Koethe and White make finals of Cadet G-R tourney

BY MATT PFIFFNER
Justin Koethe of Iowa City West and Caleb White of Tri-Center (Neola) will wrestle on the main stage Monday night in the Cadet Greco-Roman National Tournament in Fargo, N.D., thanks to impressive performances on Monday morning.

Koethe dominated Michael Nord of North Dakota, 6-0, 6-0, in their round robin bout at 145 pounds and White handled Donny Longendyke of Minnesota, 1-0, 2-0, in their round robin match at 285. In both bouts, the winner automatically qualified for Monday night's championship matches.

In the first match of the morning for the Iowans, Koethe wasted little time in taking care of Nord. He used a bear hug to Nord's back, a gut wrench and takedown for 6-0 first period win. In the second, Koethe went right after Nord, got behind him with a body lock and tossed him twice for a pair of three-point moves and 6-0 technical fall.

Koethe will meet Brad Dolezal of Wisconsin for the gold medal tonight.

At 285, White didn't score as many points as Koethe, but was just as impressive in a solid win over Longendyke. White scored the only point of the first period when he refused to be budged underneath Longendyke for the final 30 seconds of the period. In the second period, White started on top with 30 seconds left and quickly earned a two-point gut wrench for the victory.

White meets Orry Elor of California for the National title tonight.

Iowa's other Cadet wrestling on Monday morning, Joe Scanlan at 215, lost his only bout of the session will will wrestle Eric Mason of Kansas for fifth-place honors tonight.

Scanlan met Brooks Black of Pennsylvania Monday morning and lost a heartbreaker. The Iowan won the first period, 3-3, when he hit a desperation arm throw out of bounds for three points with seconds on the clock. Black rebounded with wins of 1-0 and 2-0 in the final two periods for the win, to clinch a spot in the finals.

Iowa's other Cadet All-Americans -- Phillip Laux at 91, Dylan Peters at 98 and Gunnar Wolfensperger at 112 -- had already finished their pool wrestling Sunday night and will be back in action tonight in the place matches.

JUNIOR ACTION FROM SESSION 3
The Junior Greco-Roman wrestlers were also in action Monday morning, with four Iowans looking to stay alive in the medal hunt.

First up was Elijah Sullivan of CB Lewis Central, against Minnesota standout Dylan Ness. Sullivan needed to win to stay alive in the tournament and he did just that, in a sometimes controversial 0-6, 3-0, 8-3 victory. Ness controlled the first period, but Sullivan used a takedown and late turn to win the second. In the third, after several conferences by the refs, it was a 3-3 match with 30 seconds left and Sullivan in the top position. He lifted Ness off the mat and three him for three points and received two more points on a leg foul for the win.

It doesn't get any easier in the next round for Sullivan, as he will take on another tough Minnesota grappler, Luke Vaith, on Tuesday morning.

Ryan Fank took to the mats next for Iowa at 215 against Alex Polizzi of Wisconsin.

Polizzi threw Fank to his back late in the first period, but Fank reversed him to his back for a 3-2 deficit. Polizzi added a late takedown for the 4-2 period win. In the second period, Fank gave up a takedown to fall behind 1-0 and when he tried a desperation throw in the final seconds, he was sent to his back for the fall.

Fank was eliminated from the tournament with the loss. He finished fifth in his pool, with the top four earning All-American honors.

At 285, Kyle Kober looked to remain undefeated against Jacob Mitchell of Oregon and take one step closer to a repeat trip to the finals, but it wasn't the West Branch State champ's day.

Mitchell was down 4-1 late in the first period when he reversed Kober to his back and then scored a late takedown with exposure for a 5-4 period win. It was all Mitchell in the second period, as he used a variety of moves on his way to a 7-0 period win to take the match.

Kober is still alive in the tournament, but will have to win out and hope for some help Tuesday for a chance at the finals.

Jack Hathaway received a bye at 105 pounds, which guaranteed him All-American honors. He didn't have a match on Monday. The Iowan is set to meet Jade Rauser of Montana Tuesday morning in round robin action, to decide what place he will wrestle for Tuesday evening.

PAIR OF WOMEN BATTLE AT 124
Two women's freestyle wrestlers from Iowa competed at 124 today in Fargo.

Roni Goodale was 3-2 in pool action and will wrestle for fifth-place honors later this afternoon, while Julie Johnsen went 0-2 in her tournament.

Goodale cruised to a 3-0, 6-0 decision win and victory by fall in her first two matches. In her third bout, she came from behind for a 0-4,1-0, 2-0 win.

After receiving a fourth-round bye, Goodale faced Brieanna Delagdo of South Carolina and suffered her first loss, 0-1, 0-5. The Iowan was pinned in her next match, to finish third in her pool.