Nine Bulldogs qualify for districts
Austin Nickolai qualified for districts at 195 pounds. The senior’s second-place finish at sectionals was his best tournament result ever, said head coach Chet Bachman. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Heavyweight Jacob Trudo was one of three MFL MarMac wrestlers who were sectional champions.
At Saturday’s sectional tournament in Monona, Bryce Radloff placed second at 132 pounds, making him one of three Bulldog freshmen to advance to districts.
Karter Decker took the top spot at 138 pounds after pinning all three of his sectional opponents.
Gabe McGeough wrestled just twice on Saturday, first earning a fall over Wapsie Valley’s Jordan Rubner (shown here), then Denver’s Cole Miller in the 160-pound championship match. The junior has lost just once all season.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Nine MFL MarMac wrestlers have advanced to the Feb. 13 Class 1A districts at Denver, after placing first or second at Saturday’s sectional tournament in Monona.
Among them were Karter Decker, Gabe McGeough and Jacob Trudo, who were all individual champions in their respective weight classes.
Decker, a sophomore, took the top spot at 138 pounds after pinning all three of his opponents that day. The fall over Denver’s Isaac Schimmels came just 42 seconds into the first-place match.
“That was a pretty big fall,” said head coach Chet Bachman. “It ignited the crowd and was a game changer for our team.”
McGeough wrestled just twice on Saturday, first earning a fall over Wapsie Valley’s Jordan Rubner, then Denver’s Cole Miller in the 160-pound championship match. The junior has lost just one bout all season.
Trudo, a senior, won the heavyweight title after pinning Dorian Gutierrez from Postville.
Six more Bulldogs placed second, including freshmen Holden Mathis at 120 pounds, Bryce Radloff at 132 pounds and Tristen Koehn at 152 pounds.
“Holden and Tristen were both two seeds, so they were maybe favored,” said Bachman, “but they still had to go out and do it. Bryce, though, was a three seed.”
Mathis was propelled to the first-place match by two falls, but was then pinned.
“You can see he’s gotten a lot of confidence,” Bachman said.
Koehn won his semifinal match against Favian Salgado of Postville by fall, before Denver’s Ben Foelske pinned him in the championship match.
“152 is a tough weight for freshmen, so it was pretty cool to see” Koehn place second, Bachman noted.
Radloff also relied on two falls to get him to the first-place match. There, he lost a narrow 3-2 decision to Postville’s Riley Rankin.
Other second-place finishers included junior Kashton Mathis, who won by major decision in the semifinal before losing via fall in the 145-pound first-place match. Junior Andrew Heins, after losing the championship match, pinned Postville’s Wilson Perez in a wrestle back to move on to districts at 126 pounds.
“I’m happy to see where he’s at. After he had surgery [last year], we thought maybe his career would be over,” Bachman said.
One of the head coach’s favorite moments of the day, however, was seeing Austin Nickolai place second at 195 pounds. The senior got to the first-place match after earning a fall in the semifinal. He was then pinned by Kyle Kuhlmann from Sumner-Fredericksburg, putting him in a wrestle back situation. There, he won by fall over Denver’s Beau Bonnette.
“Austin Nickolai didn’t wrestle until his freshman year,” said Bachman. “He’d never been first or second in a tournament in his life, and then to qualify for districts. That’s a lifetime memory for him.”
“He always comes to practice, works every time and does exactly what he’s supposed to do,” he added. “With reliability and accountability, it shows what you can do.”
Placing just outside the top two was senior Logan Brown at 220 pounds, which Bachman said was another hard work success story.
“He didn’t wrestle until he was a sophomore,” the coach noted. “That’s a testament to the kids and our coaches, who are putting good practices together.”
Other sectional competitors included sophomore Michael Knickerbocker, who placed fourth at 182 pounds, and senior Koal Klenk and freshman Konnor Barat-Klimesh, who were fifth at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively. Sophomore Austin Schlee finished sixth at 170 pounds.
As a team, MFL MarMac placed second, just two points behind Denver.
In addition to districts on Feb. 13, the MFL MarMac wrestlers will also compete in regional duals on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The eighth-ranked Bulldogs will host the event in Monona, and face the winner of the first-round dual between ninth-ranked Nashua-Plainfield and 16th-ranked Wilton. A win would qualify MFL MarMac for the State Dual Team Tournament, which will be held Feb. 17 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
“We’re trying to look at it as just another dual,” said Bachman of the team, which is undefeated in duals this season. “Whatever happens, happens. We’re just going to let it fly.”
