Nelson makes third trip to State Wrestling Tournament

(Above) Clear Lake’s Sam Nelson pinned Iowa Falls-Alden’s Jack Ites in the first round at Class 2A 126-pound.  He pinned Ites in 5:30.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Marianne Gasaway

Sam Nelson wasn’t able to spend a great deal of time on the mat this season, but the Clear Lake junior made the most of it.  Nelson, who only wrestled 12 matches before the post-season, competed at the State Meet last week in Des Moines. 

Nelson’s third trip to State ended without a placement, but he showed the heart of a Lion in pushing his opponents in each of his three State matched.

“Sam Nelson showed the kind of tenacity we would expect.  With just over two weeks of live wrestling and conditioning, Sam wrestled two placewinners right to the whistle,” said Clear Lake Head Coach Doug Munn.

Nelson tore a ligament between his thumb and forefinger early in the season and did not return to action until the Sectional Tournament Feb. 8.

“The State Tournament has a way of exposing any weaknesses you might have and if you are not at the top of your game, generally the outcome is not what you expect.  Sam has never made any excuses when things didn’t work out like he wanted. He’s a great competitor and knows what it takes to win a state title and I have no doubt the journey to begin that will start the Monday following the state tournament,” added Coach Munn.

Nelson began State competition Thursday with a  win over Jack Ites, from Iowa Falls-Alden in the first round at Class 2A 126-pounds.  He pinned the fellow North Central Conference grappler in 5:30.  In Friday’s quarterfinals Brock Beck, from Grinnell, handed Nelson his first loss in a 5-3 match.   Lorgan Arp, of South Tama County, ended Nelson’s hope to make the podium with a 10-6 decision in the consolation second round.

Coach Munn and those in the CLHS wrestling program are already setting their sites on Des Moines in 2021.

“I’ve already had multiple wrestlers contact me about working on getting better in the off season,” said Munn.  “If you followed any of the programs that excelled in Des Moines, you’ll see that their off season wrestling, with camps and clubs took them to another level.  We are going to push this as much as possible and expect to take multiple wrestlers down to the Well in 2021.”

Munn continued, “The sea-

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son did not quite end on the high note we were looking for, but overall we made some incredibly big strides from November to February. I would like to thank our entire coaching for the time and energy that they have put in over the last few months.  I also want to thank the parents and fans for everything they do for the program.   It’s hard to put into words how much our staff and student/athletes appreciate the support of this community,  which is second to none.”

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