CL grapplers beat perennial powerhouse Denver-Tripoli

The Clear Lake wrestling team took the long ride to Denver, Iowa Tuesday night, Jan. 12, for a triangular and came home happy campers.  Clear Lake took on perennial power Denver -Tripoli in the first meet and came away with a 35-28 win. In the second meet, they edged Charles City, 39-38.

“We knew both meets would be very close and they were.  They both came down to the last match and we won them both,” said Clear Lake Coach Gary Weber.  “Denver has won State multiple times, so it was a nice win for our kids.”

Against Denver the Lions lost the first three matches of the night, all by decision, and  trailed 9-0.  Picking up wins were Ryan Leisure, Ryan Faught, Kaleb Froiland, Dalton Grell, Ace Walton, Jackson Hamlin and Eric Faught.     Both teams won seven matches, but because the Lions stayed off their backs, the points were in their favor.

“This was a great team win,” added Weber.

In the second meet of the night, against Charles City, both teams again won seven and lost seven matches, but gain the Lions came out on top, 39-38.

“This was another huge win,” said Weber.  “All 30 of our kids contributed.  Ben Hillyer and Cooper Merrill both got beat, but did not get pinned, which saved us two valuable points.  Ryan Leisure pinned the fifth ranked kid in state and Kyle Willms also beat a state-ranked wrestler who he was pinned by on Saturday,” said Weber.  “Dalton Grell also pinned his guy and had two pins on the night.  He is really improving. Will Kirshbaum and Ryan Faught also had big pins, while Eric Faught and Jackson Hamlin both won by forfeit.  Our staff really preaches the team aspect of wrestling and our kids showed that on Thursday. It was fun.”

On Thursday, the Lions traveled to Webster City for a triangular.  The Lions fell to Webster City, 43-26, but pounded St. Edmonds, 71-7.

On Saturday, the grapplers took part in the always tough Osage Duals.  The Lions went 2-3.  They lost to the #1 ranked team in Minnesota, Kasson-Manntorville, and to Osage and Independence.  Clear Lake beat Dike-New Hartford and Humboldt.

“We wrestled nine very good teams that will prepare us well for State,” said Weber.  “The kids are hanging in there in a very tough stretch of winter.

Below Weber supplies a breakdown of each weight:

•106 Eric Faught: Eric went

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9-0 this week to move to 26-0 on the year. He beat the #2 ranked wrestler in Minnesota to highlight his week.

•113 Jackson Hamlin: Jack dropped down a weight class this week and competed very well. He always wrestles the whole six minutes and is very coachable.

•113 Bryan Hillyer:  He had two wins Saturday filling in for Doebel and is showing improvement

•120 Braxton Doebel:  This is his first two weeks back and he is figuring out his style. He had the flu Saturday.

•126 Ben Hillyer: Ben is closing the gap on the competition.

•132 Will Kirshbaum: Will is just a sophomore and has a 19-12 record which is very good.

•138 Ryan Leisure: Ryan beat three ranked opponents rather handily this week which is quite impressive. He is also a very good leader and continues to move up to 145 to help the team

•145 Kaleb Froiland: He has a 16-13 record which is much improved over last year. His cradle is awesome!

•152 Ryan Faught: Ryan is 31-5 on the year with his only loss of the week coming to #1 ranked Brock Jennings, of Osage.

•160 Cooper Merril: Cooper suffered a concussion Saturday and was unable to continue.

160 Rhys Glidden: Rhys showed some very good skills this week.  He is adjusting to Varsity wrestling.

•170 Dalton Grell: He had a great week of wrestling! He pinned both the Denver and Charles City wrestlers which helped us go 2-0 last Tuesday.

•182 Kade Hambly: It is highly unusual for a freshman to wrestle 182 and he is competing well.

•195 Ace Walton:  Ace had big wins against Denver, Humboldt and Dike to help us win those meets!

•220 Spencer Christinsen:  Spence had a great match against Dike staying off of his back and saving valuable team points.

•285 Kyle Willms:  Kyle had the best week of his career . He beat Charles City’s stated ranked Brad Tupy to give the Lions the 39-38 win and he went 4-1 Saturday.  His record stands at 23-14.

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