HUXLEY - Not being at full strength wasn't a problem for the Ballard wrestling team at the Raccoon River Conference tournament Saturday in Huxley as the Bombers still put on a show for the home crowd, winning eight championships to claim the conference title in a decisive manner for the second straight year.
Ballard was without multiple-time state qualifiers Taylor Eichinger (145 pounds) and Brock Weatherman (171), who were both given the day off to rest up for the upcoming Class 2A sectional meet in Saydel next week. But even without those two standout competitors, a deep Bomber team whipped the rest of the Raccoon River Conference field, piling up 291.5 points to outlast runner-up Dallas Center-Grimes by a whopping 97 points for first place.
"I'm happy all the way around," Ballard head coach Jeff Weatherman said. "This gave a couple of guys a chance to compete in the conference tournament and they got some points for us. It's nice to have a strong JV that can give the varsity guys a break."
Tanner Hiatt jumped from 140 to 145 and Chris Schaudt went down from heavyweight to 215 for Ballard. Brad Mickelson filled in at 130, Cody Jones occupied the 140-pound class, Bryan Holland competed at 171 and Joe Thomas took over at heavyweight for the Bombers.
Tanner Weatherman and Hiatt, ranked first at 135 and second at 140 respectively in 2A, each went 3-0 to claim their second consecutive conference titles as sophomores. Weatherman picked up two pins before defeating Adel-Desoto-Minburn's Kyle Wallace by technical fall in the finals, while Hiatt earned a pin and a technical fall before topping Carroll's Taylor Berger by a 6-2 decision in the title round.
After receiving a first-round bye, Schaudt, ranked sixth at heavyweight, picked up a pin over ADM's Dalton Peshel in the semifinals and then toppled DCG's James Armstrong by a 10-2 major decision in the championship match at 215.
Willie Miklus earned the most impressive win for Ballard at 119. The freshman won his first two matches by fall to set up a confrontation with Perry's Antonio Rios, the RRC champ at 112 a year ago.
Miklus entered the tournament ranked seventh in 2A at 119 and Rios was rated right behind him at eighth. But the Bomber freshman proved to be clearly superior on Saturday as he was in complete control throughout the title match, picking up a 14-5 major decision victory.
"We only had one dual meet at home this year, so it was nice winning it at home," Miklus said. "It feels pretty good, but it's just a stepping stone. I'm going to keep working hard for state."
Trent Weatherman continued to show why he is one of the best wrestlers in the entire state, regardless of weight or class, by breezing to a conference title at 152 for Ballard. Trent, ranked first in 2A, scored a pin in both of his matches, with the title match being a pin in four minutes, 26 seconds against the fourth-rated Dakota Friesth of ADM.
Dakota Bauer, ranked first at 112, T.J. Hiatt, rated No. 1 at 160, and Tyler Grask, rated second at 125, each came through with a conference championship as well for Ballard.
Bauer pinned Carlisle's Robbie Stewart and Saydel's Ronnie Harrison in his only two matches, while Grask picked up a technical fall in the semifinals and then won the title by default over ADM's Keegan Mumma. Hiatt earned one pin and a major decision triumph to reach the finals at 160, where he earned a 10-5 victory over DCG's Bret Nyquist.
Easton Bridgewater and Dillon Weatherman, Ballard's other two varsity starters, each came in third at 103 and 189 respectively. Both grapplers went 3-1, with Bridgewater earning two pins and a technical fall and Dillon picking three pins.
Mickelson stepped in and earned a runner-up finish at 130. He picked up two pins before suffering a 5-3 loss to Winterset's Jacob England in the finals.
Jones, Holland and Thomas all came in third for Ballard on the day.
Jones and Holland each went 3-1, while Thomas was 2-1.
The important part of the season begins for Ballard this Saturday as the Bombers begin their quest for a second-consecutive sweep of the 2A traditional and dual state titles at the 2A sectional meet in Saydel. The meet is set to begin at noon and the top two finishers in each weight class will advance to districts, while the top two teams move on to regional dual competition at Grimes next Tuesday.
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Individual places - Ballard
103 pounds - 3. Easton Bridgewater (3-1); 112 - 1. Dakota Bauer (2-0); 119 - 1. Willie Miklus (3-0); 125 - 1. Tyler Grask (3-0); 130 - 2. Brad Mickelson (2-1); 135 - 1. Tanner Weatherman (3-0); 140 - 3. Cody Jones (3-1); 145 - 1. Tanner Hiatt (3-0); 152 - 1. Trent Weatherman (2-0); 160 - 1. T.J. Hiatt (3-0); 171 - 3. Bryan Holland (3-1); 189 - 3. Dillon Weatherman (3-1); 215 - 1. Chris Schaudt (2-0); 285 - 3. Joe Thomas (2-1)
WINTERSET - The Ballard wrestling team whipped up on two Raccoon River Conference opponents at triangular dual in Winterset Jan. 22 as the Bombers blasted Nevada by a score of 67-7 and blanked Winterset by a 72-0 margin.
Ballard picked up eight pins against Nevada while the Bombers also received two forfeits, one victory by major decision and another by decision.
Clinton Eichinger won the closest contest for Ballard against Nevada when he edged the Cubs' Curtis Borts by a 6-5 decision at 215 pounds. Chris Schaudt toppled Nevada's Adam Crawford by a 9-1 major decision for Ballard in a battle between two of the top heavyweights in the RRC.
Dakota Bauer (112), Willie Miklus (125), Brad Mickelson (130), Tyler Grask (135), Tanner Hiatt (145), Trent Weatherman (160), T.J. Hiatt (171) and Dillon Weatherman (189) earned the pins for Ballard against Nevada.
Against Winterset, the Bombers only had three victories out of 13 matches that weren't by fall or forfeit as they blasted the traditional wrestling power on its home mat.
Mickelson prevailed in a 7-1 decision over Winterset's Jacob England at 130 in the tightest decision for Ballard against the Huskies. The biggest match-up between the two schools came at 140 as Tanner Weatherman, ranked first at 135 in 2A, gave the Bombers a 15-4 major decision win over Winterset's Brady Betcher, who was rated ninth at 140.
Dakota Bauer had the only other non-pin victory on the mat for Ballard against Winterset as he took down the Huskies' Josh Patience by technical fall, 27-12, at 119. Easton Bridgewater (103), Grask (135), Tanner Hiatt (145), Taylor Eichinger (152), Trent Weatherman (160), Dillon Weatherman (189) and Schaudt (285) all had a pin against Winterset, while Ballard also received three forfeits.
Ballard 67, Nevada 7
103 - T.K. Pope (N) won by major decision over Easton Bridgewater (N), 15-5; 112 - Dakota Bauer (B) won by fall over Justin Kooiker (N), 3:49; 119 - Kaine Leighty (N) won by decision over Thad Keller (B), 4-2; 125 - Willie Miklus (B) won by fall over Ren Damme (N), 3:24; 130 - Brad Mickelson (B) won by fall over Sean Dulaney (N), 0:27; 135 - Tyler Grask (B) won by fall over Nick Harvey (N), 4:13; 140 - Tanner Weatherman (B) won by forfeit; 145 - Tanner Hiatt (B) won by fall over James Lloyd (N), 2:32; 152 - Taylor Eichinger (B) won by forfeit; 160 - Trent Weatherman (B) won by fall over Sam Lodestein (N), 1:26; 171 - T.J. Hiatt (B) won by fall over Lance Borton (N), 2:45; 189 - Dillon Weatherman (B) won by fall over Dakota Crow (N), 2:30; 215 - Clinton Eichinger (B) won by decision over Curtis Borts (N), 6-5; 285 - Chris Schaudt (B) won by major decision over Adam Crawford (N), 9-1
Ballard 72, Winterset 0
103 - Bridgewater (B) won by fall over Derek Miller (W), 1:01; 112 - Double forfeit; 119 - Bauer (B) won by technical fall over Josh Patience (W), 27-12; 125 - Miklus (B) won by forfeit; 130 - Mickelson (B) won by decision over Jacob England (W), 7-1; 135 - Grask (B) won by fall over Ruben Perez (W), 1:42; 140 - Ta. Weatherman (B) won by major decision over Brady Betcher (W), 15-4; 145 - T. Hiatt (B) won by fall over Tanner McFarland (W), 1:50; 152 - T. Eichinger (B) won by fall over Michael Abbot (W), 1:09; 160 - Tr. Weatherman (B) won by fall over Chris Barongan (W), 1:03; 171 - T.J. Hiatt (B) won by forfeit; 189 - D. Weatherman (B) won by fall over Colt Kerns (W), 3:06; 215 - C. Eichinger (B) won by forfeit; 285 - Schaudt (B) won by fall over Tanner Algoe (W), 0:20
GRIMES - Ballard kept on cruising against Raccoon River Conference foes in dual competition Jan. 20, as the Bombers remained undefeated in conference dual competition after a 56-18 drubbing of Dallas Center-Grimes at Grimes.
Ballard, ranked first in Class 2A, recorded five pins and two technical falls against a team currently rated 10th in 2A.
Tyler Grask (130 pounds), Tanner Weatherman (135), Taylor Eichinger (145), T.J. Hiatt (160) and Brock Weatherman (171) scored the pins for Ballard at the meet. Trent Weatherman (152) and Chris Schaudt picked up the two Bomber technical falls.
Tanner Hiatt won the biggest match-up for Ballard against DCG at 140. Hiatt, ranked second in 2A at that weight, earned a 15-6 major decision win over DCG's David Kellogg, who was rated seventh.
Ballard 56
Dallas Center-Grimes 18
103 pounds - Pryce Creighton (DCG) won by fall over Easton Bridgewater (B), 4:56; 112 - Dakota Bauer (B) won by forfeit; 119 - Connor Findlay (DCG) won by technical fall over Thad Keller (B), 16-0; 125 - Willie Miklus (B) won by forfeit; 130 - Tyler Grask (B) won by fall over Aaron McMurphy (DCG), 1:44; 135 - Tanner Weatherman (B) won by fall over Sam Anderson (DCG), 2:53; 140 - Tanner Hiatt (B) won by major decision over David Kellogg (DCG), 15-6; 145 - Taylor Eichinger (B) won by fall over Cory Stratton (DCG), 5:30; 152 - Trent Weatherman (B) won by technical fall over Jake Scherer (DCG), 18-1; 160 - T.J. Hiatt (B) won fall over Bret Nyquist (DCG), 2:40; 171 - Brock Weatherman (B) won by fall over Tyler Pullin (DCG), 3:56; 189 - Trevor Voelker (DCG) won by major decision over Dillon Weatherman (B), 17-5; 215 - James Armstrong (DCG) won by decision over Clinton Eichinger (B), 7-2; 285 - Chris Schaudt (B) won by technical fall over Zach Bauer (DCG), 20-5
