So you thought you could predict how the Clear Lake sectional would turn out Saturday?
Not even Nostradamus could have foreseen this:
Clear Lake is sending nine wrestlers to districts?
“Nine is extremely ... Wow,” Clear Lake coach Gary Weber said. “I thought maybe four or five, but nine?”
Forest City’s top-ranked (112) Alex Spooner ends his brilliant career at sectionals?
“The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat ... It was agony (Saturday),” Forest City coach Murray Anderson said. “My heart aches for that kid.”ere two of the storylines Saturday in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Clear Lake High School.
The Lions performed better than Weber could have imagined.
A stellar semifinal round essentially gave the Lions the sectional crown.
The Lions finished with 213.5 points while Osage took second with 191. Charles City finished third with 186.5.
Clear Lake and Osage advance to Tuesday’s regional dual in New Hampton. The Lions meet Cresco and Osage tangles with MFL-Mar Mac.
There were a handful of surprises for the Lions, none bigger than Jordan Dahl at 152 pounds.
A month ago, Dahl was a 4-15 wrestler. Getting out of sectionals seemed like a long shot.
But Saturday, Dahl looked like a different wrestler, winning his weight bracket to earn a top seed at next week’s district meet in Lake Mills.
With the 6-3 win over LMNK’s Royce Byrnes in the finals, Dahl now has a winning record (19-18).
“I just go out and fight every match,” Dahl said. “Once I got here (Saturday), I kept telling myself I was going to win.”
Dahl joined Matt Bieber (103) and Jacob Colon (119) as champions.
Colon edged Forest City’s Cole Anderson 6-4 thanks to a takedown with five seconds left.
Anderson beat Colon at the Clear Lake Invite earlier this year by two points via a late takedown.
“He’s a good wrestler. I like wrestling him,” Colon said. “We know each others’ moves and how to counter them.”
Osage advanced five wrestlers and the Green Devils and Lions could meet with a spot at state duals in the balance Tuesday night in New Hampton.
Jobe Goodale scored the Green Devils’ marquee win, downing Spooner 7-2 at 112 pounds.
Goodale rode Spooner the first minute of the third period before he took Spooner to his back for the final minute.
Spooner was in obvious pain and left the mat with his right arm dangling. He was taken for X-rays, which didn’t reveal a break.
But it was obvious Spooner, a defending state champ, wasn’t his typical dominant self.
“There was no way he wasn’t going to wrestle,” coach Anderson said. “He was hurt going in, and we hoped he could stay out of certain situations.
“He’s as good as they come and as tough as they come. He was hurt pretty bad.”
He was hurt and Goodale capitalized in their 112-pound title bout.
“He wrestled smart,” Osage coach Brent Jennings said. “He got a lead and forced him to choose down. We knew we could ride him. The reality was, that is all we had to do.”
Spooner then injury defaulted his wrestleback match against Hampton-Dumont’s Alex Brown.
Charles City advanced the second-most wrestlers to districts with seven.
Jesse Etherington (125), Tanner Schmidt (130) and Dalton Schutjer (189) each won titles for the Comets.
“We’ve got to get our guys a little better,” Charles City coach Dave Williams said. “We have some guys that will be favored, but not all of them. We’ve got to get hot.”
Team Standings
ClearLake 213.5, Osage 191, Charles City 186.5, Forest City 147.5, Hampton-Dumont 147, LMNK 115.
Championship matches
103 — Matt Bieber (CL) major dec. Austin Hoeft (CC), 17-8. 112 — Jobe Goodale (O) dec. Alex Spooner (FC), 7-2. 119 — Jacob Colon (CL) dec. Cole Anderson (FC), 6-4. 125 — Jesse Etherington (CC) dec. Austin Horner (CL), 9-2. 130 — Tanner Schmidt (CC) pinned Brady Horner (CL), 5:49. 135 — Trevor Hejhal (O) major dec. Tyler Mitchell (CC), 10-2. 140 — Brent Blaser (O) major dec. James Moran (CL), 9-0. 145 — Aaron Sorenson (FC) dec. Jake Kopriva (CL), 6-1. 152 — Jordan Dahl (CL) dec. Royce Byrnes (LM), 6-3. 160 — Ryan Chaney (HD) dec. Ryan Randall (O), 4-2. 171 — Brad Ringhofer (O) major dec. Levi Kellogg (CL), 10-2. 189 — Dalton Schutjer (CC) pinned Logan Kellogg (CL), 4:37. 215 — Patrick Hansen (HD) dec. Brian Halligan (CC), 11-5. 285 — Jake Brekken (LM) dec. Mark Tiedemann (CC), 5-1.
Semifinal matches
103 — Matt Bieber (CL) pinned Logan Butler (LM), 1:17; Austin Hoeft (CC) dec. Joe Michaels, 7-3. 112 — Alex Spooner (FC) pinned Alex Fessler (CL), 1:21; Jobe Goodale (O) dec. Alex Brown (HD), 14-10. 119 — Cole Anderson (FC) pinned Cole Hampton (HD); Jacob Colon (CL) pinned Todd Janka, 1:00. 125 — Jesse Etherington (CC) tech. fall Colin Barker (O), 17-1; Austin Horner (CL) major dec. Tyler Harmon, 18-10; 130 — Tanner Schmidt (CC) pinned Junior Gallardo (LM), :48; Brady Horner (CL) dec. Brandon Barker (O), 8-3. 135 — Trevor Hejhal (O) dec. Colby Fett (FC), 10-5; Tyler Mitchell (CC) pinned Sam Showalter (HD), 2:28. 140 — Brent Blaser (O) pinned Calvin Beal (LM), 3:52; James Moran (CL) pinned Tim Brock (FC), 5:31. 145 — Aaron Sorenson (FC) pinned Isaac Buffington (LM), 5:40; Jake Kopriva (CL) dec. Christian Miller (HD), 9-5.
152 — Royce Byrnes (LM) dec. Alex George (CC), 7-2; Jordan Dahl (CL) dec. Kellen Suntken (HD), 5-3. 160 — Ryan Chaney (HD) dec. Ryan Fett (FC), 7-0; Ryan Randall (O) dec. Seth Marvin (CC), 6-4. 171 — Brad Ringhofer (O) pinned Seth Strand (FC), :53; Levi Kellogg (CL) major dec. Ben Irons (LM), 17-7. 189 — Dalton Schutjer (CC) pinned Ben Snyder (FC), 1:26; Logan Kellogg (CL) pinned Joe Roll (O), 5:15. 215 — Patrick Hansen (HD) pinned Michael Keeran (CL), :36; Brian Halligan (CC) pinned Patrick McNally (O), :22. 285 — Jake Brekken (LM) major dec. Skyler Martinez (HD), 11-2; Mark Tiedemann (CC) pinned Jake Austin (CL), 1:55.
Wrestlebacks
112 — Alex Brown (HD) injury default Alex Spooner (FC). 119 — Cole Anderson (FC) pinned Todd Janka (O). 160 — Ryan Randall (O) tech. fall Ryan Fett (FC), 16-1. 285 — Mark Tiedemann (CC) pinned Skyler Martinez (HD), :36.