Audubon puts four of its five onto podium stand, senior Matt Fett finishes team-best fourth
By Drew Herron - AJ Sports Editor / Feb. 27, 2014
DES MOINES – It’s been a winter of milestones met for the Audubon Wheelers Wrestling team.
A Western Iowa Conference championship, a 20-2 dual record and the home team’s first place finish at the 2014 Audubon Wheeler Invite will all prove to be memorable for the Wheelers.
But, perhaps no other day spoke more loudly for the program than did last Saturday’s (Feb. 22) final Tournament push at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Audubon sent four individuals (all of them District champions) onward to the Tournament, and by the end of three brutal days of wrestling, four Wheelers emerged to stand on the podium and participate in the grand march.
Collectively, it was an impressive performance.
“This is probably one of our best finishes,” Audubon head coach Blane Kerkhoff said afterwards. “We got the kids on the mat here, and everybody but one brings home a medal. It was also a good learning experience for the younger guys who hadn’t medaled before…we’re already looking forward to next year.”
In the team standings, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont edged Alburnett (111-106) in the team race, though Audubon finished with 37 points, 10th best in Class 1A and a field of 80-some teams.
Individually, Matt Fett provided the team’s top finish with a fourth-place effort at 220 pounds. Fett won his first match via 2-1 decision Thursday night, and then stumbled to in his first attempt Friday. Following a major decision loss that put Fett on the backside, he then rattled off a major decision (12-2 over Waco’s Tate Van Dyne), a regular decision (5-2 over GC’s Cale Crowder) and a pin over Blake Sappingfield of Lawton-Bronson at 1:24 to storm onto the third place match.
Once there, he was beat by decision (12-7) by Clay Meinders of AGWSR. Although he didn’t win his final match, Fett finished the Tournament especially strong and earned the medal he’s coveted for so long.
“Matt had a terrific run on the backside,” coach Kerkhoff says of Fett. “Before (Saturday), he said that he’s got a family of Fetts to have reached the medal stand, and he wanted to be a part of that too. He certainly did it this year, and he had a lot of fun doing it.”
The only Wheeler to finish his day Saturday with a victory was junior Brad Kerkhoff, who finished seventh at 126 pounds. It’s the second straight medal for Kerkhoff, who coincidently faced the same opponent as last year for the seventh and eighth place match. This time, Kerkhoff turned the tables to place seventh, and Jared Coyle of Maquoketa Valley would settle for eight place, as Kerkhoff persevered to a 6-5 decision.
Kerkhoff will add the medal to a now growing collection of hardware. But for two other underclassmen, this was a new and rewarding experience. For Jake Mulford (No. 6 at 132) and Trevor Smith (No. 8 at 145), a framework for next season has been laid.
Smith’s progress in particular from last year to this has been nothing short of remarkable, says coach Kerkhoff. Last year as a sophomore, Smith competed at 145 as well. Though this winter the Wheelers are seeing a more polished, confident and technically sound individual.
“He’s come such a long way, Trevor is the most improved wrestler we’ve got,” coach Kerkhoff says of Smith. “He’s become so much tougher, both on top and the bottom, and he’s not afraid to wrestle on the mat. Now, he is more than just takedowns and neutral wrestling, Trevor is real tough all the way around. We are seeing a terrific wrestler being built there.”
For the group, the backside bracket success can largely been seen as a positive, and substantiated with a 10th place team finish. Every year, the Tournament is certain to break down a number of wrestlers, who simply fold things up after their shot at a state title is lost. That opens up opportunities for other wrestlers to make their mark as well, because wrestling on the consolation side of the bracket can be an unpredictable thing.
“It really becomes a head game once you lose that first match,” coach Kerkhoff says. “To get things built back up again and going…it can be a challenge. Our guys really came to wrestle.”
Next year, the team will look to expand upon its successes and take things a step or two further.
“We’ve got a pretty good nucleus coming back and plenty to build on for next year,” coach Kerkhoff says. “But we need to keep improving and polishing. We don’t have any state champions yet, so we need to keep working hard to head that direction.”
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