Wingert’s runner-up medal leads Cyclones to fifth

 HARLAN -- Led by the runner-up finish of Jacob Wingert at 160 pounds, Harlan Community secured 11 medals and placed fifth in the team standings as the host of Saturday’s Hawkeye Ten Conference Wrestling Tournament.
 The Cyclones’ fifth-place finish was one spot higher than each of the last two years and their 144 points was an improvement of 31 over last season.
 Creston/Orient-Macksburg, ranked third in Class 2-A, claimed its fourth conference meet championship in the last five years, and did so in dominant fashion with six individual champs and three runners-up. The Panthers scored 275 points, putting plenty of distance between themselves and the chase pack of Glenwood (188.5), Atlantic (186.5) and Lewis Central (184).
 Atlantic and Glenwood both claimed three individual champions while sixth-place Clarinda had two.
 Wingert, a Cyclone junior, gave Creston senior Cameron Leith a stern challenge in the 160-pound final before losing a 9-5 decision. Trailing 4-1 after two periods, Wingert scored two takedowns in the third but Leith was able to escape both times and finished off Wingert with a late takedown of his own.
 Wingert also impressed HCHS coach John Murtaugh with a hard-fought 7-6 win over Denison’s Parker Preul in the semifinals. Preul had defeated Wingert 7-1 just four days earlier in dual action.