Roland-Story sports round-up. Two Norse wrestlers qualify for state

The Roland-Story boys wrestling team advanced two wrestlers to the traditional state tournament from the Class 2A District 10 meet in Webster City Saturday.

Hesston Johnson qualified at 170 pounds after taking first and Jaxson Kadolph is also headed to Wells Fargo Arena after placing second at 195.

Roland-Story took sixth out of eight teams at Webster City with 56 points. Webster City won with a score of 204.

The Roland-Story girls basketball team survived its first postseason test with a 43-35 victory over Heart of Iowa Conference rival Nevada in the Class 3A regional quarterfinals Saturday in Story City.

The Norse girls improved to 12-10 with the regional win. Roland-Story fell to 3A No. 4 West Marshall in its final game of the regular season, 57-43, Feb. 7 at State Center to finish second to the Trojans in the HOIC with a 10-4 conference record.

The 2A No. 2 Roland-Story boys basketball team capped its second perfect 14-0 run through the HOIC in a row with an 83-33 dismantling of West Marshall. The Norsemen wrapped up the regular season by edging Grundy Center, 55-53, to improve to 21-1.

Here is what we learned from this week's Roland-Story high school sports competition.

Hesston Johnson, Jaxson Kadolph step up at Webster City

Johnson and Kadolph both raised the bar when it mattered most during Saturday's 2A District 10 wrestling meet.

Johnson went 3-0 Saturday to take a 17-4 record into state at 170. After battling health issues during the season Johnson has been able to reach top form when it mattered most, scoring three falls at the district meet.

Johnson pinned Hampton-Dumont-CAL's Sean Heilskov in 15 seconds during the quarter finals and Humboldt's Landon Halverson in 1:45 during the semifinals. The championship round saw Johnson stick Webster City's Austin Mason in 4:35 to claim a district title and punch his ticket to state.

Kadolph is going to state with a 28-17 record at 195. He finished 1-1 during the district meet.

Kadolph received a bye in the quarterfinals then earned a 12-3 major decision over HDC's Maddon Evans in the semifinals. Kadolph lost by fall to second-ranked C.J. Hisler of Webster City in the finals, but he didn't need a wrestle-back match to earn his spot at state.

Aaron Peyton fell one spot shy of making state after placing third at 285.

Peyton pinned Humboldt's Cael Newell in 3:46, lost by fall to HDC's Carter Heilskov, received a consolation semifinal bye then won the third-place match over Webster City's Landon Griffin by a 3-1 decision, but he was unable to earn a wrestle-back. Peyton finished the season with a strong 31-15 record.

Anthony Jones was the only other Norse wrestler to earn a victory on the mat at districts. Jones went 1-2 at 145, pinning HDC's Colin Bird in 39 seconds during the consolation first round.

The boys state wrestling meet runs this Wednesday through Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The 2A competition begins at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, with Saturday's consolation semifinals starting at 9 a.m. and the finals beginning at 5:15 p.m.

Norse girls get past Nevada again during 3A regionals

The Roland-Story girls basketball team made it 3-0 against Nevada this season with its regional quarterfinal victory over the Cubs.

The Norse trailed 16-15 at the half. They took charge with a 13-6 run in the third quarter and continued to keep the Cubs at bay in the fourth to advance to the semifinals.

Roland-Story prevailed despite shooting just 31.2% from the field. The Norse finished the game with 22 rebounds and 12 steals.

Madi Bauer had 11 points and five steals and Elizabeth Ihle 9 points and five assists for Roland-Story in the win. Alyssa Jones added 8 points and five rebounds off the bench, Claire Truesdell scored 7 points, Kamryn Lande finished with 4 points and six rebounds and Kate Berggren 4 points and three boards.

Nevada finished its season with an 11-11 record.

Roland-Story couldn't overcome a poor second half during its loss to West Marshall to close out the regular season Feb. 7.

The Norse were outscored 37-22 over the final two quarters. They were hurt by 24 turnovers and a 33-26 rebounding deficit.

Truesdell had 14 points, Bauer 9 points, four rebounds and three assists and Jones 9 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Roland-Story boys wrap up another perfect HOIC campaign

The Roland-Story boys basketball team capped its second undefeated run through the HOIC in a row with a dominant outing versus West Marshall.

The Norsemen shot a blistering 59.7% from the field and had 20 steals in the win. They led 40-12 at the half and outscored the Trojans 30-9 in the third quarter to break the game open.

Isaiah Naylor scored 26 points and had four assists and five steals in the win. Jonovan Wilkinson went for 15 points, six rebounds, six steals and five assists, Ben Greenfield added 15 points and nine assists, Luke Patton chipped in 8 points and 13 rebounds and Dillon Lettow came up with 8 points and four steals.

The Norsemen got past Grundy Center in their final game of the regular season after fending off a Spartan rally. They held on despite being outscored 38-28 in the second half.

Roland-Story overcame a rare rebounding deficit (33-30) and 1 of 6 shooting display from the foul line by committing just seven turnovers and holding Grundy Center to four free-throw attempts.

Naylor hit 5 of 7 3-pointers and went for 24 points and three rebounds, assists and steals apiece to lead the Norsemen to victory over the Spartans. Wilkinson added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, Greenfield 11 points, six rebounds and four steals and Patton 4 points, seven rebounds and three assists and blocks apiece.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Two Roland-Story wrestlers qualify for state, Norse girls top Nevada