The Hampton-Dumont-CAL boys wrestling team earned second place in the team standings at Saturday’s North Central Conference Tournament at Algona, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ. With 183 points, the Bulldogs finished two points ahead of third place Clarion-Goldfield-Dows. Iowa Falls-Alden placed sixth with 103.5 points. Algona was the champion with 238.5 points.
The Bulldogs had one conference champion. Charlie Showalter won the title at 132, finishing with an 11-8 decision in the final. They had four runner-ups, including Madox Strother at 106, Luke Showalter at 120, Brody Strother at 138 and Taylor Mahler at 157. Head Coach Patrick Hansen says going from fourth in the dual standings to second in the conference tournament is a notable jump.
“I was just telling the kids earlier, I’m like, when was the last time I got second and we felt great about it?” Hansen says. “But hey, it’s a good one. Algona’s definitely the number one team by a mile to me. And, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows is ranked what, fourth? And for us to be able to come out and finish ahead of them, I know they were missing a guy today. But it was good wrestling. We lost some we shouldn’t have and won some we shouldn’t have.”
Iowa Falls-Alden had one champion. Kolbe Hansen won the title at 113, finishing the day with a 14-2 major decision in the final. Trevor Bailey placed second at 215. Head Coach Scott Patton.
“I thought coming in, maybe we could sneak into that fifth place spot,” Iowa Falls-Alden coach Scott Patton says. “Just couldn’t quite get ahead of Clear Lake at the end. We were kind of back and forth all day. But overall pleased with the way the guys wrestled today. I think we were ready to go in most of our matches. A couple of guys had a slow start in the first round. But I think as the day kind of went on, they picked it up a little bit.”
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows had three conference champions. Adrian Phetxoumphone won the title at 126, finishing with a 4-0 decision in the final. Colin Sesker won an 11-9 decision in the 144 championship. JT Kelso won the 285 championship match with a 7-2 decision.
