TCT sports round-up: Three Ballard girls qualify for girls state wrestling tournament
The Ballard girls wrestling team qualified three wrestlers for the girls state tournament after they turned in a top-four finish in their respective weight classes at the Region 3 girls wrestling meet Friday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
The Ballard boys wrestling team also had standout performances Saturday. The Bombers crowned two conference champions at the Raccoon River Conference meet in Gilbert.
The Class 4A No. 4 Ballard girls wrestling team avenged an earlier loss to No. 8 Carlisle with a decisive 49-26 win over the Wildcats Jan. 24 in Huxley. The Bombers also won at Carroll in overtime, 51-42, Friday at Carroll to improve to 14-2 overall and 11-2 in the RRC.
The Ballard boys snapped a six-game losing streak with a 73-42 victory over Carlisle Jan. 24. The Bombers also suffered a 61-53 loss at Carroll in going to 7-8 overall and 7-5 in the RRC.
The Collins-Maxwell girls basketball team went to 14-4 overall and remained tied with Baxter atop the Iowa Star Conference South Division with a 10-1 conference record after winning at North Tama, 48-24, Jan. 24 in Traer and crushing GMG at home Friday, 62-44.
The Spartan boys basketball team ran its winning streak to five games by defeating North Tama (61-29), Martensdale St. Marys in Collins Jan. 26 (66-42) and GMG (57-46). The three wins put Collins-Maxwell at 11-7 overall and 8-3 in the ISC South.
The Collins-Maxwell wrestling team participated in a double-dual meet at Baxter Jan. 26. The Spartans fell to Baxter by a 55-6 margin and North Mahaska by a 66-12 score.
Here is what we learned from this week's Tri-County Times sports action.
Ballard's Noel Boettger, Ally Baker and Caliegh Rhiner qualify for state
Noel Boettger, Ally Baker and Caliegh Rhiner were the three Ballard girls to qualify for the girls state wrestling tournament Friday.
Boettger, a state qualifier from a year ago, claimed the Region 3 championship at 130 pounds. Ranked No. 7 at 130 by IAwrestle.com, Boettger pinned Williamsburg's Shannon Finn in 5:09 during the quarterfinals, Cedar Falls' Anna Johnson in 5:01 during the semifinals and Dallas Center-Grimes' Asia Jahangir in 3:54 during the championship match to take a 24-2 record into state.
Rhiner finished third at 145 to push her season record to 20-5 heading into state.
Rhiner bounced back from a 4-3 loss to Newton's Brianna Aebischer in the quarterfinals by pinning Pleasantville's Addie Koenig in 1:11 during the consolation fourth round, West Marshall's Kylee Schuler in 4:40 in the consolation fifth round and Ankeny's Mallorie Mcguire in 2:50 during the consolation semifinals. In the third-place match Rhiner earned a 5-1 victory over Cedar Falls' Mckayla Warren.
Baker placed fourth at 120 to take a 15-5 record into state. She went 2-2 at the regional meet, defeating Des Moines Public Schools' Avah Blakeman by fall in 1:12, losing in the semifinals to North Mahaska's Jalayna Shipley by an 8-3 decision, pinning Cedar Falls' Destiny Hoeppner in 4:21 during the consolation semifinals then losing the third-place match to Ankeny's Trudy Haag by fall.
Liberty Boettger went 1-2 at 145 with a win by medical forfeit over BGM's Coral Lowry in the consolation third round to finish the season at 8-15. Lundyn Jones was 0-2 at 125 and Ayla Ott 0-2 at 155 for the Bombers.
The girls state wrestling tournament takes place Thursday and Friday at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville. Competition begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m. both days.
Ballard boys place fifth at RRC meet
The Ballard boys wrestling team saw Brody Sampson (182) and Gabe Christensen (195) win conference championships at the RRC meet.
Henry Christensen (220) took second and Jacob Harrison (126) and Tucker Vitzthum (132) each came in third at the RRC meet. Jace Rhiner (120), Daniel Hyman (152) and Luke Hartsook (170) each picked up one victory and placed sixth for the Bombers.
As a team Ballard placed fifth out of nine teams with 115 points. Carlisle won the RRC team title with a score of 224.5.
Sampson, ranked third at 182 in 2A, pinned North Polk's Carter Van Brocklin in 22 seconds and Bondurant-Farrar's Trent Paxton in 3:12 to reach the finals, where he downed 3A No. 12 Jack Laughlin of Carlisle by a 7-0 decision. The victory over Laughlin put Sampson at 41-2 on the season.
Gabe Christensen, ranked No. 7 in 2A at 195, went 2-0 Saturday to push his season record to 37-1. Christensen pinned North Polk's Nick Plautz in 2:50 then scored an impressive fall over 3A No. 9 Jes Krcil of Carlisle in 1:34 during the finals.
Henry Christensen, ranked No. 5 in 2A at 220, pinned Gilbert's Mason Griffin in the semifinals before losing by 3-2 decision to 3A No. 7 Joshua Hemsted of Carlisle in the championship match. Christensen concluded the tournament with a 34-6 overall record.
Harrison and Vitzthum both went 3-1 during the tournament.
Harrison suffered a 16-9 loss to Winterset's Kyle Bushong in the quarterfinals then then defeated Carlisle's Tristin Hummel by a 10-1 major decision, Adel-Desoto-Minburn's Grayson Sutter by an 8-4 decision and Boone's Gavin Hollenkamp by an 8-6 decision to go to 21-20. Vitzthum went to 32-16 after pinning Carroll's Michael Rowedder in 2:39, suffering a 9-3 loss to Carlisle's Mason Lucas, winning by medical forfeit over Winterset's Nile Benge and pinning North Polk's Luke Engebretson in 42 seconds.
Rhiner defeated Gilbert's Corbin Betts by a 10-8 decision for his victory on the mat during the tournament. Hyman pinned North Polk's Brady Reinhart in 5:46 during the consolation first round and Hartsook downed Winterset's Ty Barringer by fall in 2:41 during the quarterfinals.
Ballard also competed in a home double-dual meet at Huxley Jan. 26. The Bombers defeated ADM by a 55-10 score and rolled past Van Meter, 63-8.
In the win over ADM the Bombers received pins from Henry Christensen (285), Gabe Christensen (220), Rhiner, Lane Kahler (145), Rhett Hedrick (160) and Hartsook. Sampson scored an 11-2 major decision over ADM's Karver Sutton, Tony Horness earned a 9-4 decision over Gabe Finnegan at 113, Harrison defeated Sutter by a 5-2 decision and Hyman defeated Kadin O'Conner by a 5-0 decision.
Vitzthum received a forfeit against ADM.
Ballard recorded four pins and one victory by decision against Van Meter. The Bombers also picked up six forfeits.
Kahler, Hyman, Gabe Christensen and Henry Christensen earned the falls for Ballard against Van Meter. Sampson took down 2A No. 8 Jackson Boese in a 3-1 battle for the biggest victory of the dual for the Bombers.
Rhiner, Harrison, Jayden Leland (132), Hedrick, Hartsook and Gunnar Peterson (220) received the Bomber forfeits against Van Meter.
Ballard girls get revenge
The Ballard girls basketball team made up for their first loss of the season with an impressive performance against Carlisle.
The Bombers outscored the Wildcats 28-6 over the second and third quarters to coast to a decisive victory. Defense and rebounding were top-notch for Ballard in the win as Carlisle just shot 11.9% from the field and the Bombers held a 40-24 rebounding advantage.
Alliyah Thompson went for 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four blocks for Ballard in the win. Lily Beall added 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Paige Noe 6 points, four assists and three steals and Lily Hillebrand 6 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Ballard survived against Carroll thanks to a dominant overtime period.
The Bombers outscored the Tigers 16-1 in the third period to go up by 10, only to see Carroll go on a 13-3 run to tie the game at 42-42 by the end of regulation. In the overtime period Ballard rose to the occasion defensively, keeping Carroll off the board the entire stretch to pull away for the victory.
Ballard survived a 36% shooting night against the Tigers by posting 43-31 rebounding advantage and holding Carroll to 27.7% shooting. Beall went for 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals and Hillebrand added 12 points and five assists in the victory.
Thompson posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and she added four blocks and two assists. Noe chipped in 6 points, three assists and four steals.
Bomber boys cruise against Carlisle
The Ballard boys snapped their losing streak in decisive fashion against Carlisle.
The Bombers outscored the Wildcats 37-19 over the first two quarters to put the game away early. They shot 48.3% from the field and 77.8% from the line, made 10 of 28 3-pointers and posted a 38-27 rebounding advantage.
Jude Gibson put up 21 points and four steals and Mason Gorsh 19 points and two assists against Carlisle. Mason Gatchel added 8 points, Austin Shoen 6 points, eight rebounds and three assists and Owen Greco 6 points and four rebounds for the Bombers.
In the loss to Carroll the Bomber boys were outscored 20-6 in the third quarter and never recovered. Ballard shot just 30.9% from the field and the Bombers were outrebounded, 39-19.
Gibson had 16 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and four assists in a losing effort against the Tigers. Miles Mudd added 12 points and three rebounds, Nolan Cogdill 7 points and four boards and Eli Rouse 7 points.
Collins-Maxwell girls keep pace with Baxter atop the ISC South
The lopsided victories over North Tama and GMG kept the Collins-Maxwell girls basketball team tied with Baxter at the head of the ISC South.
The Spartan girls jumped out to a 24-13 lead against North Tama. They outscored the Redhawks 10-2 in the third quarter to pull away, finishing the night with 39 rebounds and 18 steals.
Chloe Wierson went for 26 points, 14 rebounds and three steals in the win. Erica Houge added 17 points, 12 steals and five boards and Mary Staudt pulled down 12 rebounds.
Collins-Maxwell forced 21 turnovers and held GMG to 34.6% shooting during its win over the Wolverines. Wierson finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and two assists and steals apiece and Houge had 28 points, nine steals and six rebounds and assists apiece in the victory.
Vivian Kahler chipped in 5 points and rebounds apiece against GMG.
Spartan boys have impressive week
The Collins-Maxwell boys basketball team wasn't touched during the week to maintain a one-game lead over Colo-NESCO for second in the ISC South behind Baxter.
The Spartans led North Tama 30-19 at the half then pulled away with a 14-3 run in the third quarter. They held the Redhawks to 17.3% shooting and posted a huge 52-25 rebounding advantage.
Josef Dvorak had 15 points and six rebounds and Luke Huntrods 12 points and rebounds apiece for Collins-Maxwell in the victory. Dane Beattie added 10 points and four rebounds and Ethan Haus 9 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
In the non-conference victory over Martensdale St. Marys the Spartan boys led 23-0 after the first period to put the game away early. Collins-Maxwell again had a huge rebounding advantage at 44-22 and the Spartans held the Blue Devils to 31% shooting.
Dvorak finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, Beattie 14 points and five boards, Haus 9 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Huntrods 9 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Back in conference play against GMG Friday, the Spartans outscored the Wolverines 34-25 over the final two quarters to pull away. Collins-Maxwell prevailed despite shooting just 34% from the field.
Huntrods had 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals and Beattie 16 points and three assists against GMG. Dvorak added 9 points and 11 rebounds and Haus 8 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists and blocks apiece.
Spartan wrestlers total three pins in double-dual losses
Collins-Maxwell combined for three victories on the mat during its wrestling losses to North Mahaska and Baxter.
Austin Boege pinned North Mahaska's Dylan Meland in 1:32 at 132 and Marshall Day added a fall over William Goemaat in 1:34 at 195 during the Spartans' dual loss to the Warhawks. In the loss to Baxter the Spartans received a pin by Zach Haus over Alex Dille in 2:55 at 113.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Three Ballard girls qualify for girls state wrestling tournament
