Currier, LeFevre, Hambly advance to District Competition

(Above) Kaleb Hambly (182) is looking for his first appearance at the State Wrestling tournament.  -Photo by Andrew Shaw, Mid-America Publishing.

 by Marianne Gasaway

Three Clear Lake Lions will advance to District wrestling Saturday.

Max Currier (126), Tyler LeFevre (132) and Kaleb Hambly (182) each finished as runner-up at their respective weights at the Class 2A Sectional held at Osage.  They will be back on the mat Saturday at Webster City fighting for a State berth.  

Currier was Clear Lake’s lone State qualifier in 2020, competing at 120.  LeFevre and Hambly will be looking for their first appearance at State.

“We went in with a mentality to peak at the end of the year and I think we did that,” said Head Coach Evan Johnson.  Max Currier, Tyler LeFevre and Kaleb Hambly will be going in as runner ups and we are excited to watch how they compete this weekend.”

Currier was impressive in his weight class.  The junior recorded a fall over James Cash, from Garner-Hayfield-Ventura in the semi-finals in 1:28. After a 13-5 loss to eventual champion Tucker Stangel, from Osage, he quickly dispatched Colin Bird, from Hampton-Dumont, CAL in the second place match.  He needed just 41-seconds for a fall.

LeFevre also pinned his semi-finals opponent.  He recorded a fall in 4:27 against Gavin Grunhovd, of Forest City. Anders Kittleson, from Osage, took LeFevre to his back in 1:00, but by virtue of his win over Grunhovd, LeFevre was awarded second place in the weight class.

Hambly will be making his first District appearance.  He qualified by pinning Landen Hejlik, from GHV, on the semi-finals in 1:36.  Braden Hansen, from H-D-CAL, was able to top Hambly in the Sectional title match with a fall in 3:43.

Dylan Evenson reached the podium for Clear Lake, but fell just short of advancing to Districts.  The sophomore finished third at 220.   Evenson began his journey with a fall over Peyton Klein, of Forest City, in 1:26.  Barrett Muller, form Osage, returned the favor to Evenson in the semi-finals in 1:22. In the second place match Evenson faced Gabe Hadwinger, from Iowa Falls-Alden.  Hadwinger pulled out the win with a fall in 1:10.

The Lions were also represented at the Sectional meet by Hunter Rieck (152) and Hayden Rieck (160).  The brothers each finished fourth. Carter Markwardt (145) placed fifth.  Haley Jackson (113), Carter Perry (138) and Hayden Bergman (170) were sixth.

Osage captured the team title at the Sectional meet with 165-points.  H-D-CAL was close behind with 241-points.  GHV and Forest City finished with 140 and 130-points respectively.  Clear Lake had 122.5 and IF-A earned 111.