Chris Brincks brings East Buchanan's Tyler Hoffman off-balance in Saturday's Class 1A 195-lb. title match at the 2014 State Wrestling Meet. (Becky Walz photo)

Hageman and Brincks both make podium at State

Becky Walz
News Editor
bwalz@fayettepublishing.com

It was a great exhibition of wrestling for South Winn at the 2014 State Wrestling Meet in Des Moines last weekend as both Ryan Hageman and Chris Brincks made the podium Saturday night in their respective weight classes.

“I am very proud of the boys and how they prepared themselves for the state tournament and each match,” stated SW head coach Jacob Elsbernd. “Both worked hard this year to reach the state tournament and had goals of being on the awards stand. These two are great examples for younger kids who want to be successful. It’s not easy, but it is definitely worth it.

“Overall, I couldn’t be more happy about the performance this weekend,” continued Elsbernd. “We came thinking that we had two guys who could be toward the top of podium, and that is what they did – fought hard and left everything on the mat.”

Ranked seventh at 170 lbs., Ryan Hageman started his tournament versus sixth-ranked Payton Housman of Riverside (45-6), falling behind, 2-0, early. Merely 1:16 into the match, Hageman took his first lead, 3-2, following an escape and takedown. After riding Housman out in the second, Hageman utilized an escape and got another takedown to cruise his way to a 6-3 victory.

On Friday, Hageman lost his quarterfinal match, 6-1, to Dale Hilleman of West Marshall, who eventually went on to win the Class 1A 170 lb. title.

In the consolation bracket, Hageman faced Lisbon’s Jordan Woodward and picked up a takedown midway through the first period to lead, 2-0. In the second, the South Winn junior earned two back points and allowed Woodward an escape to lead, 4-1. In the defensive position in the third, Hageman escaped early and ended his match with a takedown in the closing 10 seconds to win, 7-1.

Continuing his bid for third place, Hageman matched up with fourth-ranked Koy Snider of Wilton. Locked at 0-0 in the first, Hageman chose to go down in the second. He earned an early escape and a takedown with approximately 30 seconds remaining before Snider escaped. The Wilton wrestler earned another escape in the third period, but Hageman held on for the 3-2 victory.

Hageman entered Saturday’s finals facing Logan Moore, falling, 6-0, to put him in a tight battle for fifth place with East Buchanan’s Dillon Pigsley. The junior held on to a close 4-3 decision to claim the fifth spot and finished the season 46-5.

With a 46-3 record, Chris Brincks entered the Class 1A 195 lb. bracket ranked fourth and dropped Clayton Ridge’s Kris Ihde to the mat 31 seconds into the match. Earning a total of five back points, Brincks finished Ihde off with a pin in 1:36 to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.

Friday afternoon, Warrior fans watched Brincks take down Ty Schneider of Southeast Warren merely 17 seconds into the quarterfinal match. He allowed Schneider an escape late in the first period but maintained a 2-1 lead. Dominating the match from start to finish, Brincks proved victorious with a 9-4 victory to move into the semifinals later that evening.

In the semifinals, Brincks fell behind, 0-1, in the second period. However, he managed to control the matchup and gained a takedown late to go on top, 2-1, over second-ranked Ben Wellman. In the third period, the senior picked up another point on an escape for the 3-1 upset.

Brincks finished his season on a high note Saturday night, capping off a stellar season by finishing second to top-ranked Tyler Hoffman of East Buchanan.

In Saturday’s finals, Hoffman struck first in the opening 40 seconds to get a takedown, but Brincks escaped seconds later, only to be taken down again, falling behind, 4-1. In the second period, Hoffman escaped to make the score 5-1. Brincks chose down in the third, escaping to make it 5-2 and soon earned a takedown. Hoffman quickly picked up a reversal to cut the score to 7-4. However, Brincks gave up a late escape to be denied the 195 lb. title by an 8-4 decision.

The senior finished his season 48-4, with three of his losses to Hoffman.

“I am very thankful for the team effort that it took to get these guys to reach their goals. We have great practice partners and a bunch of teammates who push each other every day,” praised Elsbernd. “I have four great assistant coaches who put a lot of time into each kid on our team, care about the kids and how they can help them individually.

“We also had great support from the families on our team and some of the fans that come to meets throughout the year – not just the state tournament, but each dual and tournament along the way,” concluded Elsbernd. “Those people are the ones that really support you through a long season.”