Evan Hansen and Trey Sander crowned champs, Exira-EHK takes fourth as a team in 11-team field
By Drew Herron - AJ Sports Editor / Feb. 5, 2014
AUDUBON – Exira-EHK had a strong showing at the Audubon Invite last Saturday to head into the 1A Sectional competing at as high a level as the Spartans have seen all season.
The Spartans’ top pair of Evan Hansen (182) and Trey Sander (195) worked their way to championships in their weight classes, and sophomore Lane Ring finished as runner-up to lead what turned out to be a strong team effort.
By the end of the day Saturday, the Spartans had steadily climbed the ladder in the point standings, ultimately placing fourth by rising to the top of tight-knit second pack.
Exira-EHK finished with 86 points, two ahead of fifth-place Woodbine (84), three ahead of Missouri Valley (83) and four ahead of AHST (82), who fell to seventh place.
Audubon took first place with 195.5 points, edging Logan-Magnolia (182.5) in what turned out to be a two-team race at the top.
“Our goal coming in here was to take fifth place, and we finished fourth,” Exira-EHK head coach Rick Andersen says of his team. “We’d been chasing AHST and Missouri Valley all day before we passed them in the finals. I’m real pleased with the effort.”
Leading the individual efforts again was Hansen and Sander, who continue to impress.
Hansen used two pins to reach the finals, then finished off Zach Barton of Southwest Valley by decision 10-5. It was the second time this season the two squared off, with Hansen taking the first meeting via a 3-2 decision.
This time around, Hansen took a different approach, and held the upper hand for all six minutes.
“Evan wanted to open things up and start scoring points,” coach Andersen says. “He accomplished that pretty well.”
At 195, Sander faced an athletic opponent in Jacob Brandt from Mo Valley in the finals, and the Spartan cleaned house with a flood of takedowns en route to a 16-2 major decision.
Andersen says Sander continues to refine his technical abilities in practice, especially his footwork. It’s made for a more complete wrestler at 195 pounds.
“Trey’s worked hard on that, and its’ really starting to show in his takedowns,” coach Andersen says. “He’s always been strong in the top position, but he’s been trying to improve in other areas and get better on his feet. Trey’s done a fine job with that.”
Sander racked up the points and had Brandt on the edge of a technical fall (match called after lead by 15 points) at 16-2 in the final moments. Sander could have perhaps let Brandt up and taken him down again to notch the tech fall and the five points for the team instead of four earned through a major decision.
No worries, says coach Andersen, as Sander worked for the pin until the final horn.
“He’s a tough (opponent) to pin, and maybe Trey could have let him up one more time and taken him down for a tech fall,” he says. “But we did alright.”
Sander has moved his record to 36-1 on the season, and is ranked No. 4 in Class 1A at his weight according to the latest ratings released by The Predicament. Hansen, last year’s state champion at 145 pounds, remains top-ranked at 182 this year and boasts an unblemished 45-0 record.
At 220 pounds, sophomore Lane Ring finished as runner-up Saturday in Audubon, and is now 29-16 on the season.
Ring used a big semifinal victory over Jacob Stueve of Logan-Magnolia to reach the finals. It was a noteworthy feat for the sophomore, who turned the tables on his opponent after losing by fall in a previous match earlier this season. Saturday in Audubon, Ring pinned Stueve at 4:33 to push three Spartans onto the championship mat.
Ring eventually lost by fall against Audubon senior Matt Fett.
“Lane just keeps impressing me,” coach Andersen says of Ring. “To come here and pin (Stueve) after getting pinned by him earlier…it really shows how much he has improved throughout the season. That’s not the first kid he has done that to.”
Freshman Tyson Partridge moved down a class to compete at 106 for the first time this season. Partridge performed well Saturday before he suffered an injury (back spasm) at the start of his match for third and fourth place, and had to default against AHST’s Joel Becerra.
Despite the finish, Saturday marked a good step forward for the Spartans’ frosh who is now 29-10.
“I think he’s proved he can compete in that field,” coach Andersen says of Partridge. “Those are the kids who are going to go to state, and one of them might be him. If he can come back and wrestle strong in the next couple weeks, he can definitely be a state contender.”
The Spartans now shift their focus to Sectional Saturday (Feb. 8) back in Audubon. Six of the seven teams set to compete at the 1A site were at the Audubon Wheelers Invite, serving as a bit of a rehearsal before the pressures of beginning the road to Wells Fargo Arena.
Sander and Hansen ought to be considered locks to move on through the sectionals, and Lane Ring is a strong contender at 220 for the Spartans. Andersen is hoping some others might step up and break through to Districts as well.
In this final full week of practice leading up, the Spartans will continue to do what they always do in the wrestling room, with an emphasis on conditioning.
“It’s conditioning that is going to win you the close matches,” coach Andersen says. “We stress conditioning strongly, and that’s how we win. We can’t let up at this point.”
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