By Drew Herron - AJ/NT Sports / Jan. 10, 2014
ELK HORN – The Spartans picked up a dual victory in one of three chances Thursday night to build a head of steam and drive them confidently into this weekend’s Coon Rapids-Bayard Invitational.
All four teams at the quad had lineups (Exira-EHK, AHST, Griswold and Guthrie Center) that were saddled with open weight classes, and that cross over in the dual matches made for a lot of forfeitures.
But in regards to what Exira-EHK and coach Rick Andersen did concern themselves with Thursday night, the Spartans took steps forward at key weight classes.
“We wrestled really well, we just gave away to many points in forfeits,” EEHK head coach Rick Andersen said afterwards.
Exira-EHK edged Griswold head-to-head 38-36 in the nightcap, but fell to Guthrie Center as a team 42-31 in a dual with eight open weight classes. The previous dual with AHST went 36-33 in the Vikings’ favor in a bout with nine uncontested weights.
It was senior night in Elk Horn, and the lone senior wrestler Trey Sander showed up in top form. The third place medal winner from a year ago jumped up a weight class to fit in a match at 220, and picked up other wins via forfeit. Sander is currently the No. 2-ranked individual at Class 1A 195 pounds. In his only test of the night, Sander faced Guthrie Center junior 220-pounder Cale Crowder, ranked No. 10 in his class.
Sander dominated the bigger opponent and aggressively worked his way to a 12-2 major decision that pushes his perfect record to 15-0.
“Trey wanted to go up a weight class because he wanted a challenge,” coach Andersen says. “Against a ranked opponent, he really took it to him.”
At 182, the Spartans’ top-ranked individual in the state Evan Hansen continues to pick up victories (22-0), and also faced a tough opponent from Guthrie Center. In respect to the entire quad meet, 182 between Exira-EHK and Guthrie Center had to be the high point of the evening in a match that pitted Hansen against GC’s Austin Laabs, ranked No. 6 in the state.
Laabs wrestled Hansen cautiously, and kept a lid on his offense in hoping the more-polished Hansen might perhaps grow impatient and expose himself to a mistake. However, Laabs never mounted a serious threat, save for a reversal that compromised Hansen no more than a second-and-a-half. After losing his grip on the match for a brief moment, Hansen righted the ship and finished strong as he wrestled smart in the third period on his way to a 7-2 decision. It was the third time Hansen has beaten Laabs head-to-head in varsity action.
“He slowed the match down on Evan,” coach Andersen says. “A lot more than we would have liked to, but the important this is Evan finished with the win.”
Sophomore Austin Malloy joined Hansen and Sander with triple wins on the night after earning a 6-5 decision in an exciting match against Griswold’s Hadley Ogg at 120. The lead went both ways before Malloy finished on top at the end of six minutes.
The Spartans will face a short turnaround now as Saturday is scheduled to bring the squad to the 11-team Coon Rapids-Bayard Invitational Tournament. Neighborhood rival Audubon will be there, as will some other top figures in small-school west central Iowa wrestling.
Generally it’s a pretty competitive meet, and a measuring stick as the team transitions back into full swing after the Christmas Break. That’s the way this group of Spartans is approaching it.
“I know both Evan and Trey are going to face some top-tier talent in Coon Rapids, and that’s good,” coach Andersen says. “Hopefully those matches happen because its good have those kinds of tests worked in at this point of the year.”
“All-in-all, there is going to be some good competition there. We are going to see some teams there we’ve seen before, and we are going to see some new ones. We’re looking forward to all of it.”
#iowaprepwrestling #exira-ehk
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