Burt Johnson fights off his opponent’s single leg. Johnson finished on the podium in third place.
Filling a large gap in their schedule before the District competition, the Lynnville-Sully wrestling team hauled over two hours to Rockford in northern Iowa to participate in the Iowa Star Conference Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 8. This large trip was matched with large results as five out of L-S’s six wrestlers finished on the podium. Four of the Hawks secured the top champions spot in their weight class. As a team, the Hawks claimed third place with their six mighty grapplers earning 122.5 points behind Riceville (168.5) and Maquoketa Valley (142.5). Round robin brackets allowed for a lot of time on the mat. The Hawks recorded 19 pins on the day.
Freshman Jett Kramer reigned atop the 113-pound weight class. He started his victory with a pin over Dalton Brinkman of Janesville in one minute flat. He received a bye in the second round, then pinned Chase Morris of North Tama in 45 seconds in the third round. Two more pins over Moravia and North Tama took him to the top.
At 126 pounds, sophomore Kimball Elliott was the gold medal winner. He earned three pins, starting in the quarterfinals over Gauge Tenborg of Janesville in 2:14. He pinned Garrett Bruner of BCLUW-SH in the semifinals in 2:41, and was able to pull out another pin over Henry Schroeder of Riceville in 1:44 to clinch his victory.
Junior Matthew Mintle, a 132 pounder, logged five pins all the way to the top of his bracket and was able to stand as the gold medal winner of the division. He began with a pin over Paker Pagel of BCLUW-SH in only 49 seconds. Next, he faced Derek Rominger of Baxter and recorded another pin in 1:32. Aiden Kelley of Moravia was his next opponent, whom he leveled in 2:52. In round four, Mintle pinned Asher Ebert of Riceville in 1:02. The junior claimed victory after pinning Berkley Dvorak of North Tama in 39 seconds.
Junior Burt Johnson had a rough start in the 138-pound class after falling to Chance Christensen of Riceville. The loss was followed by a bye, then he earned a pin in the third round over Conner Teckenberg of BCLUW-SH in 1:03. In round four, Johnson fell to Jack Anderson of Baxter but was able to overtake Jayden Hatfield of Moravia in 41 seconds to seal third place and a place on the podium.
At 165 pounds, junior Wyatt Mathis started his day with a loss to a BCLUW-SH wrestler. He fought back with a pin over Matthew Pridgen of Riceville in 1:05 in the consolation round. In the semifinals of the consolation bracket, Mathis fell to another Riceville wrestler. In the fifth-place match, Mathis pinned Mason Messamaker of Moravia in just 53 seconds.
Junior Ben Squires secured first place at 285 pounds after recording four pins and a tech fall. He first pinned Jack Dwyer of Rockford in 2:50, followed by a win over BCLUW-SH in 51 seconds. Squires collected more team points with a tech fall 16-0 in four minutes over Moravia. He pinned Chase Krogman of Maquoketa Valley in 28 seconds but fell to Janesville in his final round. He still had enough round wins to secure his victory.
“It was a great day of wrestling today, and the Hawks looked sharp! We will work hard this week to get us ready for Districts next week. We’ll only be a short distance away in Colfax so let’s PACK the gym with Hawk fans,” said head coach Cayden Johnson.
The Hawks wrestle for a chance to advance to State in District 1 at Colfax-Mingo on Saturday, Feb. 15. Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. Tickets are $8 and must be purchased online at HomeTown Ticketing. The top two place-winners at each weight advance to the 2025 IHSAA State Tournament.
