Mustang wrestling sectional to be at Vinton
February 04, 2010 · Dan Cox

Mount Vernon traveled to Van Horne Saturday for the WaMaC Conference tournament and finished in eighth place in the 16-team meet. It's the final regular-season competition, as the Mustangs prepare for Class 2A sectionals this Saturday.

At the conference tourney, Mount Vernon was led by seniors Nelson Jerabek (119) and David Zacharkis-Jutz (145), with third-place finishes.

Senior Josh Haug (171) and junior Ryan Cox (160) finished fourth. Freshman James Wenzel (103) finished fifth. Senior Jimmy Thomsen (135) and freshman Cody Ruden (130) finished sixth.

"We didn't wrestle up to our ability," said head coach Vance Light. "We need to put it behind us and re-focus. (Sectionals) is part of a new season, and we'll just have to be ready. "

Independence won the WaMaC title with three champions and four runners-up, while second place West Delaware crowned two champions and two runners-up.

Mount Vernon came up with a pair of dual wins at Solon Thursday, Jan. 28, against Dyersville Beckman and the host team.

The Mustangs edged the Spartans 37-35, winning in the final seconds when Cody Ruden (130) pinned Jarrett Paulson with just nine seconds left in the match.

This was the third time in seven days that Ruden had come from behind and pinned his opponent in the final seconds.

Wenzel (103), Jerabek (119), Cox (160) and Dillon Lass (189) also won by fall. Thomsen (135) won by major decision, 13-1.

The Mustangs beat the Blazers 61-12 earlier in the evening, winning 12 of 14 matches.

Mount Vernon's Ruden (130), Cox (160) and Andy Bellamy (285) recorded falls.

Tyler Rawson (152) won by major decision, 16-4.

Mount Vernon travels to Vinton this Saturday for sectionals. Wrestling begins at noon.

Other teams competing will be Solon, Union Community, Waterloo Columbus, Vinton-Shellsburg and Center Point-Urbana.

First and second place winners from this sectional will advance to the district tournament at Solon, Saturday, Feb. 13. The top two district finishers advance to state.

Class 2A ranked wrestlers at Vinton sectional

119-Logan Thomsen U No. 9

140-J.J. Hanus S No. 10

152-Matt Winder MV No. 8

160-Will Hansen WC No. 3

171-Josh Haug MV No. 10

215-James Morris S No. 1

WaMaC Conference Tournament

Team Standings: 1. Independence 197; 2. West Delaware 177.5; 3. Maquoketa 174.5; 4. Western Dubuque 149; 5. Williamsburg 139.5; 6. Solon 117.5; 7. Benton Community 93.5; 8. Mount Vernon 83; 9. Waterloo Columbus 82.5; 10. Central DeWitt 73; 11. Marion 63.5; 12. Anamosa 58; 13. Dyersville Beckman 52; 14. Clear Creek Amana 49; 15. Vinton-Shellsburg 37.5; 16. Center Point-Urbana 34.

Mount Vernon vs. Dyersville-Beckman

MV 61, DB 12

DB forfeited 103, 119, 135, 140, 145

112-Hunt(DB) WBF over Jilovec 3:22; 125-Naber(DB) WBF over Ray 1:52; 130-Ruden(MV) WBF over Carton 3:16; 152-Rawson(MV) maj.dec. Mahoney 16-4; 160-Cox(MV) WBF over Jacque 0:54; 171-Haug(MV) dec. Funke 10-6; 189-Lass(MV) dec. Kendrick 6-1; 215-Davidson(MV) dec. Rahe 11-6; 285-Bellamy(MV) WBF over Goyette 2:39.

Mount Vernon vs. Solon

MV 37, SOL 35

103-Wenzel(MV) WBF over Haight 3:36; 112-Shulista(S) WBF over Jilovec 1:21; 119- Jerabek(MV) WBF over Nigg 1:22; 125- Lance(S) WBF over Ray 3:56; 130-Ruden(MV) WBF over Paulson 5:51; 135-Thomsen(MV) maj.dec. Hanselman 13-1; 140-Hanus(S) WBF over Thompson 2:57; 145-Fritz(S) dec. Zacharakis-Jutz 5-3; 152-Nigg(S) techfall Rawson 21-6; 160-Cox(MV) WBF over Reeve 0:39; 171- Haug(MV) dec. Constant 9-3; 189-Lass(MV) WBF over Constant 0:49; 215-Morris(S) WBF over Davidson 1:16; 285-Brown(S) dec. Bellamy 11-7.