Osage makes statement at Battle of Waterloo
By Kristi Nixon
WATERLOO — The Green Devils clinched the Battle of Waterloo with a match remaining when Class 2A No. 2 Anders Kittelson earned a win by major decision over 3A No. 6 Zane Behrends of Waverly-Shell Rock for Osage’s first team victory at the BOW in its 12-year history.
The stunner over a higher nationally-ranked Go-Hawks team came on the heels of the Green Devils’ first dual loss of the season, 37-36, against Ankeny on Saturday, Dec. 17.
But with the tiebreak since all three championship teams went 2-1, the Green Devils took home the team trophy on the fourth round-robin tiebreak (least individual penalty points).
Huge in the upset of W-SR was Tucker Stangel, who had a big day, bumping up to 152 pounds, where he got a late takedown to earn a 4-3 decision against the Go-Hawks’ Bas Diaz. Chase Thomas, Max Gast and ultimately Nick Fox all bumped up a weight as well, with two of the three taking Green Devil victories. Also, W-SR yielded a pair of lower-weight forfeits.
“We bumped because I was pretty sure they were going to bump in the first could weights (they did) and we liked the match-up we had at similar weights,” Coach Brent Jennings said. “Not sure it made a difference and wouldn’t really know unless we wrestled it both ways and saw how the chips fell. I don’t think it hurt us by doing it.”
Jennings’ team opened Saturday’s championship bracket with a dominant performance against Class 1A top-ranked Don Bosco, 40-20, with one of many marquee matches for Barrett Muller during the weekend at 220 pounds.
He won an outstanding match between top-ranked 1A wrestler Jared Thiry with a takedown in overtime, setting off a huge team celebration and essentially clinching the dual.
Osage had reached the final of the Rich Binek (Bracket A) in the Battle of Waterloo on Friday, Dec. 16.
The Class 2A top-ranked Green Devils, also ranked nationally, went on to claim the bracket title in an impressive display.
Jennings’ team opened with a 55-14 victory over Waterloo Columbus, moving on to take down Crestwood, 45-30, and advanced to the final against Cedar Rapids Prairie, where it dominated the Hawks, 61-13.
“We had a great team effort and stressed fighting for every point and not giving up bonus points in losses,” Jennings said. “A lot of big head-to-head matchups with top-ranked guys in these duals. We won some and lost some but we learned a lot by wrestling these top-ranked guys. We had some big wins from several guys but some standout matches came from Blake Fox, Tucker Stangel and Barrett Muller. As a team, we had more total falls than any other team at 31.”
“I am proud of our team effort and what we were able to accomplish. We are the smallest 2A school in Iowa battling schools with student bodies several times our size and our kids have prevailed. We will continue to test ourselves by competing against solid competition.”
This version of the story is only available on the web site due to print deadline issues.
