Prep wrestling: OHS grapplers fall to third-ranked Wolves
Jan. 21—OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa High School wrestling team hopes to achieve some lofty goals next month.
Thursday night, the Bulldog wrestlers got a preview of the type of competition that awaits them at the end of the season.
Third-ranked (3A) Waukee Northwest handed Ottumwa just its second dual loss of the season. Four consecutive first-period falls helped the Wolves turn an early back-and-forth tussle with the Bulldogs into a 51-24 CIML crossover win at Evans Middle School Gymnasium.
Ottumwa is now 12-2 in duals so far this season, keeping the Bulldogs in line for a potential return to compete in the Class 3A regional dual tournament for the second straight year. Seven of Waukee Northwest's ranked wrestlers picked up wins on Thursday against the Bulldogs, accounting for 45 points on a night where elite talent shined with a 7-1 decision earned by Ethan Mahoney at 126 pounds proving to be the closest match of the night between two teams that currently feature 14 ranked wrestler in 13 different weight classes.
"We've got a lot of respect for Waukee Northwest. They're a good opponent," Ottumwa head wrestling coach Jeremy Frueh said. "We had four matches that we our way, but there were moments in the other matches where I felt like we were right there and forced into some things where we dove in for some legs and didn't really set things up."
Frueh pointed out the 138-pound match between Braylon Griffiths and Waukee Northwest's ninth-ranked junior Logan Stotts. Griffiths, hoping to return to state for the second straight year after qualifying as a freshman, lost a 13-5 major decision that saw Stotts use three takedowns in the opening period to build a 6-2 lead.
"It was a tale of two matches," Frueh said of the 138-pound match. "For three minutes, he looked really bad. I think Braylon would tell you that. Then, for three minutes, he started wrestling. He scored a takedown on his feet and might have scored another one with another 10 seconds. He just has to make adjustments and we just have to make sure guys are wrestling that for six minutes rather than just in spurts."
Familiar faces scored early wins to help Ottumwa trade the lead with Waukee Northwest five times in the first half of the dual. Zachariah Shoemaker lived up to his No. 11 ranking at 152 pounds, scoring an early takedown against Isaac Vollmecke on the way to securing a fall in just 52 seconds that gave the Bulldogs a 12-10 lead.
"I was really ready to get out there and start to wrestle again," Shoemaker said. "I don't really think about the rankings. I realize Waukee Northwest is a good team, but ranked opponent or not, I'm going to go out there and wrestle my best. That's all you really can do. Rankings don't matter."
Trevor Summers, ranked second at 170 pounds, continued his quest for program history by improving to 29-0 on the season moving within 20 wins of Isaac Cox's career-win record by pinning Brayden Williams in 1:03. Should Summers become Ottumwa's all-time winningest wrestler, it may be a short-lived record as sixth-ranked freshman Ashton Grace continued his torrid start pinning Judah Noble in 1:45 to earn his 26th varsity win already.
"I actually think I could have even done a little bit better, but being sixth in the state is pretty good for where I'm at right now," Grace said. "I'm shooting for a state championship this year. It's going to be hard, but I think I can do what it takes to make a run at it."
Daltin Doud securing a win for Ottumwa in the first match of the dual, pinning Bain Jespen with two seconds left in the second period at 132 pounds. Despite the loss, there was plenty of positives to take away as the Bulldogs look to only improve in hopes of wrestling at their best when state tournament berths are on the line in just over three weeks.
"Even though I won, there are mistakes I made early in that match where I should have been scoring," Doud said. "It's situations we'll learn from. I can't wait to get back out there on the mat this weekend."
Ottumwa, after having an unexpected 12-day layoff following the cancellation due to weather last weekend of Centerville's Big Red Invitational, is set for their first tournament since winning the Ottumwa Invitational on Jan. 8. The Bulldogs head to the Roundhouse in Des Moines to compete in the Lincoln Invitational on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
PREP WRESTLING
No. 3 (3A) Waukee Northwest 51, Ottumwa 24
106: Ashton Grace (OTTU) over Judah Noble (WKNW) (Fall 1:45) 113: Koufax Christensen (WKNW) over (OTTU) (For.) 120: Carter Freeman (WKNW) over Corbin Grace (OTTU) (TF 24-9 4:25) 126: Ethan Mahoney (WKNW) over Dawson Goodwin (OTTU) (Dec 7-1) 132: Daltin Doud (OTTU) over Bain Jepsen (WKNW) (Fall 3:58) 138: Logan Stotts (WKNW) over Braylon Griffiths (OTTU) (MD 13-5) 145: Dom Rubino (WKNW) over Koby Chanthalavanh (OTTU) (Fall 3:04) 152: Zachariah Shoemaker (OTTU) over Isaac Vollmecke (WKNW) (Fall 0:52) 160: Brayden Broderick (WKNW) over Kaden Hubbell (OTTU) (Fall 1:43) 170: Trevor Summers (OTTU) over Brayden Williams (WKNW) (Fall 1:03) 182: Nolan Weakley (WKNW) over Daniel Robert (OTTU) (Fall 1:49) 195: Tanner Spyksma (WKNW) over Neo Guida (OTTU) (Fall 0:28) 220: Cael Winter (WKNW) over (OTTU) (For.) 285: Ben Reiland (WKNW) over Demytrius Renteria Spoon (OTTU) (Fall 0:49)
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
