Starting in the morning with matchups against Class 3A No. 6 Johnston and Class 2A No. 5 Webster City, the Bobcats had to fight back in the final three matchups of the day to end the weekend with a 3-2 overall record. But even in the battles against some of the best in the state, head coach Luke Cross said it was a good day in a lot of ways for MHS.

“It was a good test of our will to see how we bounce back after tough losses,” Cross said.

Johnston was a tough start for the Bobcats, losing 64-12 and picking up just two wins in the dual. The first win came from heavyweight Kunian Kuany with a pin in four minutes flat, beating Alex Flores.

Freshman Nicholas Wise had a pin against the Dragons as well at 120 pounds, taking down Markos Pelayo-Pintor in 2:56.

It was the start of a strong day for Wise, whose only defeat came in the second dual at the hands of Class 2A No. 1 Carson Doolittle after five full minutes of wrestling.

Cross said he was impressed with Wise’s craft on Saturday.

“From what I saw, he gave [Doolitte] his toughest match,” Cross said. “That’s promising. Nick’s just a freshman, so things are looking up for him. He’s improved a lot this year.”

Against Webster City, Nick Rebik picked up a strong victory at 182 pounds via 14-6 major decision against Dylan Burnette-Bingham — the start of a four-match winning streak for the senior. Damien Rodriguez had a strong match against Dawson Bertran at 113 pounds, taking an 8-0 decision. Class 3A No. 8 at 152 pounds Luke Hageman picked up his first win of the day against Jordan Vankham with an 11-3 major decision. Webster City bested the Bobcats 60-12, which dropped MHS to 0-2 on the day.

Looking to turn things around against Cedar Falls, Rebik defeated Drew Gerdes in extra time with a pin to get the Bobcats on the board early. Class 3A No. 11 Johan Gomez continued the momentum by taking a 9-6 decision against Ian Bohnenkamp at 195 pounds. Michael Navarez Correa then pinned Foster Tye at 220 pounds in 2:31.

Wise picked up a victory at 120 pounds with a 3:28 pin over Micah Wilson, and Ivan Pantoja — wrestling above his weight at 138 pounds — picked up a 10-3 decision over Eric Malaise. At 145, Xayvion Anderson earned a 10-3 decision of his own over Connor Doyle. Hageman pinned Henry Koehn in 5:04 to complete the Bobcats’ 39-24 victory.

Des Moines Roosevelt was a 60-15 victory, with five Marshalltown wrestlers (Colton Ricken, Duante Wells, Roberto Alamnza, Wise and Kuany) picking up victories via forfeit.

In the first match of the dual, Rebik eked out a very close 13-12 decision over Bode Conlan. Gomez pinned Jeremiah Cordova in 4:56, and Rodriguez took down Zane Kenney in just 1:12. Anderson earned a 4-2 decision over Eddie Fulton, and then the dual closed out with two Bobcats picking up pins — Hageman at 152 over Louden Plumb in 2:25 and Dalton Zednichek at 170 pounds over Hayden Velde, taking down his opponent in 1:33.

In the final dual of the day against North Polk, Gomez took a hard-fought 6-5 decision at 195 over Nick Plautz to start the meet off on the right foot for MHS. Three defeats and four total forfeits later, Pantoja got the Bobcats back on the winning track with a 12-8 decision at 138 over Evan Kelsick. Anderson won in sudden victory 4-2 over Cole Halupnick, followed by Ricken pinning Aidan Bracelin in 4:39. Hageman took down Brady Reinhart in 2:15 and in the final match of the day for MHS, Rebik took just 39 seconds to pin Dyllon Ireland and send the Bobcats home happy.

“We beat a tough Cedar Falls team and a tough North Polk team, which was big for us,” Cross said. “Especially after a long week of competition. We wrestled Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday right out of break. We’ve been wrestling a lot. Great response from the guys.”

— Bobcat girls defeat Johnston

At the same time as the boys’ dual between MHS and Johnston on Saturday, the Bobcat girls were taking on the Dragons and running out 36-24 victors.

There were a number of forfeits on both sides, with MHS picking up four forfeit wins and Johnston getting two.

But each of the matches that wrestled showed Bobcats assistant Jaimen Rivera the growth Marshalltown has made since the start of the season, particularly in the effort put forth.

“One thing we tell them all the time is, ‘We don’t really care if you win or lose, we just want to see you wrestle your hardest out there,'” Rivera said. “I just want to see them wrestle their hardest every time.”

Melissa Hernandez picked up a win at 235 pounds by pinning Jasmine Calderon after controlling most of the match. Kaitlyn Yepez put together a strong match at 110 pounds against Johnston’s Sydney Jackson, but late in the match one move pinned the Marshalltown wrestler.

Rivera said the Bobcats still have a lot to learn, but they’ve picked things up quickly.

“They’re definitely picking up on it and we think they’re picking it up better than a brand new boy wrestler,” Rivera said. “They’re just like sponges — soaking everything up that we’re teaching them.”

The MHS girls will wrestle next Saturday at the Bob Sharp Invite in Ankeny.

Allie Morrison Duals

Final Standings — 1. Johnston 5-0, 2. Webster City 4-1, 3. Marshalltown 3-2, 4. Cedar Falls 2-3, 5. North Polk 1-4, 6. Des Moines Roosevelt 0-5.

Round 1

Johnston 64, Marshalltown 12

North Polk 54, Des Moines Roosevelt 15

Webster City 51, Cedar Falls 15

Round 2

Webster City 60, Marshalltown 12

Cedar Falls 45, North Polk 33

Johnston 81, Des Moines Roosevelt 0

Round 3

Marshalltown 39, Cedar Falls 24

Johnston 55, North Polk 21

Webster City 84, Des Moines Roosevelt 0

Round 4

Marshalltown 60, Des Moines Roosevelt 15

Webster City 52, North Polk 18

Johnston 65, Cedar Falls 6

Round 5

Marshalltown 45, North Polk 27

Cedar Falls 60, Des Moines Roosevelt 18

Johnston 42, Webster City 33

Johnston 64, Marshalltown 12

152–Carson Brown (JHN) won by forfeit; 160–Jacob Helgeson (JHN) tech. falled Luke Hageman, 22-7; 170–Kaia Fox (JHN) pinned Dalton Zednichek, 1:18; 182–Sam Zindel (JHN) major dec. Nick Rebik, 10-2; 195–Kolby Gibbons (JHN) dec. Johan Gomez, 6-0; 220–Mason Roethler (JHN) pinned Michael Narvaez Correa, 3:34; 285–Kunian Kuany (MHS) pinned Alex Flores, 4:00; 106–Michael Dyett (JHN) won by forfeit; 113–Shandrel Thompson (JHN) major dec. Damien Rodriguez, 14-2; 120–Nicholas Wise (MHS) pinned Markos Pelayo-Pintor, 2:56; 126–Jashua Anglo (JHN) pinned Roberto Almanza, 1:52; 132–Carson Cornwell (JHN) pinned Daunte Wells, :33; 138–Nyle Beganovic (JHN) won by forfeit; 145–Braden Blackorby (JHN) pinned Xayvion Anderson, 1:44.

Webster City 60, Marshalltown 12

160–Brady Jessen (WC) pinned Zednichek, :00; 170–Austin Mason (WC) won by forfeit; 182–Rebik (MHS) major dec. Dylan Burnette-Bingham, 14-6; 195–CJ Hisler (WC) pinned Gomez, :00; 220–Jaxon Cherry (WC) pinned Narvaez Correa, :26; 285–Landon Griffin (WC) dec. Kuany, 4-0; 106–Linden Phetxoumphone (WC) won by forfeit; 113–Rodriguez (MHS) major dec. Dawson Bertran, 8-0; 120–Carson Doolittle (WC) pinned Wise, 5:00; 126–Brayden Henely (WC) pinned Almanza, 3:51; 132–Adison Scott (WC) pinned Wells, 3:58; 138–Tristan Mason (WC) pinned Pantoja, 3:01; 145–Luke Estlund (WC) dec. Anderson, 8-2; 152–Hageman (MHS) major dec. Jordan Vankham, 11-3.

Marshalltown 39, Cedar Falls 24

170–Noah Backes (CF) dec. Zednichek, 5-0; 182–Rebik (MHS) pinned Drew Gerdes, 6:54; 195–Gomez (MHS) dec. Ian Bohnenkamp, 9-6; 220–Narvaez Correa (MHS) pinned Foster Tye, 2:31; 285–Kuany (MHS) won by forfeit; 106–no match; 113–Evan Simpson (CF) dec. Rodriguez, 6-3; 120–Wise (MHS) pinned Micah Wilson, 3:28; 126–Kane Shimp (CF) pinned Almanza, 1:45; 132–Brayden Wiles (CF) pinned Wells, 1:24; 138–Pantoja (MHS) dec. Eric Malaise, 10-3; 145–Anderson (MHS) dec. Conner Doyle, 10-3; 152–Hageman (MHS) pinned Henry Koehn, 5:04; 160–Gerald Norton (CF) pinned Ricken, 3:08.

Marshalltown 60, Des Moines Roosevelt 15

182–Rebik (MHS) dec. Bode Conlan, 13-12; 195–Gomez (MHS) pinned Jeremiah Cordova, 4:56; 220–Sam Norris (DMR) dec. Narvaez Correa, 2-1; 285–Kuany (MHS) won by forfeit; 106–Jacob Hedgecock (DMR) won by forfeit; 113–Rodriguez (MHS) pinned Zane Kenney, 1:12; 120–Wise (MHS) won by forfeit; 126–Almanza (MHS) won by forfeit; 132–Wells (MHS) won by forfeit; 138–Luis Fernandez (DMR) pinned Pantoja, :49; 145–Anderson (MHS) dec. Eddie Fulton, 4-2; 152–Hageman (MHS) pinned Louden Plumb, 2:25; 160–Ricken (MHS) won by forfeit; 170–Zednichek (MHS) pinned Hayden Velde, 1:33.

Marshalltown 45, North Polk 27

195–Gomez (MHS) dec. Nick Plautz, 6-5; 220–Reece Wrage (NP) pinned Narvaez Correa, :30; 285–Tucker Anderson (NP) dec. Kuany, 3-0; 106–Charlie Boelman (NP) won by forfeit; 113–Rodriguez (MHS) won by forfeit; 120–Almanza (MHS) won by forfeit; 126–Wise (MHS) won by forfeit; 132–Luke Engebretson (NP) pinned Wells, :57; 138–Pantoja (MHS) dec. Evan Kelsick, 12-8; 145–Anderson (MHS) dec. Cole Halupnick, SV-1 4-2; 152–Ricken (MHS) pinned Aidan Bracelin, 4:39; 160–Hageman (MHS) pinned Brady Reinhart, 2:15; 170–Cohan Torres (NP) pinned Zednichek, 1:02; 182–Rebik (MHS) pinned Dyllon Ireland, :39.

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