2010 State Tournament

Four-time champs take early lead in 1A

By Matt Pfiffner
Some of the faces have changed for Don Bosco but one thing hasn't...the Dons are once again the favorites to win a fifth consecutive Class 1A State Tournament title.

The Dons didn't roll through the first round with a perfect record like last year, but still pushed eight of their 10 qualifiers into Friday's quarterfinal round. Don Bosco leads the pack with 26 points, followed by Eddyville-Blakesburg (18.5) and Lisbon (14).

Two-time State champs Cole (135) and Clay (145) Welter won their first-round matches in different ways. Cole decked Dalton Mindham of Colfax-Mingo, while Clay defeated ninth-ranked Carl Davis of Southeast Warren, 8-5.

Also advancing for the Dons was 103-pounder Drew Mangrich, Ben McMahon at 119, Brandon Welter at 125, Austin Demuth at 130, Curtis Weber at 171 and 189-pounder Taylor Kettman.

One of the bigger stories of the day was at 103, as a pair of wrestlers entered the tournament undefeated, but didn't leave that way on Thursday.

Top-ranked Zakk Buch of Belle Plaine, last year's runner-up, handled fourth-ranked and 39-0 Lance Maguire of Fort Dodge St. Edmond, 8-2.

Buch now meets third-ranked Jordan Bremer of Woodbury Central, in what should be a highly-entertaining quarterfinal bout.

Fifth-ranked Phillip Laux of Pekin entered today with a spotless 36-0 record, including wins over No. 1 Buch at Sectionals and Districts. But he was no match for No. 2 Brance Simms of Twin River Valley, who broke open a close match midway through the third period with a five-point headlock. Simms advanced with the 11-5 win.

"I thought it was going to be an overtime match," Simms admitted afterwards. "I thought it was going to be a lot closer. But I wasn't nervous at all. I was here last year and he wasn't and that may have made the difference."

As for the headlock that sealed the deal, Simms said "I knew he was going to try and throw me, so I just stayed back and waited."

One of the most anticipated matches of the first round didn't quite live up to the billing. At 140, top-ranked and undefeated Matt Finch of HMS scored early and often in a 14-3 victory over No. 4 Cole Hopkins of Coon Rapids-Bayard. Finch used a body lock for a four-point throw in the first and added three takedowns and three more near fall points over the next two periods for the impressive win.

One of the more thrilling finishes to a match came at 145, where Connor Christensen of Central Decatur headlocked and pinned Matthew Dettmer of Nashua-Plainfield while trailing 15-5 in the third period. Christensen's victory proves that matches at State are never over until the final whistle blows.

A pair of 2 vs. 3 match-ups closed out the first round.

At 189, No. 3 Andrew Nodvedt of Central Springs escaped with one second left in the third period to force overtime against second-ranked Nate Howard of Greattinger-Terril. But Howard used a double leg takedown for the winning score in the extra period.

At 285, third-ranked Dylan Lame pinned No. 2 Dustin Schwaller of Okoboji in just 51 seconds. The two wrestlers met in consolation round action at State last season, with the same result.

All 14 No. 1 ranked wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals, with nine earning pins.

Some of the great quarterfinal bouts to watch for on Friday are: No. 1 Buch vs. No. 3 Bremer at 103; No. 1 Tyler Shulista of Alburnett vs. No. 5 Nick Drenth of HMS at 112; No. 2 Nolan Oviatt of Logan-Magnolia vs. No. 5 Drew Proctor of Tipton at 130; No. 3 Michael Jensen of Graettinger-Terril vs. No. 4 Colby Grothoff of South Hardin at 145; No. 1 Blake Faucher of Guthrie Center vs. No. 3 Jason Frain of Oakland at 160; No. 3 Cade Lambson of Mount Ayr vs. No. 4 Mitch Montgomery of Lisbon at 215.