Evan Hansen and Trey Sander breeze through their brackets relatively unchallenged
By Drew Herron - AJ Sports Editor / Feb. 11, 2014
AUDUBON – The Spartans’ roster was trimmed down to two
individuals after Saturday’s Class 1A Sectional Tournament.
But those who are advancing did so remarkably.
Exira-EHK junior Evan Hansen rode a technical fall and two
pins onward to a Sectional championship at 182 pounds, and senior Trey Sander
used a bye and two pins as well to lock up the 195 weight class.
Both are State medal winners from a year ago, and appear to
be right on track towards picking up where they left off.
“Evan’s pretty well focused, and he wrestled as well as he ever
has been,” Spartans coach Rick Andersen said afterwards. “Same thing for Trey,
he started with a little tweak in his back, but shook that off and went out and
got some pins.”
Hansen, last year’s 1A State Champion at 145 pounds, remains
the top-ranked individual at 182 pounds this season as he’s accumulated a 51-0
record with 24 pins.
Sander placed third at State last February at 195 pounds,
and boasts a 41-1 record, currently ranked No. 3 in Class 1A at 195.
The Spartans coaching staff was hoping to push through to
Districts another individual or two, but it just wasn’t in the cards Saturday.
Sophomore 220-pounder Lane Ring was one of those on the
fringe, though a loss in the semifinal round, and a subsequent loss on the
backside of the bracket dimmed his chances of breaking through.
With a 32-19 record, Ring saw steady progress throughout the
season, and might very well be the Spartans most improved wrestler. But he’s
going to have to wait another year for his chance of competing at Wells Fargo
Arena.
“I’m a little disappointed for Lane, he had a good season,
but he just had a bad day, and that happens,” coach Andersen says. “But he’s
just a sophomore, and he’s going to be back.”
At 106 pounds, freshman Tyson Partridge moved down a class
from his usual weight, and started the tournament well with a 16-8 major
decision over Ben Christensen of East Mills. However, he ran into eventual
champion and No. 9-ranked Tatem Bluml in the next round, and fell via 10-2 major
decision. In the consolation bracket, he dropped his next match as well,
effectively ending his hopes of breaking through to state as a freshman despite
a 31-14 record.
“It’s tough sometimes for a freshman to get their head
wrapped around what it is they need to take care of at a Sectional Tournament,”
coach Andersen says. “Sometimes, it gets to be a little bit bigger than what
they expected.
“Tyson will be back…he had over 30 wins this season, and
anytime you can do that as a freshman, it’s a pretty darn good season.”
For Partridge and the other underclassmen competing
Saturday, coach Andersen and the staff is counting on this being a learning
experience.
Cole Bruns ended his day with a win by fall in the fifth
place match at 138, hopefully giving him a jolt of confidence heading into the
offseason, and coach Andersen says freshman Cody Kommes gained valuable
experience despite being young and undersized at heavyweight.
“Those guys need to learn from this and move on, and start
getting prepared for next season,” coach Andersen says. “I’m looking forward to
those underclassmen coming back. They’re going to be alright.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s 1A District at Underwood, things
are expected to get a little more difficult for Hansen and Sander, though it’s
nothing they can’t handle if they are healthy and wrestling at the level they
are capable of.
Hansen will likely eventually face Westwood Sloan’s Jacob
Becker, the champion at 182 coming out of the West Monona Sectional. Becker is
the No. 5-ranked individual in the weight class and his run through Sectional
Saturday was even more impressive than Hansen’s with three first-period pins.
In a previous meeting this season, Hansen won with a 6-5 decision.
Sander might get a shot at avenging his only loss this
season, which came to Tri-Center’s Ben Wellman, who comes in at 39-0. Wellman
also used first-period pins to seize the Sectional title at 195 in West Monona.
Wellman is ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, and Sander is ranked
No. 3.
“You’ve got two of the top three kids in the state in one
district, so win or lose, I think both wrestlers will (eventually) do well at
State,” coach Andersen says of the 195 weight class.
“Hopefully, we get prepared and motivated for this next
step.”
#exira-ehk #iowaprepwrestling
No comments:
Post a Comment