Lions bring home honors at State Meet

(Above) Clear Lake’s Eric Faught battled Shea Ruffridge, of Pocahontas, in the championship round.  Although Faught had beaten Ruffridge earlier in the season, Ruffridge came out on top Saturday. 

Clear Lake wrestlers brought home honors, as well as experience to build on next year, from the Iowa State Wrestling Tournament held Thursday through Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena at Des Moines.

Freshman Sam Nelson, along with juniors Eric Faught and Kade Hambly represented Clear Lake at the tourney.  Faught earned runner-up honors at 126-pounds, while Hambly was fifth at 195.  Nelson won his first match at 106, but did not make the podium Saturday.

Garner-Hayfield-Ventura’s Jared Shaw also competed at 152-pounds, but did not place.

“I am very proud of our three state wrestlers.  They all had a tremendous season and can hold their head high,” said Clear Lake Coach Mike Lester.  “What is nice is we have all three wrestlers returning next year with a slough of other returning varsity wrestlers which makes the future bright for Clear Lake wrestling.”

Eric Faught

Faught walked his way to the State finals once again, winning by margins of 13-2, 8-1, and 8-2.

“His dedication and drive really shined as he competed at this tournament,” said Coach Lester.

Faught ran into Shea Ruffridge, of Pocahontas, in the championship.  The top rated Faught had defeated second ranked Ruffridge at the Webster City duals by a 5-3 decision earlier this season.  Faught and Ruffridge also crossed paths last year and Faught had the win.

Saturday’s championship match delivered everything it could have, except for a win for Faught.  The two wrestlers spent the first minute take shots and fighting them off until, with 1:14 to go in the period, Ruffridge managed a takedown.  Faught rolled out of the hold to make the score 2-1 after one period.  He started the second period in the down position and got an escape to tie the score at 2-2.  Ruffridge  chose to start the third period in the down position and got the escape for a 3-2 lead.  That proved to be enough for the win, as he relentlessly fought off the Lion wrestler until time ran out.  Both grapplers ended the season with records of 51-1.

“Eric was the aggressor the whole match when it came to setups and takedowns, attempting seven-plus shots in the third period, as Shea became a defensive wrestler and blocked off Eric’s shots,” said Coach Lester.  “Shea did not receive a stall call, so the technique of blocking Eric’s shot stayed the same and eventually the period expired with a 3-2 score in favor of Ruffridge.  This was a very shattering moment for Eric and us, as coaches.  We know Eric has been completely dedicated to the sport and did everything necessary to win a State title.  To fall just short and the way the match expired was devastating.  Eric is a strong young man and he will build off of this loss and continue to be a state champion wrestler and work towards his college wrestling goals.”

Faught took the first step toward his goal of a State title with a 13-2 major decision over Hunter Pfantz, of West Marshal-State Center.  Faught took a shot off the opening whistle and quickly had a 2-0 takedown.  Pfantz had a first period escape, but that was all he could manage as Faught had two more takedowns and back points for a 7-1 lead after one period.  The lead was 11-1 midway through the third period when Faught let his opponent go, then followed with another takedown for the major decision.

In the quarterfinals, Faught was paired with John Crowley, a junior from Tipton.  Faught was the aggressor throughout the match, holding a 4-1 lead after the first period and 6-2 after two.  He improved his record to an astounding 5-0 with an 8-2 victory.

The 126-pound semi-final featured top rated Faught against third-ranked Phillip Ihde, of Decorah.  Ihde got on the board first with an escape early in the second period and attempted a shot which was stopped by Faught and turned into a takedown, 2-1.  The Lion started the first period down and promptly escaped, then again made Ihde pay for an unsuccessful shot.  Faught circled and took down the Decorah senior for a 5-1 lead, then picked up three more points for a near-fall and 8-1 victory.

Kade Hambly

Kade Hambly had an outstanding tournament, wrestling a total of six matches on his way to a fifth place finish at 195.

Hambly’s first trip to the State tournament began with a hard-fought 6-2 loss in his opening match with Ben Mason, of Albia.  However, Hambly re-grouped and came back to win in the consolation round to continue in the competition.

In his first match, Hambly and Mason went back and forth for the first minute of the match with neither finding an opening.  Finally, with :55 remaining Mason struck first and went into the second period with a 2-0 lead.  Hambly started the period down and got an escape to pull within 2-1, but Mason had another

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takedown in the period for a 4-1 lead.  Another escape in the third provided Hambly’s only points in the loss.

Hambly came out more aggressive in his second match, but Andy Lillegraven, from Decorah, got the first takedown.  An escape made the score 2-1 after one period.  Hambly continued to be hard to keep down, as he tied the score with another escape to open the second period.  After a scramble, Hambly managed a 4-2 lead and attempted to load up a cradle, but the attempt failed.  The Lion kept the pressure on in the third and got Lillegraven in a headlock and took him down, 6-2.  Hambly remained in control and earned the fall in 5:40.

Friday morning Hambly was back on the mat in the consolation second round.  The Clear Lake junior was on the offense throughout his match with Reldon Miller, of Gilbert.  Hambly had two takedowns and Miller escaped once for a 4-1 first period score.  The Lion poured it on in the closing minute, getting two more takedowns for a 10-2 major decision.

One of the most exciting matchups for Lions in the tournament was provided by Hambly in his third round consolation quarterfinals.  Blake Anderson, of Battle Creek-Ida Grove held a commanding 10-0 lead in the third period. Suddenly, Hambly escaped, then threw Anderson to the mat and got a pin with just :28 seconds remaining.  The win put Hambly, who was appearing in his first State Wrestling Tournament, into the consolation semifinals.

“These types of matches live on forever,” said Coach Lester.  “They show wrestlers to wrestle all six minutes.  This could have been one of the most exciting comebacks at the State tournament.  Kade improved greatly as the year went on and worked very hard to earn the fifth place that he did.”

Nick Smith, of Central DeWitt, took an early lead against Hambly in the next round of consolation and recorded a fall in 3:39, setting up a North Central Conference matchup to determine fifth place at 195.  Dalton Chipp, from Hampton-Dumont, became the victim of Hambly’s ire in his final match.  In January, Chipp edged Hambly in sudden victory to win the NCC title, however Hambly got revenge in the District final and again at State.  He downed Chipp by major decision, 12-2, to post a final record of 40-13.

Sam Nelson

Freshman Sam Nelson opened the tournament with a match against sophomore Johnathon Erp (41-13), of Red Oak.  Nelson showed no signs of jitters in his first State Tournament appearance.  The 106-pounder recorded a quick takedown for a 2-0 lead and then had back points to end the first period with a 5-0 lead.  Another takedown and more back points provided Nelson with a 10-0 margin heading into the third period. With under :40 second to go the Lion locked up a cradle and got a 15-0 technical fall in 5:56.

In the quarterfinals, fifth ranked Colby Lillegard, of Bondurant-Farrar, got a second period reversal to push his lead to 4-0 before he flipped Nelson over and pinned him in 5:53.  The loss sent Nelson, who was ranked ninth in the weight-class, to a second round consolation match against Keaton Zeimet, of Central DeWitt.  On the heels of his loss a short while earlier, Nelson lost by fall in 1:09 to end his State tournament run.  He finished with a record of 42-9.

“Sam started amazing, stepping into this tournament as a freshman,” said Lester.   “He did let his nerves get the best of him and competed at a high level.  Sam gave everything he had to stay in the tournament, he just fell short his next two matches. I was very impressed with his composure and skills throughout the tournament.”

Shaw competes for GHV

GHV’s Jared Shaw, a sophomore, ran into ADM’s Nolan Harsh (23-3) in his 152-pound opening round Friday morning.  Harsh, a junior, was too much for the GHV wrestler, as his aggressive manner yielded a 15-0 technical fall in 3:55.

In his consolation match Shaw met Caleb Swalla, of Van Meter-Earlam.  Swalla got on the board first with a takedown, but Shaw made the score 2-1 with an escape.  Near the end of the first period Swalla pushed the score to 4-1 with another takedown. In the third period, with the score 6-1, Swalla had another takedown and capped the final minute with a takedown and back points for an 11-1 victory over Shaw.  The Cardinal finished the year  with a 38-6 record.

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