No longer a secret

BY MATT PFIFFNER

Tucked away in the Northwest corner of the state, Central Lyon (Rock Rapids) was one the surprise stories of the 2007 State Tournament.

The Lions came into the Class 1A State Tournament ranked 10th in the final polls, but left Des Moines with a third-place team trophy and a pair of individual champions.

Nate Herda followed up previous finishes of eighth and fifth with a championship at 135 as a junior, while sophomore Jordan Gacke (pictured on top) made the most of his first State Tournament appearance with a title run at 160, to cap off a perfect 42-0 season.

With Herda and Gacke back this season, along with fourth-place finisher Nathan DeBoer, fifth-place finisher Scott Eben, previous State qualifiers Cole Zimbelman, Dylan Reynolds and Jeff Gacke and second-ranked freshman 103-pounder Alex Rust, the Lions aren't going to sneak up on anyone this postseason.

"I'm sure people know about us now. But we don't mind not being talked about all the time. It doesn't make any difference to us," Jordan Gacke, the top-ranked 171-pounder entering the postseason, said. "We just practice hard every day and our coaches push us. And you can't be a good team without all the other guys. We have JV guys pushing us in practice too."

It was quite a jump up in the State team standings for the Lions last season. The team finished tied for 49th in the 2006 State Tournament. Last February, Central Lyon tied with Akron-Westfield for the bronze trophy, just four points behind runner-up Twin River Valley.

"There's no sneaking up on anybody now. That's definitely motivating us," Central Lyon Coach Keith Van Beek said. "We have a lot of kids ranked and that's great, that's what we work for. But at the same time, we know we need to keep improving and keep getting better."

DeBoer, who is undefeated and ranked second at 135, said, "A lot of people know about us now, so practices are getting harder and coaches are after us a lot more."

Van Beek said looking forward to this season started right after the State Tournament was over last year.

"We have such a solid lineup now and we were 24-0 last year in duals. We're very excited about not only the individual and traditional State, but also the team," he said. "It's going to be tough at Sectionals, but we're looking good, if we can keep our team rolling. But last year was great. The school's never finished that high before and never had that many in the finals before."

Neither Herda or Jordan Gacke were considered the favorites at their weights last season. Herda won in overtime against an undefeated Jordan Hasenkamp from Twin River Valley and Gacke won a battle of unbeatens against Marshall Barney of Logan-Magnolia.

"I didn't really know what to expect. My first match at State was the most nervous I've ever been for any match," Jordan Gacke said. "I didn't know what to expect and then after that one, I knew what to expect."

Both Herda and Gacke have possible huge match-ups at State that have been talked about all season. Herda is ranked second at 140 behind two-time State champ Marshall Koethe of Twin River Valley and Gacke is ranked right ahead of the wrestler he defeated in last year's title match, Barney of Lo-Ma.

"We don't look that far ahead, we just try to do the things that are going to make us better. But I'm sure they are, in the back of their minds, thinking about it," Van Beek said.

DeBoer, who recently won his 150th career match, said having a pair of State champs in the practice room every day has done nothing but help and motivate the rest of the team.

"They both don't act like it at all. They're great practice partners and make every one of us better every day. They work hard and you couldn't tell they were State Champions by the way they act in the wrestling room," he said. "Nate Herda just beats the crap out of me every day in practice and makes me better. My goal is to get on top of the podium."

Van Beek said having a pair of State champs last season has done wonders for the program.

"I think it was huge. Those two have gone through the ranks of little kids and the AAU's and all that. We knew they had the ability, but I think it's brought everybody up," he said. "Nate DeBoer is a great example. Herda and him go after it. Scott Eben and Gacke go after it. We have a lot of great partners. Jordan has taken Scotty with him. Nate Herda has taken Nate DeBoer with him. Dylan Reynolds is kind of the middle there, but he works hard with Herda too.

"Herda worked very hard over the summer. It was incredible. He went to every tournament he could. Every workout he could get, he got it in. With Jordan, he broke his foot in football, so it was hard early in the year. But whatever Jordan does, he wants to win it."

So how did Central Lyon go from 49th place at State two years ago, to tied for third last year and ranked second behind only defending champion Don Bosco this year?

"It's just like all the other schools that have talent. You start early and keep after it. They just pull each other along and I think that's true with any good program," Van Beek said.

The team everyone in Class 1A is chasing is top-ranked and defending champion Don Bosco. The Dons are loaded once again this season, with 11 wrestlers in the final rankings. Don Bosco nearly doubled the score of runner-up Twin River Valley at State last season and may be even better this year.

But don't expect Central Lyon to back down from the challenge.

"We're practicing hard and that's our main goal. We're working hard, listening to our coaches, getting better every day and hopefully we'll get to take on Bosco," DeBoer said.

Jordan Gacke said the goal is to improve on last year.

"We want to get to State Duals and do well there and improve on our third place finish at traditional State," he said.

"Their mindset is we want to improve from last year. We know there's the Don Bosco's and I-35's out there, but we're working every day to get better," Van Beek said.

"There is something about not having all that pressure on you like Bosco has. And we know it's almost going to take some other teams to knock some of their kids off for us. Somehow, you have to even things out. They're dominant and they're tough, but I told the kids nothing is impossible. We have to keep improving and when you get your chance, take it."

The Lions begin that road to State Saturday at Sectionals with the rest of the Class 1A and 2A teams in the State.