The 12th annual Battle of Waterloo drew the top teams from across the state to compete over two days for the dual format tournament championship. The Sailor wrestlers would find themselves facing off with eventual tournament champions Osage in the opening round on Friday morning. Although a wide gap exists between the two lineups, with Osage boasting the #1 ranked dual team in class 2A, and the Sailors not appearing in the dual rankings in class 1A. There were a number of individual matchups that were drawing a ton of interest from all corners of the state.
In what could be argued as the premier matchup of the entire tournament, the Sailors own defending state champ and #1 ranked Max Magayna would face off with 2A #1 ranked and defending state champ Nick Fox from Osage. These two opponents are very familiar with each other as they are training partners at Immortal Athletics Wrestling Club.
Magayna was able to open the match getting the first takedown and was able to ride out the first period maintaining a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Fox chose to start the period neutral. Being familiar with how tough Max is on top, he decided that he wanted none of that action. Fox came out aggressive looking to go upper body for a big throw. Max defended well and dropped into a shot of his own off of the failed throw attempt. He not only secured the takedown, but was able to get a turn as well on the same exchange for three back points which really broke this match open. That advantage would prove to be enough as he would take this matchup with an 8-1 decision.
1A #3 ranked Carson Hartz would keep things going, with his own ranked matchup with 2A #7 ranked Cole Jeffries. Carson would come out of the gate swinging, hitting a fireman’s carry to open up the match with a takedown and back points. Carson would keep the pedal down for the duration of the match, getting takedowns and back points in each of the three periods en route to a 19-2 tech fall.
In the final ranked matchup of the dual, 1A #7 ranked Mason Knipp would meet up with defending state champ and 2A #1 ranked Barrett Muller. Mason would be aggressive from the first whistle, getting the first two takedowns of the match and carrying a 6-3 lead into the second period. He would tack on another takedown in the second period to extend his lead, and that would be enough to finish the match with a 9-7 victory and defeating the second state champ of the day. Sailors would ultimately lose the dual, but would win all three of the ranked matchups.
Coming off of a good performance against Osage, Carson and Mason wouldn’t get any easier matches in the second dual of the day with Iowa City High. Mason would face none other than #1 ranked pound for pound wrestler in the country, U-20 world champion, and Iowa Hawkeyes recruit Ben Kueter. Mason would not be able to come up with the same magic as he did in the first match, falling to Kueter in the first period.
Carson Hartz would also draw a difficult matchup, with 3A #1 ranked, #2 ranked in the country, and Iowa Hawkeye recruit Gabe Arnold. Gabe moved to Iowa City from wrestling powerhouse Wyoming Seminary a year early to go to school and train with Ben Kueter. Carson would battle tough in this matchup, stuffing numerous offensive attacks. He would ultimately fall 15-6 in this matchup. Carson was the only wrestler who did not get pinned or teched against Arnold the entire weekend. Columbus would lose the dual with City High, but did pick up pin fall victories from Joe Hackett, John Hackett, Max Magayna, and Connor Knudtson.
Columbus would finish up Friday morning with a matchup against Charles City. Columbus would benefit from four forfeits in the dual, a rare feet for the Sailors in recent years. The Sailors would also get a major decision from Gavin Reed with a 9-0 victory, and yet another pin from Joe Hackett who has been a pinning machine as of late. Columbus would take this dual 46-28 and would finish the bracket portion of the tournament in 7th place.
On Saturday morning the Sailors would begin the pool portion of the tournament with a pool filled with familiar foes. That would begin with a preview of next week’s matchup with the Denver Cyclones, and then would follow up with rematches against Waterloo West and Waterloo East. Denver came out hot and took the dual to the Sailors to start the day in what was nearly a worst case scenario for the Sailors. Columbus would lose the first five matches of the dual to find themselves in a 0-25 hole. The Sailors would pick up three forfeits and two pins from Knipp and Knudtson to turn the tide. This dual would still come down to the final match with Mason Burr at 126 pounds. Burr delivered in a big way, amassing a huge lead before ultimately getting the fall and winning the dual for the Sailors.
The final dual of the day was a rematch from the first dual of the year. Waterloo East initially took that dual on opening night, but recently that was overturned to a Sailor victory with an ineligible wrestler competing for the Trojans. The Sailors would look to drastically change that outcome, with a fully healthy lineup the second time around the Sailors would look to leave nothing to chance and earn a more decisive victory against their cross town rivals.
John Hackett got things started with a pin for the Sailors. That match represented a huge swing as John was not in the Sailors lineup during the first meeting. The Sailors took every match from 170-285 to build a commanding lead that they would not relinquish. Gavin Reed closed it out with a 6-0 decision and Columbus would take the dual 51-24 and finish the tournament 4-2. The victory also gave Columbus the pool 7 victory, which is the first time they had won a pool since the 2013 season.
Sailors will next be in action on December 22 with road duals in Jesup facing off against Denver and Jesup.
Columbus vs Osage
113- Joe Hackett- L Maj 9-1 to Garrett Tusler
120- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 0:59 to Blake Fox
126- Mason Burr- W Dec 12-5 over Brock Trees
132- Calvin Smith- L Fall 1:12 to Anders Kittelson
138- Gavin Reed- L Dec 4-3 to Darren Adams
145- John Hackett- L Fall 0:25 to Tucker Stangel
152- CJ Schuman- L Fall 0:48 to Chase Thomas
160- Ethan Harper- L Fall 0:15 to Max Gast
170- Max Magayna- W Dec 8-1 over Nick Fox
182- Henry Erie- L Fall 2:30 to Ledger Nehls
195- Carson Hartz- W Tech 19-2 over Cole Jefferies
220- Mason Knipp- W Dec 9-7 over Barrett Muller
285- Connor Knudtson- W Fall 1:15 over Mac Muller
Columbus 14 Osage 55
Columbus vs Iowa City High
120- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 3:08
126- Mason Burr- L Tech 18-3 to Cale Seaton
132- Calvin Smith- L Fall 2:21 to Kael Kurtz
138- Gavin Reed- L Dec 6-1 to Jake Mitchell
145- John Hackett- W Fall 1:35 over Phillip Kaplan
152- CJ Schuman- L Dec 9-5 to Gabe Egeland
160- Gage Gelner- L Fall 1:25 to Nick Marker
170- Max Magayna- W Fall 0:25 over Jesse Hendershot
182- Henry Erie- L Fall 3:02 to Raphael Etuma
195- Carson Hartz- L Maj 15-6 to Gabe Arnold
220- Mason Knipp- L Fall 0:22 to Ben Kueter
285- Connor Knudtson- W Fall 1:53 over Trey Dervrich
113- Joe Hackett- W Fall 1:27 over Chris Davis
Columbus 24 Iowa City High 51
Columbus vs Charles City
126- Mason Burr- W Forfeit
132- Calvin Smith- W Forfeit
138- Gavin Reed- W Maj 9-0 over Dylan LaPolice
145- John Hackett- L Maj 14-1 to Nathan Lopez
152- CJ Schuman- L Fall 0:52 to Talan Weber
160- Ethan Harper- L Fall 0:20 to Colton Anderegg
170- Max Magayna- W Fall 1:07 over Carter Burkhead
182- Henry Erie- L Fall 0:48 to Kayden Blunt
195- Carson Hartz- W Fall 2:47 over Trevor Peterson
220- Mason Knipp- W Forfeit
285- Connor Knudtson- W Forfeit
113- Joe Hackett- W Fall 0:44 over Carter Haberkorn
120- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 0:36 to Jordan Young
Columbus 46 Charles City 28
Columbus vs Denver
132- Calvin Smith- L Maj 11-1 to Vincent McLaughlin
138- Gavin Reed- L Dec 5-2 to Boden White
145- John Hackett- L Fall 5:33 to Gavin McLaughlin
152- CJ Schuman- L Fall 2:41 to Xander Peterson
160- Gage Gelner- L Fall 0:42 to Ethan Krabbenhoft
170- Max Magayna- W Forfeit
182- Henry Erie- W Forfeit
195- Carson Hartz- W Forfeit
220- Mason Knipp- W Fall 4:56 over Cody Koepke
285- Connor Knudtson- W Fall 1:14 over Cade Bonnette
113- Joe Hackett- W Fall 1:41 over Jonathan Smeltser
120- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 1:28 to Connor McLaughlin
126- Mason Burr- W Fall 4:47 over Kale Lyons
Columbus 42 Denver 37
Columbus vs Waterloo West
138- Gavin Reed- W Dec 3-1 over Brady Dean
145- John Hackett- W Fall 1:21 over Christian Ramirez
152- CJ Schuman- L Fall 1:35 to Cooper Paxton
160- Gage Gelner- L Fall 0:32 to Michael Dunn
170- Max Magayna- W Fall 0:32 over Braden Nystrom
182- Henry Erie- W Forfeit
195- Carson Hartz- W Forfeit
220- Mason Knipp- W Forfeit
285- Connor Knudtson- W Forfeit
113- Joe Hackett- W Forfeit
120- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 1:18 to Payton Kacher
126- Mason Burr- W Fall 5:13 over Michael Ellis
132- Calvin Smith- L Fall 3:59 to Ryan Lindaman
Columbus 51 Waterloo West 30
Columbus vs Waterloo East
145- John Hackett- W Fall 5:53 over John Sailor
152- CJ Schuman- L Fall 1:29 to Ryan Strong
160- Gage Gelner- L Fall 1:37 to William Clark
170- Ethan Harper- W Forfeit
182- Max Magayna- W Fall 0:57 over Demaris Henderson
195- Carson Hartz- W Fall 2:22 over Brayden Peters
220- Mason Knipp- W Forfeit
285- Connor Knudtson- W Forfeit
113- Joe Hackett- W Fall 1:33 over Alejandro Sanguino
120- Francisco Mendoza Diaz- L Fall 0:53 to Connor Whitson
126- Mason Burr- W Fall 1:27 over Landen Foote
138- Gavin Reed- W Dec 6-0 over Isaac Lomas
Columbus 51 Waterloo East 24
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