Clear Creek Amana Continues Impressive Season With Runner-up Finish at WAMAC Tournament
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
WILLIAMSBURG – There was a time not long ago that the Clear Creek Amana bus was one of the first ones out of the parking lot after the WAMAC wrestling tournament.
Most years there were not many Clippers waiting to take their spot on the award podium and there wasn’t a swarm of family taking post-meet photos.
As Clear Creek Amana wrestlers waited for their name to be called to the medal stand on Saturday head coach Kyle Forness thought back to those previous seasons of low WAMAC finishes.
“To be honest you think back to how it used to be when we had 13 kids on the team and we only had two kids place at the WAMAC tournament,” Forness said. “Or when we had nine kids and filled five weights.”
There were no pre-medal exits for the Clippers on Saturday as Clear Creek Amana continued its breakthrough season with a runner-up finish at the WAMAC Conference meet at Williamsburg High School.
Clear Creek Amana had three finalists among 13 medalist and got an individual title from junior Cale Nash at 120 pounds while finishing second behind Class 2A second-ranked Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon went 5-1 in championship matches to win the team title with 202.5 points while Clear Creek Amana was second with 178, 5.5 more than defending champion West Delaware.
Solon was seventh with 134.5.
The 13 WAMAC medalists and the runner-up finish were both the best in Clear Creek Amana program history
“We are trying to build something and sometimes you are banging your head against the wall but you look at where we were at before and where we are today and we still want more,” Forness said. “We used to be second to last and now we are second and we still want more.”
Led by Nash the Clippers had five wrestlers finish in the top three and three other Clippers finished fourth.
Ryker Jones was runner-up at 144 and Ethan Williams was runner-up at 190 as Clear Creek Amana went from 14th in 2020, 11th in 2022 and sixth last season to runner-up on Saturday.
“We are really happy with where we have come as a team compared to a couple of years ago getting eighth, ninth, tenth to being where we are today, second as a team it’s really nice but we always want more,” Williams said. “We always want more.”
Class 3A eighth-ranked Nash (41-3) became a two-time WAMAC champion with an impressive win over 2A No. 12 Brayden Maury of West Delaware in the 120-pound final.
A WAMAC champ at 106 pounds as a freshman in 2022 Nash lost a 4-0 decision to Maury in the 113-pound title match last season.
“To avenge a loss it always feels good,” Nash said. “I had one of those earlier in the year and I liked the feeling so this was the same thing.”
Nash took control early with a takedown 26 seconds into the match and rode Maury for the rest of the opening period.
Working from the down position to start the second period Nash scored a reversal and three near fall points and added a second reversal to take a 9-2 lead that was never challenged.
“I think the first period is the most important and getting on top right away it sets the tone,” Nash said. “That’s what I wanted to do is set the tone.”
Jones (31-13) dropped a 6-0 decision to 2A second-ranked Jackson Jaspers of Mount Vernon in the 144-pound final and Williams was pinned by Benton Community’s Troy Kupka in the 190-pound finale.
“Seeing your teammates do well it’s almost a competition at that point,” Williams said. “You want to do as well as your teammates.”
Jack Stevens (35-13) was third at 150 pounds and Jose Mendieta (26-19) was third at 113 pounds.
Benjamin Haughey was fourth at 165, Clayton Isham was fourth at 175 and Carson Nash was fourth at 215 for the Clippers.
“Today was a team effort,” Forness said. “We had ups and downs. When we lost one we came back and one our next won and we did that all day. That’s why we are in second.”
Vinnie Keller placed seventh at 285, Elder Mendieta was eighth at 106 and Malachi Clement was eighth at 126 for the Clippers.
Solon got a runner-up finish from freshman Lucas Feuerbach at 215 pounds on its way to a seventh-place team finish.
Class 2A No. 12 Feuerbach (36-7) dropped a 15-5 major decision to second-ranked Gavin Bridgewater of South Tama in the title match.
Jayden Steapp was third at 106 pounds for the Spartans which had nine wrestlers finish in the top five.
Kyler Steapp placed fourth at 120 pounds, Evan Burg was fourth at 126 pounds, Jordan Schmidt was fourth at 138 pounds, Carson Kidwell was fourth at 150 pounds and Grant Wilson was fourth at 285 for Solon.
Charlie Karam was fifth at 132 pounds and Lawsin Sinnwell was fifth at 144.
Teague Williams was sixth at 157, Jackson Feuerbach was seventh at 165, Kyler Jensen was seventh at 190 for the Spartans.
WAMAC Conference Tournament
At Williamsburg High School
Team scores – 1. Mount Vernon 202.5; 2. Clear Creek Amana 178; 3. West Delaware 172.5; 4. Independence 163.5; 5. Benton Community 162; 6. Williamsburg 157; 7. Solon 134.5; 8. South Tama 127; 9. Vinton-Shellsburg 66; 10. Marion 60; 11. Grinnell 45; 12. Center Point-Urbana 16
Championship matches; area placewinners
106 – 1. Klayten Perreault (MV) pinned Adam Fish (IND) 3:09; 3. Jayden Steapp (SOL); 8. Elder Mendieta (CCA)
113 – 1. Lincoln Schropp (WIL) dec. Lucas Stearns (MAR) 6-0; 3. Jose Mendieta (CCA)
120 – 1. Cale Nash (CCA) major dec. Brayden Maury (WD) 13-5; 4. Kyler Steapp (SOL)
126 – 1. Amare Chavez (ST) injury default Tanner Wilson (IND) 2:11; 4. Evan Burg (SOL); 8. Malachi Clement (CCA)
132 – 1. Elijah Kupka (BC) dec. Logan McDonald (GRI) 7-4; 5. Charlie Karam (SOL)
138 – 1. Kaden Kremer (IND) dec. Jase Jaspers (MV) 9-4; 4. Jordan Schmidt (SOL); 5. Nolan Howell (CCA)
144 – 1. Jackson Jaspers (MV) dec. Ryker Jones (CCA) 6-0; 5. Lawsin Sinnwell (SOL)
150 – 1. Mikey Ryan (MV) dec. Nile Sinn (WIL) 3-2; 3. Jack Stevens (CCA); 4. Carson Kidwell (SOL)
157 – 1. Jackson Hird (MV) pinned Blake Mather (WD) 3:58; 5. Trace Robertson (CCA); 6. Teague Williams (SOL)
165 – 1. Brenden Heying (BC) tech. fall Garrison Gillihan (WD) 16-0; 4. Benjamin Haughey (CCA); 7. Jackson Feuerbach (SOL)
175 – 1. Brent Yonkovic (WD) major dec. Cael Moore (WIL) 15-2; 4. Clayton Isham (CCA)
190 – 1. Troy Kupka (BC) pinned Ethan Williams (CCA) 3:01; 7. Kyler Jensen (SOL)
215 – 1. Gavin Bridgewater (ST) major dec. Lucas Feuerbach (SOL) 15-5; 4. Carson Nash (CCA)
285 – 1. Ethan Wood (MV) dec. Carson Grier (WIL) 7-3; 4. Grant Wilson (SOL); 7. Vinnie Keller (CCA)
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