Like last year's state championship dual meet between the two teams, the dual meet outcome was in doubt all the way through the last bout.
The dual meet on Tuesday night started at 126 pounds, which was right in the wheelhouse area of the lineup for No. 35 Southeast Polk. Three-time state placer Adam Brown opened the evening for the Rams with a 4-0 victory over two-time state alternate (district 3rd place finisher) Spencer Hutchinson. Consecutive second pins from Cade Devos, who is ranked No. 2 in his weight class for Class 3A by IAwrestle.com, and two-time state placer Nathan Lendt pushed the Southeast Polk lead to 15-0.
No. 37 West Des Moines Valley stopped the bleeding at 145 pounds, when state champion Grant Stotts earned an 11-3 major decision. In some ways, this was a small victory for Southeast Polk, as they send out backup Nathan Marchand.
For the next match, the Rams bumped up two-time state placer Zach Barnes to 152 pounds. The returning Junior National freestyle All-American scored a 6-2 decision over state qualifier Joel Nicholson. West Des Moines Valley countered with a 7-2 decision victory from two-time state placer Joel Shapiro at 160 pounds. The score was 18-7 in favor Southeast Polk at the intermission.
After the break, state qualifier Gavin Babcock got the Rams right back on track with a pin in 40 seconds to push the lead to 24-7. A crucial swing bout was next between a pair of excellent young wrestlers. Southeast Polk freshman Gabe Christenson came through with a 5-3 decision over Beau Lombardi at 182 pounds.
Three straight Tigers wins in the upper-weight classes shrunk their deficit down to 27-24 with three bouts remaining. It was a 24-7 technical fall by state medalist Connor Corbin at 195 pounds, followed by a 33 second pin from No. 11 Rocky Lombardi at 220, and then a pin in 1:48 from Carter Lawrence. The Michigan State quarterback recruit Lombardi is now 16-1 on the season with 14 pins, 10 of which have occurred in the first minute of the match.
Ryan Strickland stopped the bleeding for Southeast Polk with a pin at the 4:20 mark over Brendan Nielsen at 106 pounds. Countering with a pin for the Tigers at 113 was normal 106 pound starter Nick Oldham, who is a returning state runner-up; he defeated state alternate Mark Ames in 1:31.
This result cut the Southeast Polk lead to 33-30 with one bout remaining, and that would come at 120 pounds between the Rams' two-time state placer Gauge Perrien and 2015 state qualifier Noah Hughes-Reilly for the Tigers. Perrien scored a first period takedown to set the bout's tone, and the bout would end in a 5-1 decision for the home-standing Southeast Polk squad.
The teams will see each other three times during the month of January. They are in the same gym for a multi-team dual meet event at West Des Moines Valley on the 14th (not sure if they will wrestle each other), compete in the Ed Winger Invitational at Urbandale on the 21st, and then in the CIML meet on the 27th.
It should be noted that Southeast Polk also won the regular season dual meet last season, which was in mid-January. However, West Des Moines Valley came through with the 31-26 victory in the state final on the strength of a last match pin by Joel Shapiro.
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