On Thursday, January 5, the Algona boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams competed. The boys wrestled at home against Clarion Goldfield Dows and Eagle Grove while the girls traveled to Nevada to compete in a scramble.
The boys ended up falling short against Clarion with an ending score of 28 to 36 and won against Eagle Grove 70 to 6. They had some great achievements throughout the night. Individuals who picked up wins were Elijah Wilhite, Isaac Wilson, Barrett Morgan, Taevyn Zinnel, Tate Slagle, Colby Jennings, Mason Allen, Ashton Moreno, Ian Fehr, Dane Kitzinger, Foster Myhre, Gavin Goche, and Cohen Reffer.
Girls who picked up wins from their meet were Harley Tobin, Megan McPeak, Gretchen Gorham, Abbe Gorham, Alyssa Olson, Regan Nicholson, Reece Taylor, Malyn Davis, Jenna Stohr, Savannah Steven, Estrella Santiz, and Allison Trunkhill.
On Saturday, January 7, the boys' team traveled to Forest City to compete in a tournament against multiple schools. Placing first in their weight class was Elijah Wilhite at 106, Isaac Wilson at 120, Barrett Morgan at 126, and Tate Slagle at 138. Thomas Zabka at 113 received 2nd place as well as Ian Fehr at 152. Third-place winners were Taevyn Zinnel at 132, Colby Jennings at 160, Dane Kitzinger at 170, and Gavin Goche at 195.
Isaac Wilson, a sophomore on the boys' wrestling team, shared his thoughts about the season so far. Wilson states, “The team has been doing pretty good so far this year. We have been doing great overall as a team and also individually with several ranked wrestlers. We look to finish the season strong in the coming weeks and try to get several guys down to the State meet.”
Also on January 7, the girls' team traveled to compete in a tournament at Ogden. Winning in the silver tournament were Allison Trunkhill and Estrella Santiz. In the gold tournament, Reece Taylor, Malyn Davis, Jenna Stohr, Megan McPeak, Savannah Steven, Abbe Gorham, Gretchen Gorham, and Ryan Haynes all picked wins.
On Tuesday, January 10, the girls’ and boys’ wrestling teams competed at Okoboji. The boys won against all three teams. The ending score against Estherville was 60 to 12, it was 50 to 24 against Okoboji, and the final score was 58 to 18 against Blue Earth, Minnesota. Picking up wins were Colby Jennings, Dane Kitzinger, Foster Myhre, Gavin Goche, Chase Roof, Jacob Zabka, Isaac Wilson, Barrett Morgan, Taevyn Zinnel, Tate Slagle, Ashton Moreno, Cohen Reffer, and Ian Fehr for the boys. For the girls, wins were picked up from Ryan Haynes, Alyssa Olson, Malyn Davis, Estrella Santiz, Megan McPeak, Jenna Stohr, Gretchen Gorham, and Abbe Gorham.
On Thursday, January, 12, the boys took on the Humboldt Wildcats. The Bulldogs ended up falling short against the Wildcats with an ending score of 21 to 37. Although it was a tough matchup, some of the boys had success. Barrett Morgan, Taevyn Zinnel, Tate Slagle, Ashton Moreno, Gavin Goche, and Cohen Reffer all picked up a win.
On Saturday, January 14, the boys traveled to compete in a tournament at South Hardin High School. The Bulldogs took 1st place as a team with 278 points. First-place winners were Elijah Wilhite at 106, Jacob Zabka at 113, Isaac Wilson at 120, Barrett Morgan at 126, Taevyn Zinnel at 132, Tate Slagle at 138, Ashton Moreno at 145, Ian Fehr at 152, Wes Streit at 160, Dane Kitzinger at 170, Foster Myhre at 182, Gavin Goche at 195, Hunter Kollasch at 220, and Cohen Reffer at 285. Taking fourth place was Colby Jennings at 160 and Aiden Ulrich at 220.
On Tuesday, January 16, the girls took on the Emmetsburg E-Hawks, along with the JV boys. Some highlights from the night for the girls include Reece Taylor getting a fall in the semifinals in 2:23. Taylor came up just short in the 1st place match. Makayla Erpelding won in the semifinals with a fall in 4:31. Abbe Gorham won the 3rd place match with a fall in 1:05. Estrella Santiz won in the semifinals with a fall in 1:36. Gretchen Gorham won in the semifinals with a fall in 3:57 but came up short in the 1st place match.
On Tuesday, January 17, the boys competed against Rockford and Lake Mills at Lake Mills High School. The Dogs beat Rockford 78-0 and beat Lake Mills 51-24. Falls against Lake Mills include Taevyn Zinnel in 1:49, Tate Slagle in 4:18, Ashton Moreno in 2:30, Colby Jennings in 1:45, Gavin Goche in 4:38, and Chase Roof in 3:23. Getting a fall against Rockford was Taevyn Zinnel in 1:37, Tate Slagle in 2:52, Colby Jennings in :49, and Hunter Kollasch in 4:31.
The boys end off this week competing in the North Central Conference tournament at Hampton-Dumont High School on Saturday, January 21. Good luck to all Algona wrestlers, and keep up the good work!