Big East/LCC tournament

Saturday we hosted the Big East/LCC conference wrestling tournament.  Howard won the tournament with 212 points followed by Garretson with 156 pts. and Flandreau with 153.5 points.  Our day started off with a great round; however, it didn't continue that way.  I kind of felt like our day was a bit of a roller coaster.  We had some great performances throughout the day, but we also had matches with mental lapses that hurt our opportunities.  With our district tournament coming up this week, our team needs to find the mental edge they had in mid-January.  Most of what we are doing wrong right now can be attributed to our focus on doing the right things.  We know what the right thing to do is.  We just aren't doing them at times.  I think the tournament provided us with one more good glimpse of what we need to improve on for next week.  The boys have been working extremely hard in practice, and I feel they are ready to step it up at districts.  Cody Bonte and Tanner Donelan were our only conference champions on the day.  Our district tournament is in Chester beginning at 11:00.

103 - Thomas Howe had a great day for himself.  He has had a long season being greatly undersized; however, he really battled hard to finish in third place.  Once he grows into his weight class, he will be a tough kid to beat next season.
* won by fall over Trent Lunders (MCM) 1:15
* lost by fall to Jace Christiansen (FL) 5:35
* won by fall over Austin Messmer (WSW) 2:31
* won by fall over Austin Gilbertson (KC) 3:58
     3rd place finish

112 - Colby Pierret returned to the lineup from a hand injury.  He too had himself a great day.  As he grows for next year, this season's experience will pay off greatly.
* won by fall over Dalton Combs (MCM) 5:12
* lost by fall to Cody Reed (FL) 0:23
* won by decision over Tyler Willems (GAR) 6 - 2
* won by decision over Sarara Mix (KC) 6 - 4
     3rd place finish

112 - Tyler Willems wrestled as an unattached wrestler for us.  He wrestled well coming up with a pin in the wrestleback round.  Unfortunately, he had to wrestle a teammate for the opportunity to place.  Tyler had a nice year this year as he filled in for injured guys.
* lost by major decision to Sarara Mix (KC) 17 - 3
* won by fall over Wyatt Schmidt (SV) 2:30

119 - Cody Bonte made his way to the top of the podium as a conference champion.  Other than the last period of his finals match, he wrestled smart and aggressive all day and it payed off.  When Cody stays aggressive and wrestles with confidence, he has great potential to win most matches.  He will need to keep that focus for the remainder of the year.
* won by fall over Gunner Gilbertson (KC) 0:50
* won by fall over Jake Scofield (FL) 3:11
* won by decision over Derek Eldeen (MCM) 6 - 3
     1st place finish

135 - Tanner Donelan spent a total of 2:43 seconds on the mat to claim the conference championship.  He looked solid in the finals getting a pin over a returning state placewinner.  Tanner will need to keep his aggressive style to return to the top of the podium at the end of the year.
* won by fall over Branden Anderson (CH) 1:33
* won by fall over Blake Willman (WSW) 1:10
     1st place finish

140 - Scott Howe came up a bit short for his conference title.  He wrestled a bit flat for the first half of the championship match.  The hole he put himself in was too much to overcome.  He will have the opportunity to avenge the loss next week.
* won by fall over Jake Karber (CWL) 3:50
* won by fall over JD Shape (MCM) 0:47
* lost by decision to Kyle Scofield (FL) 5 - 3
* lost by decision to Colby Pierret (GAR) 6 - 2
     2nd place finish

145 - Isaac Lukes wrestled a smart tournament.  He went out and took control of his matches and stayed in good position.  This should help give him the confidence he needs to finish the season strong.
* won by major decision over Collin Guest (CWL) 9 - 0
* lost by major decision to Dan Noonan (HOW) 13 - 1
* won by major decision over Ethan Haugen (FL) 12 - 1
* won by decision over Collin Guest (CWL) 5 - 0
     3rd place finish

152 - Ben Westhoff started the day off strong, but ran into the 3rd seeded wrestler that was upset in the first round.  He came up a bit short in that match.  Ben needs to do a better job of maintaining his weight during the week so that he feels more active on Saturdays.  He has all the potential to turn his season around in the last three weeks.
* won by decision over Mike Jopson (FL) 5 - 1
* lost by fall to Bradyn Neises (HOW) 2:40
* lost by decision to Nick Tesch (KC) 9 - 4

160 - Zach Lukes had a tough day physically.  He continues to battle with his injured ankle. Then during his first match, he split his eyelid open.  He was able to finish the match with a win and finish the day; however, he didn't wrestle the same after that.  He will need to defend his bad ankle better as we get into districts.  His cut ended up requiring 11 stitches.
* won by decision over Ben Christensen (FL) 7 - 2
* lost by decision to Derek Genzlinger (HOW) 7 - 5
* lost by decision to Lane Severson (CWL) 2 - 0

171 - Brady Bonte came up short on his goal for the day.  Brady needs to find the confidence that he wrestled with at the beginning of the season.  He has the ability to do some great things, but he tends to take chances in a match that hurt him at times.  If he cuts out the mistakes, he will be a tough kid to beat over the next three weeks.
* won by forfeit over Trevor Dietrich (FL)
* won by fall over Lee Berens (PAR) 1:35
* lost by decision to Kyle Moe (HOW) 7 - 1
     2nd place finish

189 - Ethan Storment had an off day as well.  He is also one of our guys that needs to find his confidence.  As a senior, I look to see him focused and determined over the next three weeks.  He has the ability to end his career on a high note.
* won by fall over Logan Tonak (CWL) 1:40
* lost by decision to Sheldon Johnson (FL) 8 - 6 OT
* won by fall over Evan Larsen (KC) 0:50
* won by decision over Ben Blindert (MCM) 5 - 3 OT
     3rd place finish

215 - Matthew Bankes wrestled as well as he has all season.  I really liked how he was more aggressive with his ties in his matches.  He was more aggressive and did a lot of the right things.  By doing so, he earned a third place finish and avenged an mid-season loss.
* won by fall over Jesse Simon (FL) 4:28
* lost by fall to Jake Severson (CWL) 3:50
* won by fall over Payton Jensen (PAR) 0:16
* won by fall over Justin DeGroot (SV) 2:02
     3rd place finish