×

Hawks can’t make up forfeits, fall to Gilbert

GILBERT – Dan Brodie and his wrestlers can only control so much in a dual-meet setting.

They can control the effort. They even have some control over the matches. What they can’t control is the lack of numbers on the roster.

South Hamilton won five of the eight matches against Gilbert last night, but five open weights were way too much to overcome for the Hawks, as they dropped the Heart of Iowa Conference dual to the Tigers, 47-26.

Gilbert won six of the first seven weights from 145 through 220 pounds, three of those by way of forfeit, and was never in any jeopardy of being overtaken on the scoreboard. South Hamilton made some headway late with victories at four of the final five weights to close the gap.

South Hamilton owned a 46-35 edge in match points, keyed by the late run that started with Keaton Hetland’s 4-1 decision over Stephen Shuka at 113. Charlie Reiter (126) followed two matches later with a late flurry to rock Brock Harris, 8-2. Brian Greenfield (132) followed with his own 4-1 victory over Jake Larimore, and second-ranked (Class 1A) JD Rader (138) closed it out with a workmanlike technical fall thumping of Matthew Shuka, 17-2.

“I thought our older kids – our juniors and seniors – wrestled really well and really hard,” Brodie said about Reiter, Greenfield, Rader and also heavyweight Zach Lutter, who secured the team’s lone fall. “Those guys wrestled really hard and had some nice matches.”

Brodie was particularly enthused by Reiter’s come-from-behind win. Trailing 2-0 after one period, he worked himself back into contention after two periods and then turned Harris twice for five near-fall points in the third.

“That’s the most complete match I’ve seen him wrestle since he’s been here,” Brodie said of Reiter. “He’s starting to do some nice things right now.”

Luke Peters (152) earned the Hawks’ first win of the dual via forfeit, but then they waited until Lutter six weights later to add to their total.

Lutter hit a suicide cradle on Eli Harris – not your normal move for a heavyweight – for three near-fall points, and then turned him again for the fall in 1:09.

“He’s very athletic,” Brodie said of Lutter. “He did some great stuff out there.”

Rader’s four-takedown clinic included nine first-period near-fall points with tilts. He improved to 10-0 on the season and 124-14 in his career. He’s just four wins behind Dustin Rholl for No. 2 on South Hamilton’s all-time wins list and seven away from leader Heath Johnson.

South Hamilton will compete again on Saturday at the Jim Kinyon Norsemen Invite in Story City.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $3.46/week.

Subscribe Today