Spartans’ pair each medals third at State Tournament
By Drew Herron - AJ Sports Editor / Feb. 24, 2014
DES MOINES – The script did not play out just exactly as the Spartan Wrestling program had once been hoping for.
But once Friday night’s semifinal disappointment was flushed from the system and the boys came back to Wells Fargo Arena Saturday, they showed they were more than ready to wrestle…these Spartans were hungry to finish.
Exira-EHK’s top two wrapped up the Tournament with a bit of clout and a pair of third-place medals to again stake the Spartans’ mark on Iowa’s wrestling landscape.
Again, the Spartans have hardware winners with Evan Hansen and Trey Sander, both repeat medalists from last February. Both wrestlers finished third with a 2-0 run through Saturday’s consolation bracket.
“We left here (Friday) night with our heads hanging, nobody talked on the way back to the hotel and everybody just went to bed,” says Spartans coach Rick Andersen. “And walking out of here now (Saturday), with both Evan and Trey winning their final matches to finish third…that was just an awesome finish for the year.”
Both Spartans went 4-1 on the tournament, and both of them dropped out of the front side of the bracket within minutes of each other in Friday night’s late session.
Hansen was not his usual self during his semifinal match against Adam Hawkins of BGM, Brooklyn. Hawkins was ranked No. 2 in the latest set of ratings released by The Predicament, and that’s where he finished on the podium Saturday after falling eventually to Luke Huber of Hudson. Hansen fell behind in the second period of his semifinals match against Hawkins, and wasn’t able to mount much offense in a 6-0 loss by decision.
Sander was almost as flat late Friday evening when he ran into eventual champ Tyler Hoffman of East Buchanan in the semifinal round. Hoffman defeated Sander by 10-4 decision en route to picking up gold with an 8-4 decision over Chris Brincks of South Winneshiek in the final.
On Saturday at the Well, Sander was plugged into the consolation semifinal, where he first picked up a tidy 3-0 decision. Then, Sander earned a most interesting matchup for third when Tri-Center’s Ben Wellman picked up a win by fall in the other semi. The No. 2 and the No. 3 ranked individuals would not meet for the championship, but for third place, and a third meeting between the two in the past six weeks.
Wellman took the first two matches by decision, both by 4-3 final. First on Jan. (18) at the Griswold Dual Tournament, and again during the previous Saturday’s (Feb. 15) 1A Sectional Tournament in Underwood.
On the mats in Wells Fargo Arena, Sander went on the offensive early, and border-line dominated Wellman in a 5-2 decision.
“Third time is a charm’s I guess,” coach Andersen says. “Trey said this was his last match, and he’s just going to go out there and lay it all on the line…see what happens.”
Sander scored a very important first period take down, an especially important head start on Wellman, who is known as an exceptionally tough defensive wrestler once he has any kind of slim lead. Before the match, the coaching staff pounded into Sander the importance of not allowing an early takedown to Wellman.
And to score a takedown and some points of his own helped open the door for Sander to do something he hadn’t done in two previous meetings against the No. 2-ranked guy at 195. He came out on the right end of a decision.
“That really set the stage” coach Andersen says of Sander scoring the early points.
“And then Trey did a very good job from there on the attack and defending himself. He was always on the attack and it seemed like Wellman was always on his heels a little. It was a great match for Trey to finish his career with.”
Though it was an especially sweet finish for Sander, who was able to go from disappointment into triumph in about 14 hours, Hansen’s Saturday had a different vibe.
A State champion last year at 145 pounds, Hansen jumped four weight classes to 182 as a junior, where he entered the Tournament unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the state.
Many expected Hansen to win another championship (not really a repeat when you go up four weight classes), though Hansen this time would wear down against heavier bodies as the Tournament went along.
“He’s wrestling probably 10 pounds lighter than everybody else in that bracket,” coach Andersen says. “And the State Tournament wears on you and takes its toll physically. That (quarterfinal) match took a lot out of him, and in the semifinal match, it just wasn’t quite him wrestling out there.”
Hansen stormed back Saturday on grit despite battling a high-ankle sprain suffered the night before. It inhibited Hansen’s offense, and limited his shots. Moreover, a jarred shoulder suffered during the quarterfinal victory continued to affect him as well, says coach Andersen.
On Saturday, Hansen’s heart was enough to carry him through.
“Evan’s a hard-nosed kid, he’s not going to lie down,” coach Andersen says.
Andersen expects Hansen will add the third place medal to the gold one from a year ago, and go about his work to get back to the top.
“It’s a challenge, you see it over and over,” coach Andersen says. “There are a lot of (last year’s) champions who come back for a second (title) and it’s tough to get it. Now we’ve got a little bit of motivation and Evan is going to come back hungry next year. He’s going to come back at it hard.”
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