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.

Moving On Moving on By MIKE HORTON Herald-Index staff writer Southeast Polk crowned five district champions and had two second place finishers as the Ram team finished second at the district wrestling tournament at Marshalltown last Saturday. The seven SEP state qualifiers was one more than the team champions from DM Roosevelt had but Roosevelt picked up enough points in consolation matches to salvage the team title. Bill Borseth (125 pounds), Cory VanDenBroeke (145), Ty Knowler (160), Ethan Bass (189), and Barrett Eller (285) won district titles for the Rams. Four of these district champions defeated wrestlers who came into the meet with a higher state ranking. Bill Borseth (25-10) defeated Kaleb Brown (No. 4, 35-2) of Oskaloosa in the finals at 125. Borseth had a big third period to win his title. "My finals match didn't exactly start off as I had hoped and I was down 2-0 in the first period. We both got a reversal in the second period. In the third period with about 20 seconds left he had the legs in and I just kept working - kept moving and I got out and got him on his back. This was just another match, it's on a bigger stage, but you just gotta wrestle the same way - you always do," Borseth said. Cory VanDenBroeke (26-8) won a thrilling 15-11 decision over Jon Peden (No. 4, 35-2) of Oskaloosa in his final match at 145. "Getting a five point move early in the match gave me a lot of confidence. He beat me earlier in the year pretty bad - actually he teched me, but I broke him today. It was a good win - good for the team," VanDenBroeke said. Ty Knowler (No. 9, 19-6) defeated Keith Meeks (No. 6, 20-6) of Roosevelt and Bryce Skaggs (No. 3, 28-3) to win his 160-pound championship. "In the finals, I just went out and refused to lose. That kid has beaten me three or four times," Knowler said. "We watched a video this week of Mark Perry of Iowa. His quote was, 'A guy can beat you 100 times but you should always go out to win,' and that was kind of what I did. I stayed on the attack and got the job done." Ethan Bass (No.5, 30-4) won his 189-pound championship on a spectacular pin after trailing Jesse Swanson (No. 2, 27-2) of Knoxville 11-0 in the third period. It was the third pin of the day for Bass. "The match started off pretty bad. I just laid on the mat and didn't take any shots. I knew I had to do something big so I went for it. I call the move the flying cement mixer. I practice it in the room and have had a lot of success with it. It's usually my last effort move," Bass said. Barrett Eller (No. 5, 26-2) spent a total of two minutes 27 seconds on the mat for the day as he scored falls in the first period of each of his three matches at 285. "I had a good day. I had a good draw so I pinned my way, all in the first period. I didn't have much mat time," Eller said. Grant Wilson (103, 25-7) and Jake Crawford (215, 20-10) qualified for the state meet with second place finishes. Wilson suffered an ankle injury in his first match of the day that probably resulted in a loss in the championship round to Anthony San of Roosevelt, whom he had defeated earlier in the season. Crawford lost in his final round match at 215 but won his wrestle back match to earn his first trip to the state meet. Crawford was thrilled with his victory. "It feels awesome. I honestly don't know what to say. I have been waiting for this for a long time. Without freestyle and Greco and a lot of support from my friends and family I couldn't have done this," Crawford said. The Iowa State Wrestling Tournament begins on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The first and second place teams from 16 districts in Iowa will begin wrestling for the state dual-meet championship on Feb. 19. Southeast Polk will travel to Indianola for a regional meet starting at 7 p.m. Other SEP place winners 4. Sam German (112); 6. Nyal Wilson (119); 4. Blade Street (130); 6. Ryan Morrison (135); 5. T.J. Duff (140); 3. Cody Clark (152); 4. Brian Johnson (171). Team scoring 1. DM Roosevelt 224, 2. Southeast Polk 217.5, 3. Oskaloosa 153, 4. Newton 135, 5. Marshalltown 115, 6. DM East 90.5, Pella 87.5, Knoxville 71.

CIML INVITE By MIKE HORTON Herald-Index Staff Writer Posted at 17:05 on 02/06/2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEP, Indy dual meet co-champions The showdown dual scheduled for Jan. 17 between Southeast Polk and Indianola, both 4-0 in conference action, was canceled due to bad weather and will not be made up. There are no dates available prior to the district tournament on Feb. 9, so Southeast Polk and Indianola were declared co-dual meet conference champions for 2007-08. Senior Barrett Eller's heavyweight championship led the Southeast Polk wrestlers to a third place finish at the CIML wrestling tournament last Friday at Ames. The Rams advanced five wrestlers to the final round but only Eller came away with a gold medal. Eller scored a 10-2 decision and two pins to win his title in the 17-team tournament that included all three conferences of the Central Iowa Metro League. SEP coach Jason Christenson was especially pleased with Eller's championship. "Eller first came out for wrestling during his freshman year. He took a lot of beatings during his freshman and sophomore years. I'm sure that there were days when he questioned whether choosing wrestling the right choice or not. Last year his record was a little better than 500 and this year he is 24-2 and is a conference champion," Christenson said. Those who advanced to the finals but settled for a silver medal were, Bill Borseth (125), Cory VanDenBroeke (145), Ethan Bass (189) and Jake Crawford (215). Bass, ranked fifth in the state, lost a 6-5 decision to No. 3 Taylor Knight of Ames in the finals. Crawford lost a 5-3 overtime decision to Redmond of Valley in the championship match. Other top eight finishers for the Rams were; fifth - Grant Wilson (103); sixth - Blade Street (130); eighth - T.J. Duff (140); fifth - Cody Clark (152); and fourth - Ty Knowler (160). "We wrestled pretty well in the first three rounds and put ourselves in position to win the tournament but we went flat in the finals. We still need to work on wrestling consistently for the entire tournament. If we do that, the winning will take care of itself," Christenson said. Team scores - 1. Indianola 189.5; 2. Roosevelt 168.5; 3. Southeast Polk 163; 4. Fort Dodge 143.5; 5. Ankeny 117; 6. WDM Valley 113; 7. Mason City 111.5; 8. Urbandale 105.5; 9. East DM 95; 10. Ames 90; 11. Johnston 72.5; 12. North/Hoover 65.5; 13. Lincoln DM 61; 14. Marshalltown 54.5; 15. WDM Dowling Catholic 47.5; 16. Waukee 46; 17. Ottumwa 45

Comeback Kids Des Moines Register Article written by Dan McCool Brian Johnson might not get noticed for his work in Southeast Polk’s wrestling room, but his victory Thursday night drew rave reviews. Johnson beat No. 8 Zach Ewing 6-1 at 171 pounds to help the Rams (13-4) come from behind to beat Ankeny 34-30 in an exciting CIML Central Conference battle at the Rams’ gym. Southeast Polk is 3-0 in conference meets. Thursday’s loss snapped Ankeny’s 10-meet winning streak. The Hawks are 11-2 and 1-1 in conference matches. Jake Crawford’s 4-3 decision at 215 gave Southeast Polk its first lead since Grant Wilson’s 11-0 win in the opening bout and Barrett Eller’s 3-1 victory at heavyweight sealed the outcome. That ended Southeast Polk’s comeback from a 24-7 defecit after the 140-pound match. Eller said the Rams got moving with Cory VanDenBroeke’s 39-second pin at 145 pounds. “After that we just kind of rolled,” Eller said. “I kind of had a feeling it would come down to me anyway, considering we started at 103, and I had never done that before.” VanDenBroeke, Cody Clark at 152 and Ethan Bass at 189 collected pins as the Rams made their charge, but it was Johnson who got a huge win. Johnson got a takedown with 34 seconds left in his match with Ewing, and the move put Ewing to his back for three near-fall points and the win. During the week, Johnson said his choice of workout partners - including Bass, Clark and the injured Ty Knowler - doesn’t allow for sterling performances. “Those guys really push me,” Johnson said. When it’s Thursday night, Johnson said things seem to click. “Your nerves start going and you get pumped up,” Johnson said. “Your moves come to you and everything goes right.” Nearly everything started right for Ankeny. After Wilson gave Southeast Polk the 4-0 lead, Casey Sledge at 112, Matt Fontana at 119 and Travis Evans at 125 all got pins for the Hawks. Evans, who is ranked No. 5 at 119 in Class 3-A, weighed in at 125 Thursday and faced the Rams’ Bill Borseth, who is No. 6 at 125. Evans got the pin in 58 seconds. “We knew Southeast Polk was going to be tough, so we just wanted some flexibility in our lineup,” Evans said. “With the switch we did, we got two pins out of it. It was for the betterment of the team and for myself. It’s a morale booster beating a rated kid.” The energy that fueled Ankeny’s 24-7 lead after Tyler Middleton’s 6-3 victory at 140 slowly began to short out. “We were trying to get the ball back, but we never could,” Evans said. 103—Wilson (SEP) beat Reichenbacker, 11-0; 112—Sledge (A) pinned S. German, 3:23; 119—Fontana (A) pinned T. German, 3:06; 125—Evans (A) pinned Borseth, :58; 130—Puffett (SEP) beat Thorpe, 6-5; 135—Robinson (A) beat Berglund, 6-2; 140—Middleton (A) beat Duff, 6-3; 145—VanDenBroeke (SEP) pinned DeJong, :39; 152—Clark (SEP) pinned Nassiff, 3:57; 160—Rasmussen (A) pinned Ashby, 1:29; 171—Johnson (SEP) beat Ewing, 6-1; 189—Bass (SEP) pinned Rasmussen, 1:02; 215—Crawford (SEP) beat Slauson, 4-3; Hwt—Eller (SEP) beat Rouse, 3-1