Van Meter rolls out the mats
for first season of wrestling

BY MATT PFIFFNER

A lot of attention in Iowa coming into this wrestling season was given to the two new collegiate programs at Grand View University and Iowa Lakes Community College.

It's rare these days to see new programs started in college. What may be even more rare, however, is a high school deciding to roll out the mats for the first time. That's what Van Meter has decided to do and the Bulldogs participated in their first varsity tournament last weekend in Greenfield at the Nodaway Valley Coach Riley Invitational.

Ohio native Dustin Wright (pictured talking to his team between sessions), who wrestled for four years at William Penn and then was an assistant coach for the Statesmen for two seasons, was hired to guide the program as head coach.

"When I took this job I knew we wouldn't have a lot of success right away. But we'll have little successes," he said.

It didn't take long for the first of those successes to happen, as Van Meter freshman 103-pounder Jimmy Scieszinski - one of two Bulldogs with extensive youth wrestling experience through the Waukee little kids program - claimed the championship at Greenfield with a 6-3 victory in the title bout over No. 2 seed Kaleb Wessel of Nodaway Valley.

Scieszinski, seeded fourth, controlled top seed Brodie Bergren of Clarinda in the semifinals, for a 6-3 victory.

The rest of the small Bulldog squad struggled, going a combined 3-14 in their matches. Van Meter finished last in the seven-team field.

Other team members are freshman Timmy Ridgway at 112, 130-pound freshman Dalton Bright, senior Devon Slycord at 140, sophomore Luke Bardwell at 160, 171-pound senior Zach Mitchell and sophomore Marcus Benton at 189. Benton is the other Bulldog, along with Scieszinski, who has considerable youth wrestling experience.

Scieszinski was a five-time AAU State qualifier and Benton qualified twice, Wright said.

Trying to fill a lineup was a big challenge for Wright, along with having a place to practice.

"Getting kids out and the room wasn't finished yet. It just got finished. We have seven guys who decided to stick it out," he said.

Another thing Wright has had to do is teach a lot of his grapplers the basics. Just showing them how to start on top and bottom has been included in the lessons taught.

"You have to go clear back to the basics. And I'm learning as a coach, to help them with the little things," he said. "Knowing where you are on the mat, that's something they need to learn.

"You have to learn to crawl before you can walk."

With a new team, you may think the Bulldogs would ease into competition. That is not the case. Van Meter will have one junior varsity dual and one JV tournament and the rest will be a full 15-date varsity schedule.

Each time out onto the mat will be a lesson learned.

"The biggest challenge for the kids is getting experience. Most of them don't have much mat time," Wright said. "They have to use their hearts and their will to not get beat to make up for the experience. And they're all nervous, which is a good thing. It means they care."

The kids on the team aren't the only ones who care. There are a lot of people responsible for the first-year program taking shape.

"Everyone involved has been great. The boosters have been wonderful and the athletic director has been supportive and helped get everything together," Wright said. "It's great for the state of Iowa, because wrestling is so big out here. That's why I came to Iowa to wrestle. It's great to start something new. It's great for the kids. It gives them something more to do than just go home and sit around."