Pierce Wrestles Their Way Through a Triangular
By Elizabeth Furstenau
It was a long, yet exciting night at the auditorium. Thursday, January 23 the wrestlers took a short trip downtown for a triangular against Norfolk Catholic and Battle Creek. Both teams took control over the Norfolk Catholic Knights, but could not pin the Battle Creek Braves and Bravettes.
Beginning the night against Battle Creek, Cailynn Gardner, at 135, fell to Alexis Hoffmann.
Next at 145, Lainey Jensen lost by fall to Carrington Uhlir.
On the mat next, wrestling at 170, was Reniya Miller who fell to Briley Koehler.
Following behind her younger sister, Candace Miller, at 190, dominated Piper Rumans.
At 235, Lauren Ueding fell to Paige Rumans.
Mia Sackville at 100 was up next. She fell to Emma Petersen.
Peyton Brunckhorst (105) took the mat with a goal and achieved it. She won over Danica Jensen.
Next up was Hadleigh Collison in the 115 class. She also won her match against Teela Bleich.
Finally wrestling at 120, Jayan Sackville was taken over by fall to Ella Reeves.
Isabelle Kuehler 155, Isabelle Streff 110, and Evelyn Skrdla 125 all won by forfeit.
The total score of the matches was 48-36 adding a win to Battle Creek’s record.
“One thing you can never question is the effort our girls put in,” head coach for the girls team Les Painter states. “In life, you won’t always get the results you want, but what truly matters is what you learn from the experience. As we prepare for conference, we need to step onto the mat with a greater sense of urgency. Let’s take what we’ve learned and use it to drive us forward.”
Next up against Battle Creek was the boys team.
Wrestling first was Jackson Fischer at 175. He fell to Casey Schnebel.
At 175, Charlie Ottis lost by fall to Rilee Sellin by technical fall, 19-3.
Kyle Kuehler at 190 lost to Brek Thompson by technical fall, 17-2.
Christian Nordby lost by major decision 10-2 to Dahkota Zlomke at 215.
Weighing in at 285, Boston Krueger lost to Connor Heiderman in a sudden victory, 7-4.
At 106, Tyler Oliveira fell to Ryan Hoehne.
Kolten Wragge lost to Ayden Wintz in the 113 weight class by fall.
Next up Corbin Pfeil lost by major decision, 18-6, to Tyan Thompson at 120.
Taking the mat next was Draydin Gossman at 126. He lost by decision 11-5 to Ryan Stusse, Jr.
At 132, Elijah Streff lost by fall to Ashton Kuchar.
Brody Kesting lost by fall to Noah Mahlin at 138.
Baiden Neuhalfen lost by a 13-0 major decision to Devin Hassler in the 144 weight class.
Kaiden Ronnfeldt fell to Hudson Last at 157.
Ethan Claussen dominated Nick Kreikemeier by major decision, 20-9, at 157.
Finally wrestling at 165, Peyton Kruntorad lost to Conner Neuhalfen by major decision 10-1.
Brenden Bolling won by forfeit, as he was the only wrestler in the 150 weight class.
The final score of the Pierce boys team versus the Battle Creek boys team was 63-6.
It was now time for the Bluejays to go against the Knights.
The girls started the matches off.
M. Sackville won over Claire Christensen.
MaKenna Blecher fell to Micheli Fisher in the 130 weight class.
Brunkhorst 105, I. Streff 110, Collison 115, J. Sackville 120, Skrdla 125, Samantha Painter 135, C. Gardner 140, Jensen 145, I. Kuehler 170, and Ueding 235 all won by forfeit.
The final score for the girls Pierce vs. Norfolk Catholic was 66-12, giving the Bluejays another win.
Now it was time for the boys.
Nordby started it off with a win by major decision 11-1 against Tyson Risinger.
Pfeil won by fall against John Kann.
Gossman won over Tanner Risinger in the 132 weight class.
E. Streff fell to Omar Contreras at 138.
Kesting lost to Oliver Daniel by a 20-2 technical fall at 144.
Bolling won by technical fall, 24-8 over Carter Fisher.
Ronnfeldt won by pin over Kade Young.
Fischer won by major decision, 11-0, against Mason Dusek.
K. Kuehler won over Miles Ramaker by fall.
Krueger 285, Oliveira 106, Wragge 113, and Kruntorad 165 won by forfeit.
The final score by the end of the boys matches was 61-11 in favor of the Bluejays.
“Going forward we need to work on being tough in positions and situations as the postseason nears,” head coach for the boys Tyler Legate claims.
Catch the girls at Norfolk High School and boys at Boone Central on Saturday, February 1.
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