Clark, Wheeler repeat as HOIAC champs

STORY CITY — Tucker Wheeler and Kaden Clark both won individual titles, Bentlee Sloan and Kaiden Valcore each scored a runner-up finish at their weights and seven Mustangs helped the PCM wrestling team to a fourth-place finish at the Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference tournament on Friday.

The Mustangs scored 126.5 points in fourth. Class 2A No. 8 West Marshall won the tournament title with 234 points. Host Roland-Story (199) and Nevada (135) were next and the rest of the eight-team field included Perry (110.5), Greene County (92.5), Saydel (69.5) and South Hamilton (62).

The top three finishing teams entered at least 11 wrestlers. The state-ranked Trojans, who won their second team title in the last three seasons, won four individual titles and the Norse claimed three.

Class 2A No. 7 Clark won his second straight 285-pound title with a 3-0 day. He produced three first-period falls and recorded the 100th pin of his career.

Class 2A No. 8 Tucker Wheeler (36-6) was the 157 champion after his 3-0 day. He finished with two technical falls and one pin. Wheeler won the individual championship at 144 last season.

Valcore was 2-1 at 215, while Sloan finished 1-1 with one pin at 132. It was the best HOIAC finish of Valcore’s career as he produced one pin and one major decision. Sloan (20-16) finished second in his HOIAC tournament debut.

Sawyer Bouwkamp (17-11) won three times and placed third at 165. He was 3-1 for the day with two pins and one technical fall. Bouwkamp was fourth last season at 157 but placed third two seasons ago at 132.

Harrison Brinegar and Finn Wilson were fourth at 150 and 175, respectively. Brinegar was 2-2 with two pins.

The 106-, 120- and 165-pound brackets featured two ranked wrestlers. Class 2A No. 12 Kaliber Fry would have given 120 a third ranked wrestler but he was not entered in the tournament. Fry was third at his weight in each of the past two seasons.

Greene County also did not have Brent Dennhardt, who is ranked ninth in 2A at 157.

Clark leads five Mustangs at Ed Winger Invitational

URBANDALE — Clark won four times and split two matches against the only wrestler who defeated him during the Ed Winger Invitational on Saturday.

Clark led five Mustangs in the tournament, and PCM placed 22nd in the 23-team field. The Mustangs scored 24 points.

Class 3A No. 3 Carlisle won the tournament with 148 points. Class 3A No. 7 Waverly-Shell Rock (134), 3A No. 5 Waukee Northwest (132), 3A No. 2 Bettendorf (130) and 3A No. 6 Johnston (129) were separated by just five points in the top five.

Class 3A No. 8 Fort Dodge led the next group in sixth with 116.5 points. Class 3A No. 10 Dowling Catholic (102), Norwalk (98), Council Bluffs Lewis Central (97.5) and Ames (95.5) completed the top 10.

Clark was 4-1 for the day at 285. He opened with a win by fall against North Scott’s Bryce Stewart. And he also defeated Johnston’s Kolby Gibbons on the consolation side of the bracket by medical forfeit.

Class 2A No. 5 Drake Buthe of Glenwood pinned Clark in the quarterfinals, but Clark avenged the loss with a 13-4 victory in the third-place match.

Clark (37-4) also defeated 3A No. 4 Henry Mohr of Waukee Northwest, 10-5, on the consolation side of the bracket.

The other four Mustangs in the field were Sloan, Brinegar, Bouwkamp and Valcore.

Brinegar and Bouwkamp both finished 1-2, while Sloan and Valcore each went 0-2.

One of Valcore’s losses at 215 came against 2A No. 1 Mason Koehler of Glenwood. Sloan’s first loss was against 3A No. 8 Ayden Beck of Dallas Center-Grimes.