NM Season Ends with Third at District
PLEASANTVILLE – North Mahaska’s wrestling season ended for all but three at the Class 1A district meet at Pleasantville. The Warhawks placed third at the highly competitive district. Alburnett was the big winner with 271.5 points. South Iowa Cedar League champion Iowa Valley was second with 122.5 and North Mahaska finished with 118.5.
Aydan and Ryan Groom at 132 and 144 pounds respectively advanced as champions and runnerup Chance Angle qualified at 215.
Three others placed third or fourth. The third place finishers would be alternates if the top two wrestler in that wight class are unable to compete.
Hunter Wernli at 150 pounds won his third place match and forced a wrestleback for second and a shot at the state tournament berth. Wernli opened his day with a 17-1 technical fall over Pleasantville’s Carter Messamaker. In the semifinals, Reece Klosterman od Alburnett pinned him in 3 minutes 12 seconds. Wernli met Sigourney-Keota’s Dylan Weber in the consolation semifinals in 1:10. Wapello’s Jordan Chamberlain took Wernli into the second period before falling in 3:42.
Wernli earned a chance to wrestleback for second and faced Iowa Valleys’ Chance Hoyt. Hoyt worked Wernli to a 12-3 major decision and ending the NM senior’s season and career.
Junior Max Reed also worked his way into a chance for second by winning the third place match. He pinned Cardinal’s Sawyer Goehring in 1:19 in the 175-pound bracket. In the semifinals he faced Nolan Kriegel of Iowa Valley and was pinned in 50 seconds. Reed pinned Van Buren County’s Alex Scott in 1:36 for third. Had Kriegel won the championship match Reed could have wrestled for second, but Kriegel fell in 3:05 handing Reed third.
Freshman Logan VanZee picked up a fourth place finish for the Warhawks at 120 pounds. He scored a 19-5 major decision over BGM’s Cristian Martinez. In the semifinals, VanZee fell to WACO’s Gage Samo, 17-2 sending the Warhawk into the consolation bracket. VanZee pinned Cardinal’s Dayton Wood in 1:07 then lost to Pleasantville’s Tommy Booth in 39 seconds.
Five wrestlers reached the consolation semifinals before losing. Cooper Sampson at 106, Joel DeJong at 138, Chris Long at 157, Gage Ries at 165 and Nolan Tum at 285. DeJong and Ries are seniors and saw their high school careers come to an end.
