DCG girls hoops starts new streak, wrestlers take third place

The Mustangs returned this week from the holiday hiatus to pick up some key wins to start the new year. (Note: Events covered Jan. 3-8)

Girls Basketball (9-2)

Walking into the winter pause with a loss to Johnston, the Mustangs came back strong with a pair of conference wins against Norwalk (2-6) and Indianola (5-4).

Taking a lead from the jump, the Mustangs never looked back against the Warriors as they chased down a 63-37 win. It’s now been nearly six years since Norwalk beat the DCG girls. That win was brought to you by an Emma Miner double-double that was just three assists shy of making it a triple.

In the comfort of their own gym on Friday against the Indians, the Mustangs overcame a halftime deficit by going on a 22-5 run coming out of the locker room. That was led Miner’s 16-point performance, and another 12 from Finley Fitzgerald- ultimately ending in a 52-41 win. Kayla Reis was also heavily involved for a season-high 13 points. She made a living from the perimeter where she shot 3-of-5 three-points without attempting any shot inside two-point range apart from her four free throws.

Boys Basketball

Led by a trio of double-digit scorers between Hudson Ehlert (19 points), Calix Cahill (14) and Jaden Jones (11), the Mustangs made relatively easy work of Norwalk (4-3) on Jan. 3 to improve their stock within the conference.

And that stock nearly skyrocketed on Friday as the Mustangs were two points shy of handing the first loss of the season to Indianola (8-0).

With a tied game through the first half, the final edge went to the Indians with a 46-45 win*. Their next meeting is right around the corner, though, with DCG traveling to Indianola on Feb. 3. The past two seasons have seen the rivals split their series 1-1.

*Individual stats were not available at the time of writing

Girls Wrestling

Competing with 30 teams including a busload from Nebraska, the Mustangs wound up in third place at the Ogden Girls Gold Tournament on Saturday.

While that didn’t end in any first-place prizes, Ava Gannon (105 pounds) and Gracie Waage (110) sat atop the team’s point totals with second-place finishes.

Still a little green this season having just seven previous matchups behind her, Gannon was 3-0 before the title match where she lost a 6-0 decision to a 19-1 opponent. She improved to 10-1 for the season.

Waage came into the day with an unblemished record, and maintained that status until the championship round where she fell to Sophia Harris of Humboldt. Waage now holds a 24-1 record for DCG.

Also earning medal finishes were Asia Jahangir (130), Mackenize Sizemore (155) and Halley Beaudet (190.)

Boys Wrestling

With 15 teams at the Bobcat Jerry Eckenrod Invitational on Saturday, DCG landed itself in fifth place.

Giving the Mustangs their biggest boost in the standings, Jacob Fistler held on to his one-loss record and went 4-0 for the day to finish in first place. That included a big win over West Liberty’s Drake Collins. Fistler now sits with a 19-1 record for the season.

The next two weight classes for DCG also finished in the top three, with Ben Brushaber (182) and Lane Nelsen (195) each adding bronze finishes to their resume. They both went 4-1 for the day.

This article originally appeared on Dallas County News: DCG girls hoops starts new streak, wrestlers take third place