Four Cyclone wrestlers qualify for district meet

 ATLANTIC (Feb. 3) -- Four out of 11 Harlan Community wrestlers kept their season alive on Saturday by winning their bracket in the Class 2A, Sectional 8 Tournament held in Atlantic.
 The Cyclones’ four sectional champions included sophomore Ethan Lemon at 120 pounds, sophomore Wyatt Obrecht (138), junior Oscar Olmos (145) and senior Nick Foss (195).
 All four will compete again at this Saturday’s District 4 Tournament in Harlan (12:00 p.m.), facing a runner-up from Winterset’s Sectional 7 meet in the first round. District champions and runners-up will advance to the State Wrestling Tournament Feb. 15-17 in Des Moines.
 Five other Cyclones placed third on Saturday, missing out on districts by one spot. After posting a 4-6 record in the semifinals, HCHS went 9-1 in the ensuing round (4-0 in championship finals, 5-1 in third-place matches), but only Carter Bendorf was afforded the opportunity of a “wrestleback” match for true second place. The Cyclone 160-pounder was then pinned by top-seeded Zak Hulsing of Kuemper Catholic.
 Eight out of 11 Cyclones finished their day, or season, with a victory.
 Needing a top-two team finish to qualify for Tuesday’s regional duals and ensure that everyone on the squad got to wrestle at least once more, the Cyclones fell just five and half points short. Atlantic/CAM won the meet with 230 points, followed by Red Oak (178), HCHS (172.5), Shenandoah (111), Kuemper Catholic (110) and Southwest Iowa (62).
 In addition to Bendorf at 160, the Cyclones’ contingent of third-place finishers included Dalton McKinley (126), Lucas Carter (132), Joseph Arkfeld (220) and Daniel Soll (285).