning a pin in 3:38. In the title match, Baumler built a 5-0 lead in the first period, but needed an escape with seven seconds left in the match to beat Ryan Woods of Osage, 6-5. The two wins give the sophomore a 38-match win streak going into the State Tournament.

Johansen breezed through two decisions, allowing only three escape points per match. The junior beat Mike Kreuger of Denver-Tripoli, 7-3, in round one and Indee’s Jason Grover, 9-3, in the championship match.

Lape parlayed two take-downs and an escape to beat Craig Schweer (D-T), 5-1, in round one. The championship match was 0-0 at the end of the first period, but Lape turned Indee’s Mitch Ciesieski on his back early in the second period and got the throw in 2:23.

Afterwards, NFV head coach Jacob Pedersen stated, “Overall, it was a good day. Bruns wrestled well but got caught; that’s unfortunate, but it’s also wrestling.

“Our three champions did what they had to do to win; they found a way.”

At the State Tournament, Lape, ranked seventh, has the easiest starting bracket. If he gets by eighth-ranked Dylan Van Dusen (33-7) in the first round, neither opponent in round two is ranked.

Both Baumler and Johansen face unranked foes in round one, but if they win, they would face number one in round two.

Of the three brackets, Pedersen noted, “I’m pretty happy with them. Once you get to State, rankings don’t mean as much. I believe that all three of our wrestlers have a chance to win.”

District Team Standings

Independence, 117; 2. Osage, 98.5; 3. Charles City, 98; 4. Crestwood, 67; 5. North Fayette Valley, 62; 6. Oelwein, 47; 7. Denver-Tripoli, 29; 8. New Hampton, 20; 9. BCLUW, 18. 10. Columbus, 0.

Individual NFV Results

138 - Zach Bruns (31-7) 3rd;   lost, 8-4, to Wyatt Forsyth (CC); threw Lee Hansen (Col.), 0:56; lost, 13-8, to Christian Fox (O). 160 - Nick Baumler (39-2), 1st;   threw Seth Niichel (CC), 3:38; dec.  Ryan Woods (O), 6-5. 220 - Tyler Johansen (37-2), 1st; dec. Mike Krueger (D-T), 7-3; dec. Travis McMillan (Oel), 9-3. 285 - Dalton Lape (30-6), 1st; dec. Craig Schweer (D-T), 5-1; threw Mitch Ciesielski (I), 2:23.

 

 

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