NM Boys Face Stiff Competition at I-35 Meet

TRURO – North Mahaska faced solid competition at the Rich Gray Wrestling Invitational at Truro I-35 Saturday. Schools from all three wrestling classes were represented with many past state qualifiers and ranked wrestlers competing.

North Mahaska scored 74 points to finish 11th out of 16 schools. North Mahaska recorded four place winners. Wilton easily won the meet with 206 points and Lisbon was second with 160 and Ballard had 149. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont was fourth with 122 points.

Sophomore Ryan Groom was the highest placer earning second. He opened his day at 132 pounds with a pin of I-35’s Nick Pasuti in 5 minutes 2 seconds. Groom pinned Southeast Warren’s Kael Caikoski in 3:47 to reach the semifinals. Jacob Harrison of Ballard battled with Groom before the NM wrestler scored an 8-4 decision. Groom met Wilton’s Brody Brisker in the finals and was pinned in 45 seconds.

Joel DeJong at 126, Angelo Wittenburg at 157 and Austin McMahan at 190 each garnered a sixth place finish. DeJong lost a 12-4 major decision to Wilton’s Owen Adlfinger. DeJong decisioned East Union’s Quinten Albrechtsen 16-11 and Indianola’s Sam Ross 7-5 in his next match. He pinned Chariton’s Blake Sharp in 4:28. He met Adlfinger again and was pinned in 1:07.

Wittenburg was pinned by Indianola’s Eb Fox in the opener at 157 pounds. Fox won by pin. Wittenburg pinned West Central Valley’s Jathen Edgington in 1:55 then decisioned Daniel Hyman of Ballard 7-3. In the fifth place match Boone’s Joseph Pestotnik scored a 10-6 decision over Wittenburg.

McMahan earned a bye in the first round of his 190-pound match. Treynor’s Levi Young scored a major decision in the quarterfinal 11-0. McMahan pinned Cash Guyer of West Central Valley in 3:27 to set up a bout with Woodward-Granger’s Oscar Potter. The two battled before Potter won a 7-3 decision.

North Mahaska will have the week off before wrestling in the South Iowa Cedar League tourney Saturday at English Valleys.