MARION —
When your three best wrestlers are at weights where the opponent has No. 1-ranked wrestlers in the state, you know your chances of team success are diminished.
That’s what Clinton faced in the Iowa Class 3A regional dual team competition Wednesday night. Despite winning one of those three matches, the River Kings suffered a 48-12 loss to host Marion Linn-Mar.
“Going into it, we knew we were going against one of the toughest teams in the state,” Clinton coach J.D. Lueders said. “It’s a big accomplishment (reaching the regional final). We knew we wouldn’t match up well.”
The River Kings made things interesting early, starting with a meet-opening pin from 285-pounder Jake Oldaker. Linn-Mar won the next two matches, then Clinton’s Hunter Genco pulled off a huge win at 120 pounds.
Genco, ranked fifth in the state by thepredicament.com, defeated top-ranked Alijah Jeffery 6-4 to pull the River Kings within 10-9 in the dual.
Jeffery had beaten Genco each of the four times they had wrestled each other the past two seasons, with Genco scoring three points each time. One of the wins this year was by a 13-3 score and the other was 9-3 in the semifinals of the Bob Lueders Invitational.
“Genco kind of took Jeffery out of the match,” J.D. Lueders said. “Hunter came right out at him. He took him out of his rhythm. He wrestled totally different.
“It’s tough to beat someone three or four straight. It can send a message. I think this kid has to be concerned with Hunter at state. It was worth the risk (of the possibility of a fifth straight loss).”
After Genco’s victory, Linn-Mar pulled away by winning the next six matches, including three by pin. Two of the wins featured No. 1-ranked Lions against third-ranked River Kings.
At 145, Linn-Mar’s Joel Northrup used an early five-point move to get started toward a 12-1 win against Alex Caldwell, and at 152, Ross Lembeck beat Dustin Caldwell 5-3.
“Alex got caught in a weird predicament and was down quick,” Lueders said. “Later, the referee said because he called a takedown he had to give back points, but he just as easily could have given it a stalemate.”
It was Northrup’s third victory against Caldwell this season. The others were by 5-4 and 5-2 scores.
Dustin Caldwell and Lembeck had not faced off this season.
Linn-Mar’s string of wins was capped Dakota Digmann, who was trailing 3-2, got a headlock on seventh-ranked Dillion Chase and pinned him.
Nick Hatheway ended the skid for Clinton with a 4-2 win at 170, then Linn-Mar won the final three matches. At 195, Sam Nowak avenged an earlier loss by beating Clinton’s Justin Guilliams 8-4. In the final match, fifth-ranked Justin Green needed overtime to defeat Clinton’s Rafael Ramirez 4-2.
LINN-MAR 48, CLINTON 12
285 — Jake Oldaker (C) pinned Ben Overdyk 1:24; 106 — Noah Ajram (LM) m. dec. Amani Larson 11-0; 113 — Matt Wempen (LM) pinned Craig Harlock :31; 120 — Hunter Genco (C) dec. Alijah Jeffery 6-4; 126 — Damon Griffin (LM) dec. Curtis Ilg 8-1; 132 — Toby Northrup (LM) pinned Riley Chapman 3:08; 138 — Shea Hartzler (LM) pinned Mike Peters 1:04; 145 — Joel Northrup (LM) m. dec. Alex Caldwell 12-1; 152 — Ross Lembeck (LM) dec. Dustin Caldwell 5-3; 160 — Dakota Digmann (LM) pinned Dillion Chase 2:46; 170 — Nick Hatheway (C) dec. Luke Wempen 4-2; 182 — Andrew Holladay (LM) m. dec. Josiah Molina 13-5; 195 — Sam Nowak (LM) dec. Justin Guilliams 8-4; 220 — Justin Green (LM) dec. Rafael Ramirez 4-2 ot.
Top News
February 7, 2013
Kings ousted on mat
- Top News
-
- Some not wild about hogs CLINTON -- No decision has been made on a proposal for a hog confinement operation in rural Clinton County. This facility would be located approximately 7 miles southeast of Elwood and 5 to 6 miles northwest of Welton. The Clinton County Board of Sup
- Ex-Iowa teacher receives prison for sexual contact ALLISON -- A former math teacher at a rural Iowa high school headed to prison Monday after a judge sentenced her to up to five years for engaging in sex acts with three male students. Ashley Nicole Anderson's sentence was shorter than the term of up
-
Prospect Avenue questions to be answered
CLINTON — The city of Clinton will host a public meeting regarding Prospect Avenue construction Wednesday at Clinton City Hall. The public information meeting will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in City Council chambers at Clinton City Hall. The
-
Facebook's organ donor status sends registrations soaring
Facebook's addition of a way for its users to tell people their organ-donor status helped boost the number of people who registered as donors 21-fold in one day.
-
Queens nearly nip Wildcats
CLINTON -- In every conceivable way, there was seemingly no chance Clinton would bounce back from a 12-0 opening loss to Davenport North in Mondya's doubleheader. The first game lasted less than an hour; the Wildcats cranked two home runs in one inni
-
Caught on tape: Fla. teacher accused of beating autistic child
A surveillance video shows David Baier, a former special needs teacher in Davie, Fla., picking up a 12-year-old autistic student by his hair and then pushing him to the floor.
-
New goal: Make processed foods look more natural
NEW YORK -- Here's the latest goal for food makers: Perfect the art of imperfection. When stretching out the dough for its premium "Artisan Pizzas," Domino's workers are instructed not to worry about making the rectangles too perfect: The pies are su
- Union Pacific routes money back into community CLINTON -- Five Clinton-area non-profit organizations were awarded grants from the Union Pacific Foundation on Monday. Big Brother Big Sisters, the Friends of the Clinton Public Library, Mercy Medical Center, the River City Municipal Band and the Un
- Putting a healthy spin on the popular fish taco Mexican cuisine has been popular for a long time, but my recent travels around our country have persuaded me that fish tacos are big now in a way they never were before. Naturally, perhaps, they are easiest to find in regions with a strong Hispanic i
-
5 L'Kings gearing up for Dayton
CLINTON -- With the Midwest League All Star Game finally here, Clinton will be well represented. Five LumberKing standouts made the 2013 squad: outfielders Dario Pizzano and Jabari Henry, catcher Tyler Marlette and pitchers Dylan Unsworth and Tyler P
- More Top News Headlines
