By Becky Walz,
For the seventh time in school history, a member of the South Winn wrestling team competed on the big stage at the state wrestling tournament finals Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
At the end of the night, junior Collin Holms, the No. 2-ranked grappler at 138 pounds, had concluded an incredible season with a medal around his neck. Decorah also had two wrestlers reach the podium in Class 2A, including senior Brady Stille at 145 pounds and freshman Mason Avila at 126 pounds.
Name in history
Holm was just the seventh wrestler to make it to the finals. Darren Kriener finished second in 2005 and won the title in 2006. Jason Winkler advanced to the finals in 2008, taking second. Nick Schmelzer claimed the title at 220 pounds in 2012 and Chris Brincks claimed the title at 195 pounds in 2014. Landers Kuboushek was the most recent finalist, taking silver at 195 pounds in 2016.
In the finals
Holm faced a tough task Saturday night, going up against top-ranked Blake Allen of Underwood (38-3). Both wrestlers were on attack in the first period that ended with no scoring. In the second, Allen chose down and escaped early to take a 1-0 lead over SW’s Holm who was back on offense, trying a shot to no avail. Holm chose down in the third, picking up an escape himself to tie it 1-1, a score that forced overtime. It was there that Allen caught Holm off-guard and took down the Warrior for the 3-1 sudden victory.
“Collin (Holm) came up just short in his quest for a state title but he had an incredible season finishing with a 40-2 record. Collin is as talented as any wrestler I have coached and we are proud of the way he competed in Des Moines but also excited for his senior season. I know he will work this offseason to improve and get one last shot at winning a state championship,” said South Winn coach Jacob Elsbernd.
Earlier in the tournament
Holm started his state-tournament run with a bye. Each round went to a decision as the South Winn junior moved through the championship bracket, defeating Hudson Ben Holten (41-11) by a 5-3 decision, Trae Hagen (50-7) of Wilton 5-2 and Brody Neighbor (47-5) of Alburnett 2-1.
For Decorah, Mason Avila (126) threw Andon Barrick (36-13) of Iowa Falls-Alden in 1:10 in the first round and then picked up a 4-2 decision over Kaiden Dietzenbach (48-2) of Notre Dame. In the quarterfinal, the Viking freshman dropped a close 7-6 decision to Jerren Gille (39-6) of Dubuque Wahlert but bounced back to defeat Jax Miller (33-11) of West Delaware in round four of the consolation bracket. Dietzenbach avenged his earlier loss in round five on the consolations; however, Avila earned seventh place by a 5-3 decision over Algona’s Barrett Morgan (45-5) to finish 27-14 overall for the season.
Senior Brady Stille was looking to improve on his third-place finish from last season but it wasn’t meant to be as the Viking finished fourth at 145 pounds. A first-round bye pitted Stille against Hudson Scranton (43-7) of Anamosa where the Decorah grappler won 6-2. In the quarterfinal, Stille won by a 5-2 decision over Caleb Olson (28-4) of Union. It was a 7-1 tie-breaker loss for the Viking in the semifinal to Ty Koedam (47-6) of Sergeant Bluff-Luton. Moving into the backside of the bracket, Stille won by major decision, 11-3, over Mount Vernon’s Jackson Jaspers (43-5) and finished in the match for third. It was another overtime match for Stille against Michael Macias of Assumption that did not go the Vikings’ way 5-3.
Noteworthy
South Winn had three other grapplers make the individual state tournament including Kyle Kuboushek (152), Kaden Bullerman (170) and Parker Timp (195), while Decorah’s Will Larson competed at 120 pounds. To see how the other wrestlers fared, pick up a copy of the Feb. 21 Driftless Journal.
“Kaden, Kyle and Parker all wrestled well and although they were not able to secure a medal this weekend, they showed up and won some big matches. This was a great experience for these young men and I know this will only motivate them to become better student athletes in the future.
“We had two seniors this season. Kaden Bullerman, who is a four-year letterwinner, really stepped into a leadership role and not only took his wrestling to another level, but he took this team and led them through the challenges of the season. It was only fitting to see him qualify for the state tournament and go win a match in Des Moines. Dylan Taylor made his wrestling debut this year as a senior and although his career was short, he embraced everything that came with being a wrestler and was a phenomenal teammate. We will miss both of the seniors,” concluded Coach Elsbernd.