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Bulldogs remain perfect in duals

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By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

The MFL MarMac wrestling team remains perfect in duals this season with four more wins at the Upper Iowa Conference Duals at Riceville on Jan. 7. 

The night started with a 72-10 win over Clayton Ridge, which included 12 Bulldog victories due to forfeit. Koal Klenk lost his 106-pound match by 12-3 major decision and Nolan Lerch was pinned at 195 pounds.

In the second dual, against host Riceville, MFL MarMac came out on top 60-24. The team was led by Bryce Radloff (132), Gabe McGeough (160) and Andrew Heins (126), who all picked up falls over their opponents. Karter Decker (138), Kashton Mathis (145), Michael Knickerbocker (170), Collin Henkels (195), Jacob Trudo (285), Konnor Barat-Klimesh (113) and Holden Mathis (120) won their matches by forfeit. Tristen Koehn (152), Austin Nickolai (182) and Logan Brown (220) were pinned.

Next, the Bulldogs cruised past Postville 63-13. Picking up falls were Kashton Mathis, Koehn, Nickolai, Knickerbocker, Trudo, Klenk and Heins. Logan Brown won by 3-1 decision, while Decker, McGeough and Holden Mathis secured victories due to forfeit. Radloff lost a close 4-1 decision and Barat-Klimesh came out on the wrong end of a 15-4 major decision. Lerch was pinned by his opponent.

MFL MarMac closed out the meet against North Fayette Valley, winning 54-19. Kashton Mathis, McGeough and Radloff all picked up their second falls of the night. Victories also came from Koehn via 15-4 major decision, Trudo by a 5-1 decision and Decker by technical fall. 

“Trudo had a really good heavyweight match,” noted head coach Chet Bachman, “and Tristen Koehn beat [Alex Streif], who was the conference champ last year. That was probably his best win of the season.”

Klenk, Barat-Klimesh, Heins and Austin Schlee, wrestling at 160 pounds, all won by forfeit against NFV. Holden Mathis suffered a 7-0 decision loss and Brown lost a 14-1 major decision, while Nickolai and Henkels were both pinned.

“The team wrestled well on Thursday,” said Bachman. “Four duals in one night is a little much.”

While that makes the conference portion of the schedule tough for teams, he appreciates the opportunity it provides to then compete in more non-conference meets.

“That helps the program because then you have a lot of non-conference competition against teams in your district,” Bachman explained.

After the duals, the Bulldogs had a quick turnaround for their next event, the Farr Jebens Invitational at Maquoketa Valley on Jan. 9. There, the team placed third overall with 156.5 points—just a half point behind second-place Notre Dame, Burlington. With a score of 185.5, Central DeWitt took the top spot in the 12-team field.

MFL MarMac had one tournament champion in 160-pound McGeough. Decker and Trudo finished second in their respective 138-pound and 285-pound weight classes. Barat-Klimesh placed third at 113 and Radloff third at 132, while Heins (126) and Brown (220) both came in fifth. It was a sixth-place finish for Kashton Mathis at 145 pounds and seventh for Holden Mathis (120) and Koehn (152). At 182 pounds, Nickolai came in eighth.

Bachman praised McGeough’s first-place finish, as well as the strong wrestling by Barat-Klimesh, one of the Bulldog freshmen.

“He’s really done well,” the coach said. “In one match, he was down 11-3 and came back and pinned the kid. That shows heart and guts.”

“The rest of the day had some bumps,” Bachman added, “but we still finished really well as a team, placing everyone in the top eight.”

He was pleased with the effort, considering the amount of wrestling the guys had done in a short amount of time. With a 16-man bracket at Saturday’s tournament, athletes could wrestle as many as five times. Paired with the Thursday night duals, that’s nine matches in a three-day stretch.

“That’s tough,” Bachman said, “but I think it’s something we needed. It’s good for you to have adversity and learn how to bounce back. Everything can’t be perfect when you compete.”

This week, the Bulldogs will participate in a quad at Tripoli on Thursday, Jan. 14, followed by the MFL MarMac Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 16.


Girls wrestle at two competitions

Several of MFL MarMac’s female wrestlers completed in girls events over the past week, starting with a tournament at Anamosa on Jan. 4. There, sophomore Kadence Pape took first place in Girls Division 3E, thanks to two falls, while Cortney Schroeder placed fourth in Girls Division 5A.

At the Central Invite on Jan. 9, Pape had another strong performance, coming in second in the 122-132 weight class. She finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, including two falls. Aleyna Rodriguez also wrestled well, going 1-2 with a fall to place third in the 182-195 class.

“Kadence has really had a good season,” said head coach Chet Bachman. “She’s winning 75 to 80 percent of her matches, with only a couple losses.”

“Aleyna Rodriguez is also back wrestling,” he continued. “She has wrestling savvy—she’s tough and aggressive.”

The push is on now toward the girls state competition, held Jan. 22-23. 

“It’s a short season for them,” said Bachman, “so they have to get all the battling in they can.”

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