Marshalltown Bobcats

“‘Don’t get pinned,'” Wright said.

With Thursday’s dual against Ames hanging in the balance, the Bobcat freshman was the one doing the pinning in the final match of the night to clinch an MHS upset of the 3A No. 14 Little Cyclones, 40-29, in an Iowa Alliance dual in the Roundhouse.

Wright pinned Keiyon Aaron of Ames in the second period, one of four victories in a row at the end of the meet for the Bobcats to rally to the rivalry victory.

Just before Wright’s victory, freshman Nicholas Million secured a 12-1 major decision at 106 pounds.

“It’s good to see young guys step up in an environment like this and perform like we know they can,” MHS head coach Luke Cross said. “Ashton was just the bookend of that but we had several step up and do big things for us tonight.”

Cross said he felt the momentum shifting when sophomore John Schoenfelder recorded a second-period pin at 215 pounds, in what was also Schoenfelder’s first varsity match after the Bobcats had to move their lineup at the higher weights including Ignacio Macias moving up to heavyweight after missing weight at 215.

“Our lineup was a little screwy,” Cross said. “[Schoenfelder] wrestled in middle school and decided to come out this year, and we’re very thankful he did.”

Macias picked up an 11-5 decision at heavyweight. Other winners for the Bobcats included Lucas Bantz (132 pounds), Nick Wise (144), and Xayvion Anderson (165) by fall and Kager Kremer (150) by decision.

“Where Ames is good in the lineup, they’re really good,’ Cross said. “We knew going into some of those weights that it’d be a dogfight, and it’s nice to see guys like Colby [Cross] where even when he’s wrestling a ranked opponent, he’s getting teched instead of getting pinned. Those points matter in situations like this. And you can’t say enough about guys like Nick Wise, Xayvion, Bantz and Kager.”

Wright says he’s inspired by returning state qualifiers like Bantz and Anderson, and many of the other Bobcat upperclassmen.

“I look up to them every day in practice,” Wright said. “They help me out, keep me on task, and I really appreciate it because it made me come out here today and get that pin.”

After a brief injury time for Aaron between the first and second period, Wright took a shot in the second period, got head control and a leg to power Aaron to his back where Wright eventually secured the pin.

“I could tell he was getting really tired and I saw an opening to put him on his back,” Wright said.

Cross said there’s plenty of work yet to be done after this first step.

“I always say the real questions begin once we start competing,” Cross said. “And now I can see some of those flaws that we have, and sometimes it’s minor things we’re not doing costing us big time in matches. … It’s stuff we can get away with in the room, but when you’re against the state-ranked kid, you’re going to have a hard time if you’re complacent.

“You never know when it comes down to a rivalry, and we knew Ames was pretty good, but we weren’t going to back down no matter what. The bench was in the thick of it to the very end, JV wrestlers back there, us coaches, the whole crowd took us to the end. It was a great environment.”

The Bobcat boys head to Williamsburg for a tournament on Saturday.

MARSHALLTOWN GIRLS DROP TWO: The Marshalltown girls wrestling team lost to West Des Moines Valley, 48-36, and Ames, 63-15, in wrestling action in the Roundhouse on Thursday.

“That first one [against Valley], I felt good,” MHS head coach Isaiah Cox said. “Close dual against a good team, little stuff to improve on, bunch of new girls. But that second dual, I felt like we didn’t fight enough, didn’t fight hard, and the girls understood where I was coming from when we talked about it. We’ve just got to keep working.”

Ava Kusserow went 2-0 on Thursday with a pin and victory by decision in a close match with Ames’ Lily Anderson.

“She showed her grit,” Cox said. “She’s a fighter, she’s a dog, and that’s something I can point to for the girls as someone who’s doing all the right things, coming to everything, someone they can be like.”

Freshman Olivia Wise picked up her first win with a pin at 190 pounds in the Ames dual on Thursday; Natalie Nickey was the other winner against Ames with a pinfall victory at 100 pounds and also received a forfeit win against Valley.

“That was a big win for Olivia,” Cox said. “She listened to everything we talked about with her opponent and went out there and did it. She’s got a lot of growing yet to do and doesn’t even know her own strength right now.”