The South Tama County wrestling team split a double-dual in Grinnell January 19, beating Oskaloosa 43-33, and losing to Grinnell 39-37.
In the first dual against Oskaloosa, South Tama collected five falls by Ben Packer (1:04), Levi Kaufman (1:13), Tyler Walz (1:25), Erik Lux (5:05) and Miguel Guzman (5:47). Wade Quigley also received a forfeit at 152. A couple of starters for Oskaloosa were unavailable for the meet.
"They're well-coached. They're not going to put any below average guys on the mat. We had to wrestle well and we did. They gave up a few weight classes. They're a tough team when they're healthy," remarked coach Nate Van Dyke in post-meet comments.
In the final dual of the evening, it came down to the last match to finish, which was Ben Packer at 106. With the Trojans behind, 39-34, Packer needed a pin for the win. Packer dominated the match and near the end took some chances to get the fall, giving up some back points when he got caught on his back at the end of the match. He still won, 16-10 but it only closed the team score to 39-37 in favor of the Tigers.
"We deserved to win the dual the way we wrestled," said Van Dyke "You can go right down the line. Levi Kaufman set the tone, beat a state qualifier right off the bat -- pinned him. That was a big match for him, being they're in our sectional, for seeding. (Miguel) Guzman had a big win at the top, and (Dalton) Vest wrestled good against a kid that's really tough."
The Trojans gambled with some lineup changes, hoping to maximize their points against the Tigers, as Van Dyke explained.
Fact Box
Oskaloosa Results
106 -- Packer (STC) Fall (1:05) Randau
113 -- De Jong (O) Fall (1:48) Thiessen
120 -- Caves (O) Fall (3:14) Steuhm
126 -- Shope (STC) 13-4 Schaffner
132 -- Wanders (O) 14-6 Rivera
138 -- Kaufman (STC) Fall (1:13) Pace
145 -- Bush (O) Fall (2:54) Kalinay
152 -- Quigley (STC) Forfeit
160 -- Walz (STC) Fall (1:25) Jones
170 -- Lux (STC) Fall (5:05) Wisse
182 -- Llewellyn (STC) Fall (0:36)
196 -- Jones (O) Fall (0:36) Climer
220 -- Guzman (STC) Fall (5:47) C. Tuttle
285 -- Vest 6-0 D. Tuttle
Grinnell Results
106 -- Packer (STC) 16-10 Sadler
113 -- Nuez (STC) Forfeit
120 -- Thiessen (STC) Forfeit
126 -- Crawford (G) Fall (3:42) Steuhm
132 -- Jay (G) Fall (1:37) Rivera
138 -- Kaufman (STC) Fall (3:13) Beck
145 -- Lindley (G) Fall (4:46) Kalinay
152 -- Walz (STC) 11-1 Lidtka
160 -- Lux (STC) Fall (2:57) Kelley
170 -- Leshen (G) 6-2) Llewellyn
182 -- Keenen (G) Forfeit
196 -- J Kriegel (G) Fall (2:52) Climer
220 -- Guzman (STC) Fall (3:12)
M Kriegel
285 -- McGinnis (G) Fall (1:34) Vest
"We kind of had to roll the dice. We bumped our little guys up. We bumped Kade (Steuhm) all the way up to '26' from '13.' He was winning the match (9-4) and it kind of came down to that and he got pinned. But I'd take Kade in that match, nine times out of ten."
The Trojans took part in the East Marshall tournament January 21 and then travelled to Union January 24 for a make-up double dual.