Clear Lake wrestlers fall to Humboldt

Connor O’Tool got a win for the Lions on Thursday night when he defeated Humboldt’s Braxden Scott, 3-2.  On Saturday, O’Tool placed third at the Clear Lake Invitational.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

Gansen claims 160-pound title at CL Invitational

by Marianne Gasaway

Clear Lake wrestling fans had a chance to cheer on their Lions at a pair of meets last week.  The Lions hosted North Central Conference foe Humboldt, as well as their own Invitational.

“It was great to wrestle at home in front of a packed crowd and give fans another opportunity to see us compete against some very good teams,” said head Coach Doug Munn.  “It also gave us a chance to see some of the teams we will be competing against once Sectionals and Districts start.  I’ve been emphasizing to our kids that the wins and losses right now really don’t mean a lot, as long as we are continuously improving.  Our ultimate goal is to peak in February when the wins and losses do mean something.”

The Lions are home again this week, taking on Hampton-Dumont and Iowa Falls-Alden Thursday, Jan. 16.   On Saturday, they will compete in the Osage Duals, featuring as many as six ranked teams.  Next week, the Mason City Mohawks will be in the Lion’s gym Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Humboldt 57, CL 15

The Lions got off to a good start Thursday night against Humboldt, with Thomas Gansen (160), Conner O’Tool (170) and Dylan Kruckenberg (195) all recording wins to give their team a 12-6 lead after four matches.  However, the Wildcats rattled off victories at the next six weights before Conner Morey posted a win at 132.  That was all the Lions could muster, as they were topped, 57-15.

160: Thomas Gansen (CLLA) over Levi Naeve (HUMB) (UTB 4-3) 170: Conner O`Tool (CLLA) over Braxden Scott (HUMB) (UTB 3-2) 182: Logan Nilles (HUMB) over Austin Larson (CLLA) (Fall 1:22) 195: Dylan Kruckenberg (CLLA) over Walt Delanoit (HUMB) (Fall 5:39) 220: Colton Goodell (HUMB) over Carter Morey (CLLA) (Fall 0:39) 285: Brady Marsh (HUMB) over Alex Flickinger (CLLA) (Fall 1:54) 106: Cole Nelson (HUMB) over Marcus Skidmore (CLLA) (Fall 1:09) 113: Jase Goodell (HUMB) over Max Currier (CLLA) (Dec 8-3) 120: Cresten Craven (HUMB) over Roman Gabrielson (CLLA) (Fall 1:21) 126: Colby Clarken (HUMB) over Carter Markwardt (CLLA) (Fall 5:22) 132: Conner Morey (CLLA) over Gage Prenger (HUMB) (Dec 5-1) 138: Jordan Jensen (HUMB) over Isaiah Smith (CLLA) (Fall 0:38) 145: Joe Weydert (HUMB) over Caden Jones (CLLA) (Fall 5:02) 152: Fletcher Satern (HUMB) over Sasha Hrubes (CLLA) (Fall 5:54)

CL Invitational

The Lions hosted an eight-team invitational Saturday, featuring top notch competition from north and central Iowa.  Fort Dodge dominated, compiling 296 points to win the team title.

Charles City and Emmetsburg were second and third respectively, with 164.5 and 160.5 points.  The remainder of the field included: Creston/Orient-Macksburg (154), Forest City (153), Algona (121), North Butler-Clarksville (111) and Clear Lake (96).

“The guys performed pretty well for their first traditional tournament of the year.  We been competing in dual tournaments since the year started and this was an all new format for much of the team,” explained Coach Munn.

The Lions crowned one champion at the tournament.  Thomas Gansen recorded two falls on his way to the 160-pound title.  After a first round bye, Gansen pinned O-M’s Isaac Ramirez-Woodley, then earned a 6-2 decision of Luke McKenna, from Algona.  In the championship match he stuck the number one seed, Savion Wheat, from Fort Dodge, in 3:50.

Three Lions finished third at their weights.

Max Currier pinned Ryan Pyle, from O-M, in :56, then lost a heart-breaker to Kellen Moore, from Forest City.  Moore moved on to the semi-finals with a sudden victory-1.  Currier came back in the consolation round and pinned two opponents to finish third at 113-pounds.

At 132, Connor Morey won his opening match by fall in 1:06, but lost an 8-4 decision in the quarterfinals to Brooks Cowell, of Fort Dodge.  In the consolation bracket, Morey pinned Sean Brennen, from Emmetsburg, in 1:43 to place third.

Connor O’Tool reached the podium at 170-pounds with a third place finish.  The senior dropped a 5-1 decision to Dylan Zimmerman, from Fort Dodge in his first match, but came back strong with a fall over Carson Nuehring, of West Fork, in 2:34.  In the third place match he outlasted Kolben Miller, of North Butler, 10-9.

Dylan Kruckenberg also reached the awards stand at the tournament with a fifth place finish at 195-pounds.  Kruckenberg opened with a win over Jon Lace, from Emmetsburg.  Kruckenberg got a fall in 2:54.  In the next round he fell victim by fall to eventual champion Levi Egli, from Fort Dodge.  The Lion also lost to Cole Lewis, from Algona, but came back strong to earn fifth place with a major decision over Lace, 8-4.