By Becky Walz,
There are still six alive in the postseason on the Decorah wrestling team following Saturday’a Class 2A Sectional 11 in Decorah.
No. 4 Jackson Rolfs (145) won his second sectional title, while Kollin Henry (106), Lane Rolfs (126), Brady Stille (132), Austin Wilkins (138) and Keenan Tyler (182) finished as runners-up to advance to the district meet Saturday, Feb. 13, at New Hampton. Each will have the goal of finishing in the top two at districts to earn a spot at the state meet.
As a team, Decorah, which hosted the sectional, finished second overall with 195.5 points. Class 2A No. 2 Crestwood won the meet with 242.5 points.
How it works
There were six team at the Sectional 11 meet. Grapplers needed to finish in the top-two of their weight bracket in order to advance to districts.
Unlike other meets, wrestle backs are utilized beginning with the sectional round. Wrestle backs are used when the grapplers who finished second and third didn’t face each other. This determines the “true” second-place finisher.
Vikings advance
It will be a sextet of Vikings competing in New Hampton Saturday at districts.
Leading the charge is state-veteran and fourth-ranked Jackson Rolfs. At 145 pounds, the senior started his day with a bye. He went into the semifinals against Cade Murray of NH/TV, winning a 10-0 major decision. That put him in the finals against Charles City’s Kayden Blunt, throwing the Comet in 3:08.
J. Rolfs will take a 26-2 mark into the district meet. He will face Tucker Hejilik (20-15) of Iowa Falls-Alden in the first round of the district meet.
At 106 pounds, Kollin Henry moved into the finals after receiving a quarterfinal bye and throwing Kaiden Anderson of Waukon in 1:43. In the title match, Henry faced off with No. 6 Nathaniel Bigalk of Crestwood, falling by a 9-1 decision and avoided the wrestle back to finish runner-up.
With a 22-12 record, the freshman will go up against No. 4 Kade Blume (38-1) of Roland Story at districts.
Lane Rolfs (126) will make his first district appearance after throwing Waukon’s Lucas Byrnes in the quarterfinals in 1:34 and Caden Kerr of North Fayette Valley in 4:14 in the semifinals. Up against No. 1 Carter Fousek of Crestwood, L. Rolfs was pinned in 3:19 to finish second.
The sophomore will battle Dylan Ohrt (20-8) of Dike-New Hartford in the first round of districts Saturday, entering the meet with a 18-15 record.
Brady Stille earned his second bid to the district meet, finishing as the 132-pound runner-up. The sophomore had a bye to start the day before earning a 12-4 major decision over Alec Staudt of Charles City in the semifinal. Advancing to the final versus Crestwood’s Cole Butikofer, Stille suffered a 3-1 decision to end his day in second place.
Stille takes an 18-10 record into districts and will match up with No. 8 Brody Hoversten (23-3) of Iowa Falls-Alden in the first round of districts.
Starting sectionals with a bye, Austin Wilkins (138), made short work of Jesse Grimes, throwing the NFV grappler in 1:35. Paired with No. 4 Chase Thomas of Crestwood, Wilkins earned his trip to the district meet for his runner-up finish, after dropping the final by a 6-1 decision.
With a 22-11 mark, Wilkins will face Mason Kent (28-7) of Iowa Falls-Alden at districts Saturday to start his quest.
Keenan Tyler was the only Viking to battle a wrestle back to punch a ticket to districts at 182 pounds. His road started with a bye before turning Charles City’s Ethan Peterson on his back in 3:17. The final was a challenge for the junior as he was defeated by a 4-3 decision. Pushed into a wrestle back, Tyler overwhelmed Braden McShane of NH/TV with a 15-5 major decision to advance to districts.
Saturday, Tyler will start district competition with a 21-5 as he faces off with No. 10 CJ Hisler (26-3) of Webster City.
Other finishes for the Vikings will be available online at driftlessjournal.com.
District information
The district meet is Saturday, Feb. 13, at noon at New Hampton. Champions and runners-up from the Decorah and Iowa Falls-Alden sectional invites will battle each other at districts. The top-two grapplers at each weight class will advance to the state meet, which runs Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 18-20, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
The champion from each sectional site will face off with the runner-up from each opposing sectional location in the first round of district action. There will be two rounds, followed by a possible wrestle back.
Individual results
106 – Kollin Henry (22-12), 2nd place
Quarters – bye; semi – won by fall 1:43 over Kaiden Anderson (Waukon); final – lost 9-1 maj. dec. to No. 6 Nathaniel Bigalk (Crestwood)
113 – Danny See (6-22), 3rd place
Quarters – bye; semi – lost 13-7 dec. to Edgar Nunez (NH/TV); 3rd place – won 17-4 maj. dec. over Kayden Kirby (CC)
126 – Lane Rolfs, (18-15), 2nd place
Quarters – won by fall 1:34 over Lucas Byrnes (Waukon); semi – won by fall 4:14 over Caden Kerr (NFV); final – lost by fall 3:19 to No. 1 Carter Fousek (Crestwood)
132 – Brady Stille (18-10), 2nd place
Quarters – bye; semi – won 12-4 maj. dec. over Alec Staudt (CC); final – lost 3-1 dec. to Cole Butikofer (Crestwood)
138 – Austin Wilkins (22-11), 2nd place
Quarters – bye; semi – won by fall 1:35 over Jesse Grimes (NFV); final – lost 6-1 dec. to No. 4 Chase Thomas (Crestwood)
145 – No. 5 Jackson Rolfs (26-2), 1st place
Quarters – bye; semi – won 10-0 maj. dec. over Cade Murray (NH/TV); final – won by fall 3:08 over Kayden Blunt (CC)
152 – Ben Wymer (12-21), 4th place
Quarters – won by fall 3:32 over Brendan Wander (NFV); semi – lost by fall 0:46 to No. 9 Roush Jaeger (CC); 3rd place – lost by fall 3:36 to Colton Rochford (NH/TV)
160 – Garrett Lovstuen (22-12), 3rd place
Quarters – bye; semi – lost 9-3 dec. to No. 10 Ryan Pickar (NH/TV); 3rd place – won by fall 1:23 over Colton Crooks (CC)
170 – Kody Bodensteiner (11-17), 3rd place
Quarters – won 15-3 maj. dec. over Chase Cooley (NFV); semi – lost 18-3 tech fall to No. 2 Carson Babcock (NH/TV); 3rd place – won by inj. default over Brendon Dixon (Crestwood); 2nd place – lost 12-10 dec. to No. 6 Caden Collins (CC)
182 – Keenan Tyler (21-5), 2nd place
Quarters – bye; semi – won by fall 3:17 over Ethan Peterson (CC); final – lost 4-3 dec. to Kale Rodgers (NFV); 2nd place – won 15-5 maj. dec. over Braden McShane (NH/TV)
195 – Cael Gulrud (10-16), 5th place
Quarters – lost 7-2 dec. to Cade Williams (CC); cons. semi – bye; 5th place – won 15-0 tech fall over Isaiah Corbin (NFV)
220 – Brandon Gulrud (9-21), 4th place
Quarters – bye; semi – lost by fall 3:13 to No. 5 Treyton Burnikel (Crestwood); 3rd place – lost by fall 5:49 to Landon Moorman (NH/TV)
285 – Edwin Holyoake (9-14), 4th place
Quarters – won by fall 5:52 over Tyler Reicks (NH/TV); semi – lost by fall 1:15 to No. 5 Chase Crooks (CC); 3rd place – lost 3-2 dec. to Brayden Ishman (Crestwood)
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