West Branch took third place in the Cedar Valley Conference Tournament Saturday in Durant when Durant-Bennett edged them out by two points.


Head Coach Marc Juergens said that D-B “wanted it more than we did.”

“We came out and performed, but didn’t really have the fire we have had earlier in the season,” he said.

West Liberty came out on top with 209.5 points, followed by D-B with 187 and West Branch with 185. Wilton took fourth with 170, Regina was fifth with 123, North Cedar was sixth with 120, Mid-Prairie was seventh with 95 and Tipton finished eighth with 89.

The Bears finished with three wrestlers winning championship rounds in their weight classes. The team also had three wrestlers finish second, two finish third, one finish fourth and one finish sixth.

Younger wrestlers contributed to the placement, with freshman Will Seydel finishing second in 103 pounds, freshman Cade Jones finishing third in 171 pounds, sophomore Derrick Miller finishing second in 189 pounds and sophomore Jake Slocum finishing first in 140 pounds.

“All of our young wrestlers are really performing well,” Juergens said.

Senior heavyweight Mitch Slocum had a rematch with West Liberty’s Ivan Sagastume that, like last time, went into overtime and was decided by a 2-1 finish. Sagastume won, and Slocum finished third.

“It was again a tough match for Mitch,” the coach said. “Mitch actually made some shot attempts, but he just was not able to finish them.”

Heading into the sectional tournament this weekend, Juergens said that, clearly, “every match is important.”

“Our team has to come out and wrestle tough, bottom line,” he said. “There are going to be a lot of tough matches Saturday, but I feel our team will be ready to battle.”

Results: 103 — 2. Will Seydel; 112 — 4. Tyler Oswald; 135 — 2. Matt Smith; 140 — 1. Jake Slocum; 145 — 1. Rilen Carew; 152 — 6. Jake Rozinek; 160 — 1. Jayson Madsen; 171 — 3. Cade Jones; 189 — 2. Derrick Miller; HWT — 3. Mitch Slocum



Jan. 28

West Branch 42, Anamosa 30: Results, with West Branch wrestlers listed first: 103 — Will Seydel pinned Ben Wheeler; 112 — Tyler Oswald pinned Jacob Geltz; 119 — Bears forfeit to Skyler Kraft; 125 — Drake Martens falls to Jason Bowers; 130 — Bears forfeit to Dan Bieber; 135 — Matt Smith beats Ryan Dolan 7-4; 140 — Sid Thompson pinned D. Alderayce; 145 — Jake Slocum loses to Loren Hewitt 6-4; 152 — Rilen Carew loses to Jesse Hansen 5-4; 160 — Jake Rozinek falls to Mitch Hewitt; 171 — Jayson Madsen wins by forfeit; 189 — Cade Jones pinned Justin Walker; 215 — Derrick Miller beats Jeremy Oswald 14-8; HWT — Mitch Slocum wins by forfeit.



West Branch 26, Benton Community 45: Results: 103 — Will Seydel falls to Eddie Fry; 112 — Tyler Oswald falls to Sheldon Hanson; 119 — Bears forfeit to Jeremy Cassill; 125 — Drake Martens falls to Tyler Long; 130 — Bears forfeit to Jake Krock; 135 — Matt Smith beats Justin Shinkle 10-1; 140 — Sid Thompson beats Jacob Kimm 10-2; 145 — Jake Slocum beats opponent 6-0; 152 — Michael Madsen falls to Chase Skonerzko; 160 — Jake Rozinek falls to Jeff Toney; 171 — Jayson Madsen falls to Daniel Shinkle; 189 — Cade Jones loses to Devon Landell 7-2; 215 — Derrick Miller beats Cody Huber 3-2; HWT — Mitch Slocum pinned Alex Wallace.



IF YOU GO

West Branch will advance to the Sectional Tournament Saturday, Feb. 6, at Midland. The top teams and top individuals there will then head back to Durant Saturday, Feb. 13, for the District Tournament.