Teams / Southeast Polk Rams

All- Americans Status for Clark and Bass Local wrestlers earn All-American status By MIKE HORTON Herald-Index Staff Writer Posted at 04:05 on 04/21/2008 Southeast Polk eighth-grader Cory Clark and junior Ethan Bass earned All-American honors at the ASICS/USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals held last weekend in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Over 2,400 young wrestlers from all corners of the country participated in the three-day tournament and those who finish in the top eight in their weight classes are considered All-Americans. Clark defeated Joey Dance of Virginia Wrestling Club 4-2 to win a Cadet National Championship at 91 pounds. Clark went undefeated in a bracket of 32 wrestlers. Clark had a perfect season on the SEP junior high wrestling team this year and has won several weekend tournaments after the season was over. "I enjoy the competition. It is hard work but it is worth it when you win tournaments like this one," Clark said. Bass earned his All-American status by finishing third in the 64-man bracket at 215 pounds in the junior division. Bass defeated Alex Burke of the Iowa Cedar Hawk Wrestling Club 3-1 for the bronze medal. Bass has been out for track this spring and hasn't wrestled since he finished fourth in the state tournament last month. Coach Jason Christenson, who took a team of 10 SEP wrestlers to the tournament, was thrilled with the performance of all who competed. "Cory had a great tournament and is a tremendous prospect for our program here at Southeast Polk. Bass hadn't wrestled since our regular season was over. He went into the tournament without any expectations and wrestled with a good deal of freedom. He did a tremendous job and learned he can be as good a wrestler as he wants to be," Christenson said. Other wrestlers who participated in the nationals were Cody Clark (3-2), Brian Johnson (4-2), Ty Knowler (3-2), Drew Stewart, Bill Borseth, Jake Crawford, Tyler Chapman and Taylor Bowie.

Five Medalists at State Tourney The five Southeast Polk wrestlers who won district championships each earned a spot on the victory stand Saturday at the Iowa State Wrestling Tournament. Junior Ethan Bass (35-6) was the top finisher for the Rams, earning a fourth place medal at 189 pounds. Bass pinned Sean Elliott of Spencer in the first round but fell to Dylan Wrage of Waverly-Shell Rock in the quarterfinals. Bass wrestled back to the finals of the consolation round with a 14-6 decision over Andrew Davis of Glenwood and a pin over Tyler Hoerner of Epworth Western Dubuque. Bass lost to Derek Nightser of Council Bluffs Lewis Central in the consolation final to finish fourth. Senior Ty Knowler (22-9) wrapped up his wrestling career at Southeast Polk by placing sixth at 160 pounds. Knowler started the tournament with wins in the first two rounds but slipped to sixth after dropping his final three matches. Junior Bill Borseth (28-12) posted a 3-2 record in the state meet at 125. Borseth placed seventh by scoring a fall and two decisions and losing two decisions. Senior Cory Van Den Broeke (30-10) also posted a 3-2 record at 145 pounds, finishing in seventh place with a pin over Luke Harm of Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln in his final consolation match. Senior Barrett Eller (285 pounds, 29-5) went 2-3 during the tournament, finishing in sixth place. He earned a 3-0 decision in the first round against Mike Burrage of Des Moines North-Hoover and a 5-3 decision in the first round of the consolation bracket. State qualifiers by way of a second place finish at the district meet were senior Grant Wilson (103, 25-9) and junior Jake Crawford (215, 21-12) who lost their first two matches of the tournament.