DES MOINES – Despite going 3-6 in matches on the first day of the IHSAA State Wrestling tournament opening day Wednesday, head coach Ryan Smith said he’s still very optimistic about what can happen on Thursday.
“We still have great opportunities for a lot of medals for these guys,” Smith said. “We have some favorable matchups, but we have to take care of business.
“So if we go and win these first matches in consolation, we can be very strong contenders for medals this year. But we have to be sharp.”
The Bloodhounds got another stellar performance from junior Ike Thacher at 195 lbs. Thacher is the only Bloodhound to make it to the quarterfinals when he pinned Marshalltown Johan Gomez, the 11th seed in the first period.
Gomez went up early with 2-point control in the first 20 seconds, but Thacher recorded a reversal and then took over getting Gomez’s arms underneath and then rolling him over for the pin at 1:34. Thacher (40-7) now draws freshman Dreshaun Ross of Fort Dodge (41-2) in the quarters.
Those matches will take place after 2nd-round consolation on Thursday.
Nolan Riddle, the 11th seed at 145 lbs., got his tournament off to a nice start when he pinned No. 22 seed Zach Fern of Iowa City High in the third period.
The junior got into a bit of trouble in the early going, surrendering a 2-0 lead giving up a takedown. But Riddle wrestled out and eventually would score a standing escape to trail 2-1. He then went to work on offense and took control racking up some takedowns and nearfalls in period 2.
With a 7-2 lead going into the final period, Riddle was able to get a pin with :33 left in the match. That moved Riddle to the Round of 16 against Waukee Northwest’s Dom Rubino, a 33-12 senior seeded 6th in the bracket.
Rubino got ahead of Riddle big in the round of 16, scoring multiple takedowns and a nearfall to get a 10-2 lead. But Riddle was anything but out as he battled back to 12-6 and then scored a nearfall in the final 25 seconds. Riddle had to take a chance late in the third trailing by six and was able to execute a throw getting Rubino onto his back.
Riddle kept applying pressure while the crowd and coaches yelled he was stuck, but officials right on the hold, didn’t slap the mat. Riddle tried to maneuver Rubino with about five seconds left, but couldn’t get Rubino to the mat, falling by a 12-9 decision.
Daniel Sokolik moved into the second-round at 220 lbs. making quick work of Muscatine’s Kam Evans. Sokolik came into the meet seeded 13th, while Evans was at 20. Sokolik took control early with a takedown about 15 seconds off the whistle. After some spinning Evans around on the mat to find the right place to roll him over, Sokolik was able to turn the Muskie over by leveraging an arm and recorded the pin at the 1:24 mark. The win put Sokolik in the round of 16 against Denson-Schleswig’s Jaxon Hildebrand, the No. 4 seed at 220 lbs. Hildebrand had Sokolik under control for the start, but the Bloodhound senior was able to roll out of a nearfall and looked like he might get an advantage. Hildebrand was able to roll out of Sokolik’s momentum, pick him up and slam him back to the mat before recording the fall with 15 seconds left in the 2nd period.
Sokolik will take on West Des Moines Valley’s Jacob Mohler on Thursday. Mohler is seeded 19th at 220 lbs.
The Hounds got things off to a rocky start when Noah Swigart drew a tough seed as the 24th seed at 120 lbs.
Swigart was taken down quickly in the first round, going up against No. 9 Fort Dodge senior Max Bishop. Swigart was taken down about six seconds off the whistle and then rolled around with Bishop in control. Swigart almost pulled off an escape and reversal, but Bishop was able to keep hold of a limb, regained control, and registered a pin just :47 seconds into the match.
Swigart moves to the consolation bracket which is first on the schedule starting at 6 p.m. Thursday. Things don’t get much easier with 10th seed J.J. Maihan for Ankeny waiting in the 2nd round of consolation wrestling.
Smith said he didn’t fault the effort of the Hounds, but said they needed to create a little more offense.
“Probably the biggest thing was we would either dig ourselves a hole early and come up short, or we’d have a match where we come out strong and build a lead, then come up short,” Smith said.
Aidan Pennock, 19th at 152 lbs. got the hard-luck award of the night in the first round.
Pennock had 14th seed Hunter Bagby of Urbandale in a cradle in the 1st period, but didn’t have it anchored and Bagby was able to slip out. Pennock racked up a 7-2 lead midway through the second period, but Bagby got a leg on a restart and stretched Pennock almost to the floor, where he was able to cinch Pennock’s head and roll him under for a pin near the edge of the circle, sending Pennock into consolation wrestling.
“You get a guy on their back, you don’t want to give them second and third chances to pay you back. He hung his head a little bit and the kid made him pay for it. He looked really good up to that point,” Smith said.
“There’s a very small margin of error in a lot of these matches - on both sides. You gotta wrestle a smart match from start to finish to win them. The effort was there, though.”
Logan Pennock got a bye in the first round at 126, as did Thacher and junior Teague Smith.
Pennock drew Jashua Anglo of Johnston. Anglo seemed to have an answer for Pennock’s quick pace at most turns. Anglo got out to an 8-0 run, mostly on control points on aggressive moves from the Bloodhound that ended up with Pennock in the wrong position.
A medical timeout delayed the match about four minutes as Pennock was tested for concussion symptoms before the match resumed. Pennock tried to get quick points but couldn’t get any control of Anglo and fell by a 15-4 decision.
Teague Smith, seeded 6th at 170 lbs., tussled with No. 11 Kaia Fox, also of Johnston. The two battled through a scoreless first and second period. Smith was given a penalty point to take a 1-0 lead into the third period. Fox would get the advantage early in the third in one of the few times the two went to the mat. Smith was able to get to his feet in the center of the match, but couldn’t get Fox's hands released for the escape that would have tied the match.
Smith now will take on 21st seed Jace Fullhart of Spencer in 2nd-round consolation wrestling.
Ryan Smith said those close calls have to be made clear by the Bloodhounds.
“You can’t leave it for the ref to make that decision. If it’s close, you gotta make it clear cut. Otherwise, you might get the call or you might not,” he said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here