Savages Win Sectional Tournament, Six Wrestlers Move on to Districts

Defending their home turf, the Sigourney Keota wrestling team had a big day last Saturday, February 7 when, as a team, they won the Iowa Class 1A Sectional 10 Tournament. 

The Savages had six wrestlers qualify for Districts on their way to 181 team points and will now compete in the Regional Dual which was held on Tuesday, February 9. 

“That's a pretty special moment for us. We had our eyes set on winning another tournament after missing out on the conference tournament the week before,” said Sigourney head coach  Corey VanDenHeuvel. “We just moved right on to this one. It was a pretty big task especially with number seven New London here. It was a team effort and everybody competed to the best of their ability.” 

Leading the charge as a returning State Qualifier from 2020, was sophomore Jack Clarahan, who earned first place in the 160-pound tournament. 

After pinning Libby Groom of North Mahaska in seven seconds in the semifinals, Clarahan picked up a tension filled 8-5 victory over Connor Golston of Moravia in the finals. 

“Jack actually beat a kid in the finals he hadn’t beaten before. We had seen Golston numerous times before and that was the first time he put up a W against him, “Jack wrestled tough and how he needed to. He changed his style in the finals and did what he needed to win. 

Fellow sophomore Daniel McLaughlin will also be competing at Districts this Saturday after he won the 126-pound sectional tournament. 

McLaughlin pinned Jalayna Shipley of North Mahaska in the semifinals before earning a 9-5 decision victory over Korbin Camp of Van Buren in the finals. 

“Dan wrestled solid all day. He wrestled to his ability and won his second tournament victory in a row,” VanDenHeuvel said. “He’s performing at a pretty high level right now, which is where we want to be.”

In the 170-pound tournament, Cade Molyneux wrestled in two of the day's most exciting matches on his way to a first-place finish. 

During the semifinals Molyneux pinned Ethan Martin midway through the third period and then in the finals Molyneux, trailing 15-6, pinned Boden Pickle of New London, eliciting the loudest crowd reaction of the day. 

“Cade has no quit and you can’t teach that,” VanDenHeuvel said. “He was cool, calm and collected. I wasn’t worried because of our conversations during all the blood timeouts. I was very comfortable with Cade because of his composure when we spoke.”

Joining the individual Sectional Champions at Districts this Saturday in Pleasantivlle will be juniors Cade Streigle and Aidan Schuster along with freshman Reid Molyneux all of which finished second in their respective weight classes. 

With six wrestlers looking to take the next step towards State Coach VanDenHeuvel has high expectations. 

“Going into Saturday, we’re just going to let it fly,” VanDenHeuvel said. “It’s a big day and we want to take it to the highest level and compete. It will be a fun day we’re ready to see who has the biggest fight.”