Plainsmen’s strength in middle of lineup

The Belle Plaine boys’ wrestling team moved to 6-2 in duals after adding two victories Thursday over Baxter and English Valleys.

The Plainsmen defeated the Bolts 54-6 and the Bears 34-22.

“I feel like we've had a pretty good start to the year,” Belle Plaine coach Brandon Heying said Thursday. “We are currently 4-2 in dual meets, and we have been in two tournaments and finished second in both.”

(After the weekend, Belle Plaine stands at 6-2 in duals.)

Some strong showings have been seen from the Plainsmen in tournaments so far this season.

“For a team of 11 wrestlers, I can't ask much more than that,” Heying said. “We have some good leadership and experience from our upperclassmen, and we also have some young wrestlers getting valuable experience and mat time as well, delivering some strong performances in duals and tourneys.”

A blend of upperclassmen and younger guys made up the Plainsmen lineup this season.

The strength of the Plainsmen’s lineup comes from three juniors in the 144, 150 and 157-pound weight classes: Aidan Timm, Will Sankot and Wade Sankot.

Underclassmen Jake Buttikofer (106), Hayden Neuhaus (120) and Devin Timm (126) have also performed well in the first half of the season.

The Plainsmen brought seven wrestlers to a competitive field at the Tripoli Invitational Saturday.

Timm and Will Sankot won their round-robin matches at 144 and 150 to advance to 16-3 and 17-2, respectively. Wade Sankot placed third at 157.

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Here’s a look at other area results from the week:

Vinton-Shellsburg Triangular

VINTON — The Williamsburg girls’ wrestling team went 1-1 in duals Thursday at Vinton.

The Raiders gave the Class 1A fourth-ranked Vikettes one heck of a fight, losing by tiebreaker criteria, 37-36.

In the other dual, the Raiders defeated West Delaware 48-30, winning six matches by fall.

The Raiders’ guys also finished 1-1.

In another ranked dual matchup, the Raiders suffered their first loss of the season, 35-25, to Class 2A No. 5 West Delaware.

The Raiders defeated Vinton-Shellsburg 71-3 to move to 20-1 on the season.

Highland Tournament

RIVERSIDE — The English Valleys girls’ wrestling team brought six wrestlers to Highland Friday night, scoring a total of 40 points.

Anna Gorsh placed highest, finishing third at 120 pounds.

Emily Sieren finished fifth at 100.

Allie Morrison Duals

MARSHALLTOWN — The BGM girls placed fourth out of six teams at the Allie Morrison Duals Saturday.

The Bears defeated Columbus Catholic 36-6 and BCLUW 36-18.

Carlisle Quad

CARSLISE — The Williamsburg girls went 2-1 in duals battling against bigger schools Saturday in Carlisle.

The Raiders defeated Norwalk 54-16 and Indianola 36-34 but lost to Carlisle by one, 42-41.

Anamosa Tournament

ANAMOSA — The Iowa Valley girls scored a total of 82 points Saturday in Anamosa.

Skyler Hoyt (120) finished runner-up, and Raelene Hawkins (170) placed third.

Eva Kriegel (110) added a fourth-place finish for the Tigers.

Jerry Eckenrod Invitational

VAN HORNE — Williamsburg produced two finalists Saturday in one of the premier boys’ wrestling tournaments of the regular season.

Nile Sinn, at 150, lost a close final to Anamosa’s Hudson Scranton by a 5-4 decision.

Waukee Northwest’s Henry Mohr pinned Trenton Davies, at heavyweight.

The Raiders placed eight as a team scoring 143 points.