Three Cyclone wrestlers qualify for state

 SIOUX CITY (Feb. 13) -- When it comes to district wrestling, the difference between qualifying for state and staying home almost always depends on the first match of the day.
 Three out of nine Harlan Community wrestlers won hard-fought decisions in the first round of Saturday’s Class 2A district tournament at Bishop Heelan and will be continuing their season in Des Moines later this week.
 Six other Cyclones lost in round one and saw their year come to a close as HCHS placed fifth out of 12 teams with 64 points.
 The Cyclones’ trio of state qualifiers includes junior Luke Freund at 113 pounds, junior Luke Musich at 126 and senior Jesse Schwery at 195. All three placed second in their district bracket with 1-1 records.
 Freund and Musich are first-time state qualifiers while Schwery qualified at 220 last year and went 0-2.
 “It feels good to go back to state... and I’m just glad I could tag a couple people along with me,” Schwery said.
 “It feels good. I’m going to have a lot of fun there, so I’m excited,” Freund stated.
 Musich added that it was a big goal to make it to Des Moines this year, and he had a lot of people in his corner.
 “All the coaches... everybody was telling me I’m going to make it, so I felt like I had to and it feels really good,” he said.
 Sergeant Bluff-Luton led the field with five state qualifiers and won the district title with 91 points, followed by Sheldon-South O’Brien (75), West Lyon (69) and Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (66).
 The top five teams in the meet combined to claim 19 of the 28 state qualifier spots and 12 of 14 district champs. Only two wrestlers that lost their first match came back to qualify for the 2021 State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena, February 18-20.
 The Cyclones’ three state qualifiers will wrestle first round matches Thursday starting at 6:00 p.m.
 “I thought (we) did well,” said HCHS head coach John Murtaugh. “Even the guys that were outgunned were hitting moves and trying to get a big move and pull an upset. You’ve got to swing for the fence, and we did when we were underdogs.”
 Murtaugh said it was a bit disappointing to not have a champion on the day, but he felt that advancing three wrestlers to state was a good accomplishment.
 “We knew the first round match is always key... then you’re in the driver’s seat and control your own destiny,” he said. “Having three qualifiers - I felt pretty good about it. I kind of felt like if we got four it would have been a great district [meet], but three is good.”
 The Cyclones’ chance for a fourth state qualifier came in the form of a wrestleback match for sophomore Zane Bendorf at 170. Bendorf, who started the day with a 6-2 loss vs. third-ranked Kalen Meyer of Central Lyon, dominated his third-place match against Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Tyler Schenkelberg before winning by fall in 4:39. He then faced fifth-ranked Mitchell Joines of Bishop Heelan in a wrestleback for second, but was taken down three times in an 11-4 defeat.
 Bendorf finished the year with an impressive record of 36-8 to lead the team in wins. On Saturday, he was simply the victim of an extremely tough bracket.
 “Both those guys [Meyer and Joines] are ranked in the top five in the state, they’re both seniors, both have been around the block. They’re just tough,” Murtaugh said.
 “Zane had a tough bracket - no ifs, ands or buts. I was telling the coaches he’s a year away from being on the podium at state.”
 Also placing third for the Cyclones were freshman Tytan Frohlich at 120 pounds and senior Richard Gaul at 285, both going 1-1. Gaul was pinned in 1:56 by sixth-ranked Ethan Hooyer of Sioux Center but finished his career with a 34-second pin (headlock) of SB-L’s Sean Zimmerman.
 Three other HCHS wrestlers went 0-2 and finished fourth: senior Dalton McKinley at 145; sophomore Matt Schwery (182) and junior Jeremiah Davis (220). Davis and Schwery both won 30 matches on the year and McKinley was 26-18 in his fourth year as a varsity starter.
 “Richard got a pin in his last match and Dalton’s been a war horse for us,” Murtaugh said of the seniors. “(McKinley) just didn’t quite have the strength level to compete at 145, but the effort was there.”
Road to Wells Fargo
 Freund, Musich and Jesse Schwery all wrestled two six-minute (plus) battles on the day, winning their semifinal matches before losing in the championship round. None were required to compete in a wrestleback for second because their first round opponents all won on the left side of the bracket.
 Freund (34-7, ranked 10th in 2A) never trailed in his opening match against West Lyon’s Zac Severson but had his hands full. Leading 6-2 after two periods, Freund allowed two reversals in the third but also had a timely takedown to win 9-7.
 In the finals vs. Sheldon-South O’Brien’s Osvaldo Ocampo, the scored was tied 2-2 going to the third before Ocampo used a reversal, two-point near-fall and a late takedown to win 9-5.
 “I felt like I performed pretty good,” Freund said. “The first match - my weight cut was pretty hard so I was really dehydrated. It took a lot out of me. The second match I felt like I wrestled pretty good (but) I gave him a few points that I shouldn’t have.”
 Coach Murtaugh added: “I thought Luke Freund was on his offense and we just couldn’t finish the shot [early in the finals match]. Then he got caught for some back points and that put him behind the 8 ball. That was a winnable match, but Luke gave it everything he had.”
 Musich (29-9) wrestled two barn burners, starting with a 5-4 decision over Heelan freshman Sir Brando Watts. Trailing most of the match, Musich scored the winning takedown about midway through the third period.
 “I knew he was going to shoot because I kept taking him down out of bounds, so he was getting tired and worn down and then he shot and I just threw him by and then got behind for two and rode him out the rest of the period,” Musich said.
 In the finals, Musich lost a close one to sixth-ranked Ty Koedam of SB-L for the second straight week. Down 4-2, Musich got a takedown in the third period to tie the score and force overtime. In sudden victory, Koedam shot almost immediately and wrapped up Musich for the 6-4 victory.
 “Nothing looked open,” Musich said. Last week I wrestled him and everything was right there for a single leg, but this week I couldn’t really get anything going and then just kind of scrambled out of positions to get some points.”
 Schwery (33-8) started his day with a 6-3 decision over 8th-ranked Gabe Ter Wee of West Lyon, who entered the meet 27-3. Following a scoreless first period, Schwery earned an escape and two takedowns in the second to go up 5-1, then held on late in the third as Ter Wee tried to pull off a throw and headlock combo but ran out of time.
 “We got a little bit of film on him and the (scouting report) recommended shooting singles,” Schwery said. “Going into the match, the coaches just said, ‘Take what he gives you. Don’t force anything.’ So that first period nothing really came... Everything just kind of fell my way [in the second].”
 Schwery faced Central Lyon’s Josh Riibe in the finals and allowed one takedown in each period. He escaped each time but lost 7-4.
 “He just had a quick shot on me in that first period. I wasn’t really expecting it,” Schwery said.
 Murtaugh noted that both Musich and Schwery “didn’t get on their offense like they normally do,” especially in the championship round.
 “At this level you’ve got to be the aggressor. You’ve got to get on your offense,” he said. “Luke and Jesse both are better when they’re shooting, and we just didn’t get enough shots.”
Looking to medal
 Freund, Musich and Schwery all said they are shooting for a top-eight state medal this week and a spot on the podium during Saturday night’s televised state finals.
 Schwery is also looking to compete with a more relaxed approach this year after battling some jitters during his state meet matches in 2020. He plans to work on some of the “little things” during practice and also has some advice for his state-qualified teammates.
 “Basically, don’t get frightened by all the cameras and all the lights,” he said. “It kind of got to me the first time so I didn’t do so hot. Just relax, take your time, breathe. Wrestle like you normally do.”
 Murtaugh feels that all three Cyclone qualifiers can bring home state medals if they wrestle to their highest potential.
 “They seed it now, so Jesse being a returning state qualifier should get an OK seed,” he said. “Both Lukes... can wrestle with anybody. So we’ll just have a tough week of practice and get after it.”