Bulldogs cap dominant week by taking top spot at Cascade Dual Tournament
MFL MarMac junior Gabe McGeough is off to a strong start this season, winning all seven of his matches so far—six of them by fall. Here, he pinned Starmont’s Keegan McTaggart in the home dual meet Dec. 3. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Several Bulldog freshmen, including Konnor Barat-Klimesh, were big contributors in last week’s success. Barat-Klimesh earned a fall over Riceville’s Will Felper in his first match Dec. 3.
Senior heavyweight Jacob Trudo worked out of the grasp of Riceville's Mitchel Marr on his way to hard-fought pin early in the dual last Thursday night.
132-pound freshman Bryce Radloff won his first high school match by fall.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
It was a dominant first week of action for the MFL MarMac wrestling team, which won two duals in a Dec. 3 home meet, then cruised to a first-place finish in the Cascade Dual Tournament the following night.
“You couldn’t ask for a better week,” said head coach Chet Bachman. “The kids wrestled well and took care of their matches. When they won, they usually won by fall.”
With COVID-19 making every day of wrestling an uncertainty, he was even more excited.
“There’s always a what-if,” Bachman commented. “So you just push forward and hope you can get everything in.”
In the season opener last Thursday, the Bulldogs hosted Riceville and Starmont, winning by respective scores of 72-12 and 60-18.
Against Riceville, senior heavyweight Jacob Trudo scored a hard-fought pin early in the dual.
“That really kicked things off for us,” Bachman said. “It shows how important he is for our team.”
Freshmen Konnor Barat-Klimesh (113) and Bryce Radloff (132) and juniors Andrew Heins (126) and Gabe McGeough (160) also won by fall. Seven MFL MarMac wrestlers—Michael Knickerbocker (182), Tyler Zuercher (220), Koal Klenk (106), Holden Mathis (120), Karter Decker (138), Kashton Mathis (145) and Austin Nickolai (170)—all won via forfeit.
Freshman Ethan Koehn and junior Collin Henkels were pinned in their 152- and 195-pound matches.
In the final dual of the night, versus Starmont, McGeough picked up another fall, and Decker earned his first of the season. Radloff won a 6-0 decision and Kashton Mathis a 4-0 decision. Winning due to forfeit were Trudo, Klenk, Barat-Klimesh, Caleb Nordheim, Koehn, Nickolai and Heins.
Freshman Nolan Lerch was pinned in his 195-pound match and Zuercher lost by fall at 220. Knickerbocker, this time competing in the 170 weight class, was pinned as well.
At the Cascade Tournament on Dec. 4, the Bulldogs opened the night with a 67-6 victory over Edgewood-Colesburg. It was the first of five dual wins that night, including a 63-15 final over host Cascade in round two and a 63-18 finish against Starmont in round three. MFL MarMac then knocked off Washington 78-6 and Dubuque Wahlert 66-17 to place first.
McGeough and Decker had the biggest nights for the Bulldogs, both going 5-0 with four falls and one win via forfeit. Kashton Mathis won all five of his matches thanks to three falls, a 5-0 decision and a forfeit, while Koehn tallied two falls, an 11-0 major decision victory and two wins due to forfeit. Heins picked up two pins and three wins by forfeit in five contests and, Knickerbocker, in his four matches, secured three pins and one victory via forfeit. Trudo wrestled in just one match that night, winning by fall, and took the other four due to forfeit.
Although Barat-Klimesh lost his first match 12-6, he rebounded to win the final four—two by forfeit and two by fall. Radloff was also 4-1, with two falls, a 4-0 decision win and a win by forfeit; he was pinned in his second match. At 106 pounds, Klenk came out on top of a 14-10 decision, picked up a fall, then won twice via forfeit, before dropping his final match in a 9-0 major decision.
Holden Mathis and Nordheim split time at 120 pounds, with Mathis grabbing wins via fall and forfeit and losing a tight 4-2 decision. In two matches, Nordheim earned a fall and lost a 7-0 decision.
Henkels wrestled in both the 182 and 195 weight classes, coming out with a fall and a victory by forfeit; he was also pinned once. Lerch received two forfeit wins and was pinned once at 195. Zuercher had the same outcome at 220, and freshman Mason Overton had a forfeit win and lost by fall in two matches at 220. Austin Nickolai finished the night 2-3 at 170 pounds, with his victories coming by forfeit and fall.
Looking at the first week, Bachman said Klenk’s performance at 106 pounds stood out. Although a senior, this is just his second year wrestling.
“The freshmen also stick out in my mind—Tristen, Holden, Bryce, Konnor,” the coach added. “Knickerbocker is wrestling up and making 182 work for him. That’s a boost for us.”
The wrestlers are also doing well at the JV level, Bachman noted, pinpointing wins for Overton, Austin Schlee and Taylor Herzmann.
Overall, Bachman said, “it was a good way to run out of the gate, but the season is definitely a long race, and you need to pace yourself and understand there will be some ups and downs. Adversity is what’s going to make you who you are. You don’t want to just sail through. Then, at the end of the year, you’ll be ready.”
MFL MarMac will look to continue its success this week, with a dual meet at Ed-Co on Tuesday, Dec. 8. The girls will head to a tournament at Waverly-Shell Rock on Friday, Dec. 11, then Saturday, Dec. 12 is the Nashua-Plainfield Tournament.
