Belle Plaine rolls into finals

DES MOINES – Belle Plaine schools may want to change their nickname.
Somehow “Plain”smen doesn’t quite fit after the semifinal round of the Class 1A state wrestling tournament Friday at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Belle Plaine wrestlers were more like Supermen, winning four of five semifinal matches and grabbed a firm hold on second place with 86½. After the semifinals, Don Bosco had 172, clinching its fourth straight crown.
“They came ready to wrestle,” Belle Plaine Coach Bob Yilek said. “We were challenged from the get-go with some of the kids we had (to wrestle).”
Zakk Buch (103), Drew Hinschberger (130), and twin brothers, Cameron and Colton Wagner, all advanced to tonight’s championship bouts.
The Wagners have each reached the finals – Cameron in 2007 and Colton in 2008 – but this is the first time they’ve advanced together.
“You can’t beat that feeling in the finals,” Cameron Wagner said. “That’s what we’ve always dreamed of, having both in the finals.”
Cameron Wagner (43-1), notched an 8-4 decision over No. 3 Matt Finch of HMS at 135. He scored two takedowns in the first, adding a reversal in the second.
Cameron gets the chance to play spoiler again, facing Don Bosco’s three-time state champion Bart Reiter in the finals. Reiter is looking to become the 18th four-time state champion and join his brother, Mack, as the only siblings on that list.
Reiter beat him in the finals as their sophomore year.
“I’ve met him in the finals and I’ve met him all my life,” said Cameron Wagner. “He’s a tough kid, but this is a chance I’m not going to let slip away.”
Colton Wagner (43-1) advanced to the finals for the second straight year, thumping No. 8 Brad Cabrera of Manson-Northwest Webster, 11-1, at 140.
Keeping with the Plainsmen’s family theme. Drew Hinschberger earned a chance to add to the family’s state titles. Hinschberger’s father, Kurt, won two titles for Belle Plaine in the late ‘70s and brother, Dustin, won in 2002.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Hinschberger. “Family tradition. I got to keep it going.”
Top-ranked Hinschberger (45-1) used a reversal in the third period and rode out former state champion Klint Stapes of Truro I-35, 4-3, to reach the 130-pound final.
“I just kept moving,” Hinschberger said of the winning move. “I saw his leg and attacked it.”
Buch (39-3) also benefitted from a reversal. Two, in fact. Buch added an escape to beat Woodbury Central’s fourth-ranked Jordan Bremer, 5-4. On the way to the 103 finals, Buch has beaten the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 kids.
The results are signs of hard work and talent in practice.
“I feel my toughest competition is in the room,” Hinschberger said.
North Linn’s Alex Burkle has a little family tradition of his own. Top-ranked Burkle (42-0) beat No. 7 Jon Meyers of Coon Rapids-Bayard, 6-4, in overtime to reach the 215 finals.
Burkle had to fight on the edge of the mat for the decisive takedown with 18 seconds remaining.
“I thought they were going to call a second stalemate,” Burkle said as Meyer fought the move. “I fought like hell to get my elbow, because I had it trapped.
He can join brothers, Kyle and Tyler, who won titles for the Lynx.
“I’m there so now I have to make it happen,” Burkle said.
Alburnett’s Christopher Halblom also reached the finals with a nail-biting 9-5 win over Clarinda Academy’s No. 10 Ivan Rodriguez.
Rodriguez scored to take a 5-4 lead in the third and held it until Halblom (38-0) uncorked a throw in the final 10 seconds.
“The kid was ungodly strong,” said Halblom, who couldn’t establish his leg attack. “I couldn’t get any shots off. I wrestled freestyle all summer. That was the exact throw that got me a lot of wins this season.”
Halblom, a 2A state runner-up for Center Point-Urbana last year, gave a celebratory flex after the win.
“I was so excited,” Halblom said. “Normally I wouldn’t do that, but it was just the adrenaline. it kind of came out.”
West Branch’s top-ranked 285-pounder Kyle Kober (43-0) returned to the finals. Kober, a finalist as a sophomore in 2007, No. 4 Dallas Hendrickson of Saint Ansgar in 2:47.

For state tournament photo gallery:

http://pictopia.com/perl/gal?process=gallery&gallery_id=75663&provider_id=66

Contact the writer: (319) 368-8679 or kj.pilcher@gazettecommunications.com

A family trio for two

Chris LeClere and Alex Burkle walked in the footprints of some pretty big shoes the last three years. The North Linn senior duo watched as two of their brothers have won state titles, and take the mat today to begin their final quest to add to the family titles.
“It would mean a ton to me,” said Chris LeClere, whose older brothers Dan, a four-timer, and Nick were state champs for the Lynx. “It would be a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
Burkle is in the exact position. His brothers, Kyle and Tyler, a defending NCAA Division III national champion at Coe, won crowns. The last time North Linn crowned two champions in the same year was when Dan LeClere and Kyle Burkle won titles in 2002.
“We talk about it all the time, and actually, all the time as in every day,” Burkle said. “Chris and I do a good job of being there for each other, making sure we’re both calm.
“He reminds me of having another brother around.”
Both are ranked No. 1, entering the tournament. LeClere is 40-1 at 140 pounds. He’ll face AGWSR’s Ryan Roberts (35-7) first round. Burkle is one of 38 unbeaten state wrestlers with a 39-0 mark at 215. He drew Mount Ayr’s Cade Lambson (35-8).
The pair have wrestled together since preschool. They want nothing more than to win titles together and complete their families’ trifectas.
“We’re pretty determined,” LeClere said. “We want to get it rolling again and leave on a good note.”