Former A-P wrestler Simon reacts to Thomas murder

University of Northern Iowa wrestler John Simon was still processing the tragic events in Parkersburg Wednesday morning. The former Aplington-Parkersburg football player was still in a state of disbelief, like many in the community, about the shooting death of long-time football coach Ed Thomas.

Class 1A team race

Most qualifiers: Don Bosco, Nashua-Plainfield (9)

Area qualifiers: Belle Plaine (8), East Buchanan (4), North Linn (4), BGM (3), South Winneshiek (3), Turkey Valley (3), Valley Community (3), West Branch (3), Alburnett (2), Elkader Central (2), Lisbon (2), English Valleys (1), Highland (1), Jesup (1), Montezuma (1), Tipton (1)

2008 champion: Don Bosco (175 1/2)

Synopsis: Don Bosco’s name has been engraved on the 2009 team trophy since the end of last year. The top-ranked Dons have been heads and shoulders above the rest of the field in recent years, winning the last three state titles in Des Moines. Don Bosco’s senior class is favored to become just the fifth class to win four straight team championships, joining Waterloo West (1942-46), Fort Dodge (1929-32) and Emmetsburg and Emmetsburg/Armstrong-Ringsted (1976-79 and 2000-03).
All nine Dons qualifiers are ranked in the top four, including top-ranked Bart Reiter (135), Clay Welter (152) and Taylor Kettman (171). They received some tough draws, but even a hiccup in the early rounds won’t be enough to derail the Dons. Reiter is attempting to become the 18th four-time state champion and join his brother, Mack, as the first brother act in the elite group. Also, the 1979 Don Bosco squad, the only team to qualify all its wrestlers, will lead Saturday’s Grand March.
The race will be for second. Belle Plaine is ranked second and qualified eight wrestlers. The Plainsmen are led by top-ranked Drew Hinschberger at 130 and twin brothers Cameron and Colton Wagner, ranked second at 135 and 140. Expect Belle Plaine to leave with some hardware and quite a few individual medals.
Other teams in the mix could include Twin River Valley, Eddyville-Blakesburg and possibly Nashua-Plainfield.

Our top three: 1. Don Bosco, 2. Belle Plaine, 3. Twin River Valley

State Dual Pairings

2008 Class 2A State Duals Championship at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. (Jonathan D. Woods/The Gazette)

State Dual Pairings have been released for Class 1A and 2A. The State Dual Wrestling Tournament will be held Saturday, Feb. 28 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.

The Class 1A field is nearly half full of fresh faces. Manson-NW Webster (21-4), Pleasantville (23-3) and Coon Rapids-Bayard (28-3) are all making their first state duals appearance. Manson faced the toughest challenge to qualify for the eight-team field, avenging an earlier loss to No. 4 Twin River Valley, which finished 18-1, in the regional dual final. The Cougars also toppled No. 7 Graettinger-Terril last night. The reward, other than the state duals honor, a first-round bout against top-ranked Don Bosco (26-3). The Dons will make a record 15th state dual appearance and is a heavy favorite to win their fifth-straight duals crown. Logan-Magnolia reached the state duals for the eighth straight season, tying a record shared by Emmetsburg-Armstrong/Ringsted and Council Bluffs Lewis Central, which both qualified eight straight times from 1999 to 2006.

In Class 2A, Ballard is a big favorite to repeat as champs. The top-ranked Bombers (29-2) take on Union Community (18-5) in the first round. Union is the only unranked team to reach the tournament. The top opening-round dual in both classes could be between No. 4 Davenport Assumption (24-1) and No. 5 Independence (26-1). No.3 Denver-Tripoli (25-5) and No. 7 Atlantic (21-5) are making their first appearances. Both could be victims to No. 2 Clear Lake (24-0), which faces Atlantic in the quarterfinals and could meet Denver in the semis. Denver has No. 6 OA-BCIG, which is making its first appearance  for BCIG and as a combined program. Odebolt-Arthur did qualify in 1998.

CLASS 1A QUARTERFINALS

10 a.m. – #1 Don Bosco (26-3) vs. #8 Manson-NW Webster (21-4); #4 Logan-Magnolia (26-3) vs. #5 Nodaway Valley (20-0)

Noon – #2 Belle Plaine (23-1) vs. #7 Pleasantville (23-3); #3 Nashua-Plainfield (15-2) vs. Coon Rapids-Bayard (28-3)

CLASS 2A QUARTERFINALS

10 a.m. – #1 Ballard (29-2) vs. #8 Union Community (18-5); #4 Davenport Assumption (24-1) vs. #5 Independence (26-1); #2 Clear Lake (24-0) vs. #7 Atlantic (21-5); #3 Denver-Tripoli (25-5) vs. #6 OA-BCIG (25-1).

Class 1A District Pairings

Here are the Class 1A district pairings in The Gazette’s circulation area:

At New London

103 pounds – Zakk Buch (Belle Plaine) vs. Will Slack (Van Buren), Sawyer Farris (New London/WMU) vs. Jesse Hahn (Highland); 112 – Trelys Mitchell (Belle Plaine) vs. Tanner Scott (Eddyville-Blakesburg), Jake Kadel (New London/WMU) vs. Johnny Rummelhart (Iowa City Regina); 119 – Jack O’Brien (Belle Plaine) vs. Ashton Grimm (Wapello), Jake Hopkins (New London/WMU) vs. Zach Frank (Highland); 125 – Gavin Kolars (BGM) vs. Jon Swafford (New London/WMU), Jake Demmon (Eddyville-Blakesburg) vs. Cody Chekal (Belle Plaine); 130 – Drew Hinschberger (Belle Plaine) vs. Brad Goehring (Van Buren), Brett Roberts (Eddyville-Blakesburg) vs. Todd Hahn (Highland); 135 – Cameron Wagner (Belle Plaine) vs. Ryan Vradenburg (WACO), Dillon Price (New London/WMU) vs. Colby Kriegel (BGM); 140 – Colton Wagner (Belle Plaine) vs. Jacob Walker (Wapello), Kerry Unkrich (New London/WMU) vs. Brandon Smith (BGM); 145 – Brad Recker (Belle Plaine) vs. Tyler Thye (Wapello), Dimitri Boyer (Eddyville-Blakesburg) vs. Cody Schneider (Highland); 152 – Lee Phillips (English Valleys) vs. Josh Fuhs (Cardinal), Jake Crosby (Eddyville-Blakesburg) vs. Oz Camara (Belle Plaine); 160 – Jake Walton (Highland) vs. Randy Armstrong (Eddyville-Blakesburg), Dylan Schrader (Wapello) vs. Shane Rieck (Belle Plaine); 171 – Tyler Kriegel (BGM) vs. Jesse Demmon (Eddyville-Blakesburg), Jayden Allen (New London/WMU) vs. Rokco Rhoades (Belle Plaine); 189 – Brok Dawley (Montezuma) vs. Craig Carlson (Wapello), Spencer Shepherd (WACO) vs. Devon Griffin (Lone Tree); 215 – Wyatt Bauman (BGM) vs. Coty Ridgway (Cardinal), Austin Adam (Pekin) vs. Reed Petersen (Belle Plaine); 285 – Tony Jones (Belle Plaine) vs. Trevor Powers (New London/WMU), Darin Adam (Pekin) vs. Jacon Sexton (Lone Tree)

At Decorah
(Luther College)

103 – Mitch Funk (Elkader Central) vs. Brice Dietz (Nashua-Plainfield), Tyler Bartles (Riceville) vs. Aaron Dibble (Postville); 112 – Lincoln Monroe (Valley Community) vs. Blake Adams (Waterloo Columbus), Garrett Bellinger (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. Josh Lyons (South Winneshiek); 119 – Jed Siegwrath (Elkader Central) vs. Kyler Deutsch (Nashua-Plainfield), Scott Thomas (Waterloo Columbus) vs. Kyle Kleve (Starmont); 125 – Easton Kuboushek (South Winneshiek) vs. Zach Larson (Nashua-Plainfield), Justin Jensen (Riceville) vs. Nick Winter (Elkader Central); 130 – Jason Winkler (South Winneshiek) vs. Zach Benson (Waterloo Columbus), Taylor Wedeking (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. Mark Reicks (Turkey Valley); 135 – Joridy Lyons (South Winneshiek) vs. Taylor Hotek (Waterloo Columbus), Chris Durvee (Rockford) vs. Josh Avenson (Starmont); 140 – Tom Meirick (Turkey Valley) vs. Jordan Dugan (Sumner-Fredericksburg), Andy Glaser (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. Kevin Schneider (Valley Community); 145 – Mike Frieden (Valley Community) vs. Kyle Henninger (Waterloo Columbus), Jesse Brown (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. Tanner Deering (Postville); 152 – Geoffrey Tajaran (Elkader Central) vs. Wes Swygman (Nashua-Plainfield), Will Hansen (Waterloo Columbus) vs. Ross Kurash (Turkey Valley); 160 – Matt Schmelzer (South Winneshiek) vs. Chris Beshirs (Saint Ansgar), Jason Hoerman (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. Scott Gentz (Starmont); 171 – Matt Fassbinder (Valley Community) vs. Colby Martin (Rockford), Marc Benning (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. Jayden DeVilbiss (South Winneshiek); 189 – Quinn Meirick (Turkey Valley) vs. Ian Halliday (Saint Ansgar), Collin Sudol (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. C.J. Johanns (Starmont); 215 – Spencer Walters (Clayton Ridge) vs. Jharred Millonig (Saint Ansgar), Caleb WIlken (Nashua-Plainfield) vs. Jack Davis (Valley Community); 285 – Dakota Smith (South Winneshiek) vs. Keegan Duhrkopf (Sumner-Fredericksburg), Dallas Hendrikson (Saint Ansgar) vs. Joe Koehn (Valley Community)

At Tipton

103 – Beau Westpfahl (Jesup) vs. Konner Krummel (Durant), Kolbi Kohl (Lisbon) vs. Tyler Shulista (Alburnett); 112 – Christopher Halblom (Alburnett) vs. Tait Simpson (Lisbon), Alex Wright (Durant) vs. Brandon Welter (Don Bosco); 119 – Ben McMahon (Don Bosco) receives a bye, Chris Taylor (Lisbon) vs. Alex German (Alburnett); 125 – Cole Welter (Don Bosco) vs. Matt Smith (West Branch), Drew Proctor (Tipton) vs. Logan Mulnix (North Linn); 130 – Justin Hoffman (East Buchanan) vs. Cody Snodgrass (Camanche), Rilen Carew (West Branch) vs. Andy Erickson (Wapsie Valley); 135 – Bart Reiter (Don Bosco) vs. Dalton Phelps (Tipton), Austin Kessler (Durant) vs. Levi Peyton (North Linn); 140 – Chris LeClere (North Linn) vs. Matthew Cartwright (Tipton), Jake Slocum (West Branch) vs. Josh Becker (Don Bosco); 145 – Vance Ortner (Don Bosco) vs. Jesse Jamison (Lisbon), Jacob Caryl (Central City) vs. Tim Moroney (East Buchanan); 152 – Clay Welter (Don Bosco) vs. Daniel Kool (Camanche), Jake Keppy (Durant) vs. Chris Orr (East Buchanan); 160 – Jacob Main (East Buchanan) vs. Scott Schlimmer (Tipton), Jayson Madsen (West Branch) vs. Luke Breuer (Don Bosco); 171 – Taylor Kettman (Don Bosco) vs. Dan Cunningham (Durant), Scott King (Tipton) vs. Kevin Spier (Wapsie Valley); 189 – Jake Thome (Don Bosco) vs. Andrew Zimmerman (Camanche), Zach Neff (Lisbon) vs. Jordon Gerbracht (East Buchanan); 215 – Alex Burkle (North Linn) vs. Wil Rathjen (Durant), Mitch Montgomery (Lisbon) vs. Paul O’Loughlin (Don Bosco); 285 – Cory Becker (Don Bosco) vs. Tyler Smith (Lisbon), Kyle Kober (West Branch) vs. Jordan Schott (North Linn)

Dons dominate to district

FAIRBANK – Jake Thome is linked to the best team in Don Bosco wrestling history. How is a bit oif a debate.
Thome thinks its his current squad, while his dad, Irv, thinks it’s through their relationship since he was a state placewinner for the 1979 Dons team that qualified all 12 wrestlers to state and will lead this year’s state tournament Grand March.
“He likes to make jokes about that. How he was on the best team in Don Bosco history,” Jake Thome said. “I just tell him that my class will be the first to in eight state titles.”
Thome and his Dons teammates made a case for themselves again yesterday. Top-ranked Don Bosco dominated the Class 1A sectional field Saturday at Wapsie Valley High School, claiming the team title with 280 points. North Linn was a distant runner-up with 192 points.
The Dons advanced 12 to district, giving them a chance to send 12 to the state tournament in Des Moines, which would match the number 30 years ago.
“We just try to get as many guys down to state,” said Thome. “It would be neat to get 12 to state and make it a real special occasion.”
Thome was one of eight Don Bosco champions, rolling through the 189-pound bracket with three pins. The fourth-ranked senior stuck East Buchanan’s Jordon Gerbracht in the finals.
“Our team came out strong,” said Thome. “I felt we prepared well all week.”
Vance Ortner (140), Clay Welter (152), Taylor Kettman (171) and No. 2 Corey Becker at 285 pinned their way to sectional titles.
The field contained 18 ranked wrestlers and seven top-rated guys.
“They wrestled well,” Don Bosco Coach Tom Kettman said. “Top to bottom, everyone wrestled relaxed and with a lot of emotion.”
Don Bosco’s second-ranked Cole Welter beat No. 5 Ryan Mulnix of North Linn, in double overtime, riding Mulnix out for the 30-second tiebreaker at 125. They finished tied in regulation and neither could score in overtime.
“I was glad to get the win,” Cole Welter said. “I was confident in my shape. I’m confident on top and on bottom. I thought I could pull it out (in double overtime) and I did.”
Welter excited the crowd, which responded with a big, “Oooohhhh!” when he launched Mulnix with a lateral drop at the start of the match for the bout’s only takedown.
“I felt the pressure and took a little bit of a chance right away,” Welter said. “Luckily, I came out on top.”
Mulnix was one of five qualifiers for No. 6 North Linn. Lynx Coach Brad Bridgewater said the team didn’t have a complete effort and plenty of work lies ahead, preparing for district and the fourth-straight appearance in the regional duals.
“I’m happy for the five that made it (to district),” Bridgewater said. “Those that didn’t get to live another day. Their season is extended.”
Top-ranked Lynx Chris LeClere and Alex Burkle won titles at 140 and 215. LeClere handled the Dons’ Josh Becker, pinning him in 3:18.
“He’s wrestling tough right now,” Bridgewater said of LeClere. “He’s really focused and training hard.”
East Buchanan matched North Linn with two champs and five district qualifiers.
Eighth-ranked Justin Hoffman used a takedown and three late back points to break open the 130 final, beating Wapsie Valley’s Andy Erickson, 9-5. The Bucs’ Jacob Main beat Don Bosco’s Luke Breuer at 160 in an exciting back-and-forth match that had five lead changes. Main took control of the match with a five-point move in the second and held off Breuer with a late takedown to win 15-11.
Alburnett placed its three lightest wrestlers in the finals, but only top-ranked 112-pounder Chris Halblom won a title.
The Pirates top-ranked 103-pound freshman Tyler Shulista surrendered a two-point lead in the final 15 seconds, giving up a reversal and three nearfall points for a 9-6 loss to Jesup’s No. 7 Beau Westpfahl. Alburnett’s Alex German was second at 119.
Halblom edged third-ranked Brandon Welter in the finals. The pair had exchanged escapes until Halblom came out on top of a scramble for the decisive takedown with 58 seconds remaining in the third.
The host Warriors advanced two to district in Erickson and Kevin Spier (171).
The top two individuals in each weight advance to a 1A district meet Feb. 14 at Tipton.
Don Bosco and North-Linn will compete in 1A regional dual semifinals Tuesday at Starmont High School in Arlington. Don Bosco faces Valley Community, while North Linn wrestles South Winneshiek with the winners vying for a state duals berth.
Contact the writer: (319) 368-8679 or kj.pilcher@gazcomm.com