Today was a not a perfect ending to the state
tournament for the River Kings, but any time you end the weekend with three
medalists and in the top 15 for the team scoring you can be proud of your
achievements.
Medal Round:
The round saw #5 Hunter Genco, #3 Dustin Caldwell, #9
Dillion Chase continue their assault on the 2013 Iowa State Wrestling podium.
#5 Hunter Genco vs. #4
Austin
Anderson, Sr. Ankeny (Sr. 43-4)
Hunter came out of the gun like a man
possessed. He scored early in the
contest off of a scramble into a cradle.
He rode tough with a leg in and a cross wrist looking for a power
half. After a stalemate stoppage
Genco rode him out to end the period.
Anderson chose bottom and escaped shortly into the
period turning right around and getting in deep on a single. After several huge scrambles and a big
whizzer by Genco the two went out of bounds. Anderson shot deep with a carry, but Hunter fought it off
with a whizzer again to carry the score into the third.
Hunter chose down and fought off a series of wrist
locks on the right side and was nearly tilted by Anderson. After a restart and a quick stand up
the two battled in a rear standing until Genco cut away for 1. Anderson shot in deep again, but Hunter
hit his patented “bug” counter and scored the take down with three back to seal
his third place finish.
#3 Dustin Caldwell vs #8 Ethan Ruby C.B Lewis
Central (Jr. 34-7)
Dustin opened up the match with a
series of double legs and found himself fighting out of a front head lock
series. On a second double leg
attempt he got caught in a go-behind and was takendown. He promptly escaped with :46 left in
the period. After a shot and
scrambled Dustin was taken down , he reversed, and was then Dustin was reversed
to drive the score to 6-3 after 1.
Dustin started the second period
on top and just could not work the holds needed to turn Ruby. After a series of stand ups by Ruby he
converted a reverse to score two more.
Shortly before the whistle to end the 2nd he caught Dustin
for 3 back points. The score was
11-3 after two.
Dustin chose down to start the
third and exploded out for the escape.
Ruby worked a Russian tied series that carried them out of bounds.
Dustin went for a throw, but Ruby countered for 2. He rode Dustin out to win 13-4. Dustin took 4th.
#9 Dillion Chase vs. River Whitters (Sr. 38-14)
I picked up this match late due to Dustin’s match
overlapping. Chase opened up the
match with a takedown and turn to jump to a four point lead.
He carried the lead deep into the match riding
Whitters tough throughout the entire second period.
The wrestlers went neutral to start the third and
Dillion was in scoring position on a front headlock. After a huge scramble Dillion was able to avoid the taken
down. The stayed in good position
with head and hands up looking to defend any throws. With :14s left he took a low shot held a leg, but was
countered and gave up the takedown.
It was too little too late.
Dillion claimed the 5th place medal with a 4-2 decision.
The Bob Lueders' Mental Toughness Match
This section will recap the match and it's turning
point that lead the River King wrestler to display the mental toughness taught
by Hall of Fame coach Bob Lueders.
Hunter Genco’s match against #1 Alijah Jeffery. He shook off a slow first period to
pick up the pace tremendously in the second period. His intensity, force of his holds, and relentlessness opened
up the opportunity for him to hit a throw to score the points needed to come
back from being down 8-1 and defeat #1 ranked Alijah Jeffery.
Five Things I Think
1) I think the people (parents and coaches) with
dress shirts are holding on to false ideals. The dress shirts with the embroidery says I’m not one
dimensional, I’m blue collar, but I can be business too.
2) I think I speak for all media, coaches,
fans, and wrestlers when I say this weekend is exhausting. It’s a lot of shuttling, organization,
and emotion. It truly is a roller
coaster ride all weekend.
3) I think there is no substitute for good
officiating. A referee the is
knowledgable, active, communicates, and confident is a great resource in any
sport, especially wrestling. Refs
that just stand and monitor can cost athletes
4) I think the future is bright for the Clinton
wrestling program. With all five
qualifiers/3 place winners returning balance of power in the MAC may be slowly
starting to shift. I’m excited to
see what this team does in a year.
5) a. I think I could get used to this job. It was a ton of fun to provide the
stories and commentaries for those of you that read them. Thanks for all the kind things you’ve
said. This whole reporting thing
was set up by my uncle, Coach Lueders, AD Gary Lueders, and KROS radio
personality Gary Determan. Without
their blessing this wouldn’t have been possible. But ultimately this was about the kids and I hope I promoted
them well.
5) b. If someone is looking for a sports or travel journalist and you like my stuff please contact me, I'll listen.
The Why Would You Wear That in Public, Let Alone to the State Meet Award:
Winner: All teams that wear
(especially in the finals) with funky designs, i.e. chain link designs, tribal
designs, tie dye, flames, lightning, weird socks, and crazy hair.
Instead: Look at college wrestling
and follow their lead, simplicity is classy and easy on the eyes.
Coach Lueders’ Thoughts:
“It was great to see the red and black back on the
victory stand. We had three of our
five qualifiers medal in the top five, and all of these guys will return next
year. I couldn’t be more proud of
the way these guys battled all weekend.
Our loses were to guys who placed really high or won it. Overall, it was a fun weekend and the
program will only get better. I’m
excited of what the future holds."
Place Winner Quotes:
Hunter Genco: "I have to say you have to believe to
succeed. If you really think you
can accomplish something you can. I knew that after my first match I knew I would be able to bounce back and get third. "
Dustin Caldwell: "You have to bring your best on the biggest stage. I feel unsatisfied, but it is a good accomplishment and I have already set goals for next year."
Dillion Chase: "Overall it was a good weekend and it felt good to finally get on the podium. I didn't get what I wanted, but it will push me to get what I want next year. Now it's all about the off-season training."
If you tried to watch the finals and only got the Simpsons
or something else please contact the IAHSAA at this website: http://www.iahsaa.org/contact.html#sports or call this number: 515-432-2011
Thanks for taking the time to read the tweets, this
blog, and most importantly supporting the journey of these young men. It
went so fast! Stay close to the blog as I’ll be writing a summary over
the weekend in the next few days!
Thanks again!
Kellen Robert Schneeberger
Photos from the day:
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