Four Panthers will aim for State during Saturday's district meet


Monticello’s district qualifiers, from left: Kain Luensman, Lake Stahlberg, Chase Luensman and Owen Ray. (Photos courtesy of Becky Stahlberg)

Spencer Avery turns his quarterfinal opponent, Maxachille Kuan of Maquoketa, on the way to a pin.
WRESTLING
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Three sectional champions and one runner-up from Monticello will advance to the Feb. 9 Class 2A district meet, as a result of the sectional tournament Saturday, Feb. 2 at Davenport Assumption.

     Three of the four are repeat district qualifiers, and all emerged Saturday as champions: Kain Luensman at 126 pounds, Chase Luensman at 145, and Lake Stahlberg at 220. Owen Ray advanced as runner-up at 113 pounds.

     In the case of Chase Luensman, a senior, his two wins made him Monticello’s all-time career wins leader, surpassing Landon Felton. Chase Luensman pinned his semifinal opponent, Ethan McCaulley of DeWitt Central, in 4 minutes, 21 seconds. He then won the title match by forfeit.

     “Breaking the all-time wins record is a huge accomplishment for Chase,” Monticello coach Ryan Luensman said. “I could write a book as to why he reached this milestone, but the bottom line is that he earned it.”

     Kain Luensman returned from an elbow injury to win a semifinal match by fall, then scored a 9-0 major decision win over Eric Kinkaid of Camanche in the finals.

     “I was really happy with Kain’s finals match, where he beat the number five-ranked wrestler from Camanche,” coach Luensman said. “That wrestler won the conference title (Jan. 26), when Kain was out. Kain stayed focused throughout the match and looked very tough.”

     Lake Stahlberg, a senior, pinned his semifinal opponent, then pulled out a 3-2 win over Seth Adrian of Davenport Assumption in the finals.

     “I was happy with how disciplined Lake wrestled throughout that finals match,” the coach said. “Lake pushed more offense, but also was poised and didn’t make mistakes.”

     Ray had a trickier road to qualifying for districts. He pinned his semifinal opponent in 40 seconds, then lost in the finals by a 13-7 decision to Robert Howard of DeWitt Central. Because Collin Wehr of Assumption won the third place match, Ray had to wrestle back against Wehr to hold the true second place spot. Ray pinned Wehr in 48 seconds to advance.

     “Owen has consistently improved throughout the year and really started to peak at the end of the season,” coach Luensman said. “Making the move down to 113 has really benefitted him. I like the direction Owen is heading.”

     Two other Panther wrestlers – Mark Sunlin at 106 and Wade Picray at 285 – finished third. Both lost in the semifinals, then won third place matches but didn’t get the chance to wrestle back for the true second spot because their semifinal opponents lost in their respective finals. Sunlin finished with a 30-8 record; Picray was 21-6.

     “Wade got caught (in the semifinals) and really didn’t have much time to react before the pin was called,” the coach said. “Mark took a tough loss in the finals to the number nine-ranked wrestler from Assumption.

     “Both of these guys wrestled very tough at the end of this season, and I was very proud of not just their wins, but their mindset and willingness to improve.”

     Spencer Avery was fourth at 170 pounds, while Bo Kramer (132) and Ty Jesenovec (138) both finished fifth.

     “Bo, Ty and Spencer all had wins,” coach Luensman said. “They didn’t get the results they wanted, but they will all work hard and be back next year bigger and better.”

     The four qualifiers will compete at the district meet Saturday, Feb. 9 at DeWitt Central, starting at noon. The top two in each class will advance to the Feb. 14-16 state tournament.

     Kain Luensman will enter districts with a 37-0 record, Chase Luensman is 37-1, Stahlberg 37-2, and Ray 30-16.

     “Our goal is to get four guys through (to State),” coach Luensman said. “We don’t fear anyone and we don’t take anyone for granted. These boys will be ready to battle. It should be a fun day.”

 

Feb. 2

Class 2A Sectional Meet

(at Dav. Assumption)

TEAM SCORES

(top two teams advance to regional duals)

     1, Davenport Assumption 241; 2, Camanche 181.5; 3, DeWitt Central 159.5; 4, Monticello 142; 5, Anamosa 133.5; 6, Maquoketa 133.

MONTICELLO RESULTS

(top two individuals at each weight class advance to districts)

     106 – Mark Sunlin (third place) received a bye; lost by tech. fall to Ethan Forker, DA, 4:55, 15-0; pinned Jaxon Bussa, CAM, 1:39.

     113 – Owen Ray (runner-up) received a bye; pinned Jack Wruck, CAM, 0:40; lost to Robert Howard, DC, 13-7; pinned Collin Wehr, DA, 0:48.

     126 – Kain Luensman (champion) received a bye; pinned Cael Grell, DC, 1:35; won by major dec. over Eric Kinkaid, CAM, 9-0.

     132 – Bo Kramer (fifth) was pinned by Haiden Smith, A, 1:37; received a bye; pinned Dane Durkop, MAQ, 3:39.

     138 – Ty Jesenovec (fifth) lost to Jason Huling, CAM, 8-2; received a bye; dec. Mason Springer, MAQ, 5-4.

     145 – Chase Luensman (champion) received a bye; pinned Ethan McCaulley, DC, 4:21; won by forfeit over Adam Laubenthal, DA.

     170 – Spencer Avery (fourth) pinned Maxachille Kuan, MAQ, 1:31; was pinned by Eric Campie, CAM, 1:21; was pinned by Mason Brown, ANA, 1:25.

     220 – Lake Stahlberg (champion) received a bye; pinned Cameron Lee, DC, 1:28; won by ultimate tie-breaker over Seth Adrian, DA, 3-2.

     285 – Wade Picray (third) received a bye; was pinned by Connor Andresen, ANA, 1:50; pinned Cole Miller, DC, 2:59.

     

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