Heading back to Wells Fargo Arena
Runner-up finish at district sends Nick Bronstad to state wrestling tourney
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MIKE PETERSEN/SENTINEL-NEWS
Mac Muller of Osage is about to be pinned by Okoboji/HMS's Nick Bronstad in the district semifinal match at 285 pounds.
For the second straight year, Nick Bronstad will represent the Okoboji/HMS wrestling team at the state meet in Des Moines. The senior from H-M-S earned his ticket to state with a runner-up finish at 285 pounds during the Class 2A District 7 meet at Webster City on Feb. 12.
Bronstad pinned Mac Muller of Osage in the semifinal round (2:37), advancing to the finals where he faced Daniel Chavez of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows. Bronstad had pinned Chavez in the title match during the sectional meet at Estherville.
In the district final, Bronstad fell behind 1-0 in the first period. His escape in the second period tied the score, but Chavez scored a takedown and three near fall points to build a 6-1 lead. Bronstad would score four points in the final period but they were not enough to overcome Chavez's advantage.
Bronstad has another chance to wrestle Chavez as they are paired in the first round of the 2A 285-pound bracket on Thursday, Feb. 17, at Wells Fargo Arena. The seniors' records are as even as the competition between them, with Bronstad sporting a 36-7 record while Chavez is 35-8. The former is ranked No. 6 by IA wrestle.com while Chavez is No. 12.
The winner of that match advances to the 2A quarterfinals at 9 a.m. on Friday. The loser wrestles again on Thursday in the first-round consolations against either Easton Fleshman of West Lyon (12, 43-1, No. 2) or Colton Schupbach of North Fayette Valley (12, 22-11).
Class 2A consolation matches will follow the 2A and 3A quarterfinals on Friday, when the semifinals and third-round consolations will be held. Consolation semifinals and finals and the championship matches in all classes will be wrestled on Saturday.
MIKE PETERSEN/SENTINEL-NEWS
Nick Bronstad stands on the awards platform following the Class 2A district wrestling tournament Saturday at Webster City.
Other district competitors at Webster City included H-M-S freshman James Gellerman, who finished third at 182 pounds. He was pinned by Braden Hansen of Hampton-Dumont-CAL in the semifinals (2:56) but came back to win a 9-0 major decision over Kaleb Hambly of Clear Lake in the third-place match. Gellerman wrestled for second place but lost by fall to Deontez Williams of Pocahontas Area (1:50). Williams had defeated Gellerman in the semifinals at the sectional meet.
Three other Pioneers placed fourth after losing third-place matches in their respective brackets. Tyce Hanson lost by fall to Andon Barrick of Iowa Falls-Alden (2:36) at 113 pounds; Caleb Jones was pinned by Ethan Traub of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (2:42) at 126; and Sam Pas was pinned by Gabe Hadwiger of Iowa Falls-Alden (1:12) at 220.
Okoboji/HMS placed eighth among the 12 teams. Osage won the district title with 135.5 points, followed by Hampton-Dumont-CAL 92, Webster City 90.5, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 80, Algona 44, Iowa Falls-Alden 32, Pocahontas Area 30, Okoboji/HMS 23, Clear Lake 21, Forest City 18, Estherville-Lincoln Central 10 and Garner-Hayfield-Ventura 0.
