Nine Cyclone wrestlers qualify for district meet

 HARLAN (Feb. 6) -- During John Murtaugh’s first 16 years as the Harlan Community head wrestling coach, the Cyclones never had as many as nine district qualifiers.
 They have now achieved that feat two years in a row.
 Claiming six champions and three runners-up, HCHS scored 217 points and placed second to Sergeant Bluff-Luton (237.5) in Saturday’s Class 2A, Sectional 3 Tournament in Harlan.
 The Cyclones’ nine first and second-place wrestlers will now compete in Saturday’s district tournament at Sioux City Bishop Heelan (12:00 p.m.). A top-two finish this time will secure a spot in the 2021 State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines.
 “It’s just nice to have six sectional champs. That was good to see,” Murtaugh said.
 “Probably not the toughest sectional around, but still, you’ve got to win matches to go on and nine guys did.”
 Murtaugh added: “Our kids were really excited about the day, you could tell that, and they put on a good show. I was really pleased with our guys. Our conditioning is pretty good right now. We’ve got to get in just a little bit better shape yet for districts and then we’ll be fine. I felt real good about our guys. I thought they all competed hard.”
 Sectional champs for the Cyclones included Luke Freund at 113 pounds, Tytan Frohlich (120), Dalton McKinley (145), Zane Bendorf (170), Jesse Schwery (195) and Richard Gaul (285).
 Placing second for HCHS were Luke Musich (126), Matt Schwery (182) and Jeremiah Davis (220). Schwery was required to win a final round wrestleback match for true second place and got the job done with a second-period pin of Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Reece Clausen.
 SB-L led the six-team field with 10 district qualifiers (four sectional champs) and also qualified for Class 2A regional duals by winning Saturday’s team title.
 In previous years, HCHS would have earned a spot in regional duals by placing second, but this season only the 16 sectional team champs earned automatic bids. The eight at-large berths were based solely on the IWCOA’s state dual rankings.
 “I knew it was going to be a two-horse race and that’s how it played out,” Murtaugh noted.
Thriller at 145
 One of the biggest Cyclone highlights of the meet came in the 145-pound championship match between HCHS senior Dalton McKinley and SB-L’s Marcus Headid.
 McKinley trailed 7-0 in the third period when he scored a reversal to get on the board. He cut Headid loose in the final minute, locked up and used a quick-striking lateral drop to put Headid on the mat before pinning him with just 11 seconds to go.
 “He listened,” Murtaugh said. “We told him to cut him and that was our only shot, really, to throw him. That kid accommodated by tying us up, and Dalton can throw you in the tall weeds if you give him a chance.
 “He really needed that win. It’s been sometimes a rough year for him, but to see him as a sectional champ, that’s tremendous.”
 Freund, ranked 10th in 2A, also had to battle in his 113-pound final vs. Simon Mummert of Cherokee. The two wrestlers traded takedowns in the first period, reversals in the second and takedowns again in the third. With the score tied 9-9, Freund got in the last shot and takedown to win an entertaining 11-9 decision.
 The Cyclones’ remaining four champions all had a bit easier time.
 Frohlich pinned both of his opponents in less than a minute at 120, Bendorf also earned a pair of first-period wins by fall and Gaul needed just 35 seconds to end his only match of the day, pinning SB-L’s Sean Zimmerman.
 Jesse Schwery, Harlan’s only returning state qualifier from last year, pinned his first foe and led 11-2 in the finals before settling for an 11-5 decision over Cale Clausen of SB-L.
Close defeat at 126
 Musich nearly pulled off a win over sixth-ranked Ty Koedam of Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the 126-pound title match, but fell just short. Musich scored a takedown in each of the first two periods and led 5-3 early in the third. Koedam, a state place-winner last season, found a way to get two takedowns in the third and won 7-6.
 Davis won his semifinal match 5-2 before running into a tough challenge vs. Kuemper Catholic’s Cal Wanninger in the finals. Davis was taken down once in each period and lost a 10-0 major decision.
 Matt Schwery also advanced with his wrestleback pin for second place.
Additional Cyclones
 Four other Cyclones ended their season Saturday by finishing outside the top two.
 Sam Schmitz held on late for a 7-6 first-round win and placed fourth at 132.
 “I was impressed with Sammy. He competed hard all day,” Murtaugh said.
 Josh Kopiasz (138) and Bret Van Baale (152) lost their only matches and both took fifth. Senior Reece Schwery (160) also lost in the first round and reaggravated an elbow injury, forcing him to forfeit his final match and place sixth.
 “The last two years he’s struggled with that elbow, and once you damage it like that it’s kind of hard to come back from it,” Murtaugh said. “It’s just too bad it ended that way for him, but he’s been a great kid for us.”
Looking ahead
 The competition will get tougher when HCHS travels to Sioux City for Saturday’s district meet, but Murtaugh is confident that his group of nine qualifiers will be ready to compete hard once again.
 The 26 qualifiers from the Harlan sectional will be grouped with qualifiers from Sectional 4 at West Lyon. Each weight class will feature four wrestlers.
 “That was a tougher sectional up that way, so we’ll see how it all breaks down,” Murtaugh said. “The bottom line is you have to beat somebody good to get (to state)... and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. You’re not just going to walk into state. You’ve got to earn it. So we’ve got to get after it this week and put our best foot forward.”