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Iowa-Grant Team Sectional

Participants: Cashton, Clinton, Iowa-Grant, Riverdale
Format: Team Tournament
Date: Tuesday, February 14^th
Location: Iowa-Grant High School

Maybe it’s because of the rankings.  Wisconsin Wrestling Online ranks Iowa-Grant 1^st and Cashton 2^nd; the Crossface ranks Cashton 1^st and Iowa-Grant 2^nd.  Maybe it’s because of the individuals.  Iowa-Grant has eleven ranked wrestlers; Cashton has ten.  Maybe it’s because of the rivalry.  It can be traced back to youth wrestling days.  Maybe it’s because it could be the best D3 dual of the year.  I’m not belittling the talent and abilities of Riverdale and Clinton, but let’s face it.  Iowa-Grant v. Cashton is a showdown.  Cashton has the upper hand on the lower weights, while Iowa-Grant has more dominance over the upper weights.  Cashton will boast ten regional champs; Iowa-Grant eight.  Let’s break it down weight-by-weight.

103

Cashton’s #4 Cameron Flock comes into the dual with a second-place finish, falling to Brookwood’s #2 Andy Doyle but defeating HM Tyler Werties of Necedah whom he’d lost to twice this year.  Flock has a record of 27-13 and pulled a 6^th place finish at Cheesehead earlier in the year.  Not to be outdone, Iowa-Grant’s NR Bryce Moen also claimed a second-place finish at Darlington this weekend, pinning the #2-seed in the 2^nd period.  Both freshman have had their ups and downs this season, but I predict Flock will take the win.

112

#1 Andy Dahl of Cashton, who was byed into the finals at regionals this weekend, has a mere single loss on his record and took the championship title at Cheesehead.  He will face Iowa-Grant’s #8 Hunter Burghy, who placed third at regionals last weekend.  Cashton will be counting on Dahl for big points here.

119

#10 Garret Kite of Iowa-Grant, 26-10, took the regional championship title by injury default to Andrew Skog of Darlington, making up for his off-day at conference the other week.  He will face HM Tyler Mlsna of Cashton, 32-9, who also claimed a first-place finish this weekend.  This is one of the toss-up matches; both wrestlers are fairly similar in their performances this season, from records to tournament finishes.

125

With #8 Darrin Hampton still not in Iowa-Grant’s lineup, it looks like #1 Alex Dahl of Cashton will be counted on to win big points at this weight over NR Justin Washburn of Iowa-Grant.  Dahl, who still has not lost yet this season, has 38 wins on his record.

130

Iowa-Grant’s #10 Sean Olson, 27-13 will be going for the win here - he placed 2^nd at regionals to #1 Curtis Fiedler of Mineral Point by a score of only 6-0.  Cashton’s NR Jason Schmitz, 15-2, can’t be overlooked however.  He won the regional title at Necedah this weekend with a tech fall in the finals.

135

This should be an exciting match.  #1 Cade Sarbacker of Iowa-Grant will be depended on for the points, but anything could happen against #5 Brandon Arentz of Cashton.  Sarbacker has had an impressive season; his single loss Cheeshead to the Illinois stud from Belvidere, and it was close; 2-1.  Arentz has one loss to his name as well, and it also occurred at Cheesehead to another Illinois wrestler, this time from Montini.  Arentz pulled a tech fall over #9 Ben Oleson in the regional finals last weekend, and Sarbacker pinned his opponent in :49 seconds.

140

#7 Justin Flock of Cashton will head into the dual with a regional championship win over #5 Mike Seitz of 11-4.  He will be favored over Iowa-Grant’s NR Brent Belken, 4-5, who took a 5^th place finish at regionals.

145

#4 Tyler Bollant, 35-3 regional champ by a major decision, will be favored for the win over #10 Travis Brueggen, also a regional champ with a record of 25-8.

152

Here’s another close bout.  Iowa-Grant’s #7 Brandon Welu, 31-7, will come into Tuesday night a regional champ over a close and impressive 3-2 win over #4 Danny Sullivan of Mineral Point.  HM Myles Elsen has a similar 31-8 record and also claimed the regional title with a tech fall in the finals.

160

Iowa-Grant is the favorite here.  Their #3 Travis Halverson is a regional champ with a record of 33-5.  Cashton’s NR Brendan Leis is a regional runner-up with a record 28-14; Iowa-Grant will count on Halverson to clinch a pin, and Cashton will depend on Leis to keep it as close as he can.

171

Cashton’s regional champ, 21-6 #5 Jeremiah Hatfield needs to pin here.  Iowa-Grant’s NR Brett Durni will come with a 18-20 record and 5^th place regional finish.

189

#1 Rory Edge, hands down.  I don’t know if Cashton can expect much else.  Their NR Joe Cunitz, although claiming a second-place regional finish, has little experience with his 4-6 record.

215

If Cashton can’t find a wrestler to put in here, Iowa-Grant will get the forfeit points.  If they can find someone, they’ll have to face HM Drew Hinderman of Iowa-Grant, who pinned his kid in the regional finals.

275

Although Iowa-Grant will be expecting more out of their #2 Cody Soderstrom, I believe this will be another close match if Cashton’s #5 Derek Laufenberg comes ready to wrestle.  Both will come into the dual with regional championship titles.  Soderstrom’s season is impressive; he took the title at Cheesehead while Laufenberg placed 8^th.  But Laufenberg was runner-up at Bi-State to Joe Vogt of Cuba City, who Soderstrom also lost to at conference.  Anything could happen here.