TCT sports round-up: Ballard wrestlers place third at Nashua-Plainfield
The Ballard wrestling team placed third at the Nashua-Plainfield Invitational and the Bombers dropped dual meets to Ankeny and Webster City last week.
The Bombers produced five top-two finishes in scoring 198.5 points to trail only Wilton (235.5) and Nashua-Plainfield (226.5) among the 15 competing teams at the Nashua-Plainfield Invite Saturday. Ballard suffered a 36-30 loss to Ankeny and a 38-34 decision to Webster City at home Dec. 8.
The Ballard girls wrestling team took 10th at the Valley Girls Tournament Saturday with 60 points. Ames won with a score of 141.
The Collins-Maxwell wrestling team placed 15th out of 16 teams at the Saydel Invitational Saturday with 26 points. I-35 won the team title with 189.5 points.
Two Spartans picked up a victory on the mat during the tournament.
In basketball action the Class 4A second-ranked Ballard girls improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Raccoon River Conference with victories over Bondurant-Farrar and Boone. The Bombers defeated Bondurant-Farrar by a decisive 57-22 margin in Huxley Dec. 6 and won at Boone by a 46-25 score Friday.
The Ballard boys suffered their first loss Dec. 6 with a 75-69 setback at home. The Bombers came back to down Boone by a 48-38 score Friday, improving to 2-1 both overall and in the RRC.
The Collins-Maxwell girls swept Ankeny Christian and Meskwaki to improve to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Iowa Star Conference South Division. The Spartans took down Ankeny Christian in a 44-37 battle and they crushed Meskwaki, 62-19.
The Collins-Maxwell boys split with Ankeny Christian and Meskwaki. The Spartans suffered a 54-44 loss at Ankeny Christian Dec. 6 and they routed Meskwaki, 83-15, Friday at Tama to put their record at 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the ISC South.
Here is what we learned from how Ballard and Collins-Maxwell performed this past week.
Ballard crowns three champions at Nashua-Plainfield
The Ballard wrestling team had three wrestlers place first and two more come in second at the Nashua-Plainfield Invitational.
Brody Sampson (182 pounds), Gabe Christensen (195) and Henry Christensen (220) were the three Bombers to end up on top of the podium Saturday.
Sampson pinned BCLUW-South Hardin's Sawyer Kane in one minute, earned a 10-1 major decision over Nashua-Plainfield's Tate White and pulled off a 3-0 decision over Wilton's Kaden Shirk in the championship round. Gabe Christensen scored a 19-3 tech fall over Rockford's Joe Koehler, a 12-3 major decision over Nashua-Plainfield's Aiden Sullivan and a fall in 3:09 over West Hancock's Kale Zuehl.
Henry Christensen pinned MFL MarMac's Taylor Herzmann in 34 seconds then scored tight 3-2 and 4-3 decisions over Bellevue's Jack Hiland and Columbus Catholic's Mason Knipp respectively. At the conclusion of the tournament Sampson's overall record stood at 12-0, Gabe Christensen's at 11-0 and Henry's at 8-3.
Lane Kahler and Luke Hartsook were the two Bombers to place second.
Kahler pinned Nashua-Plainfield's Devon Blanchard in 2:56 and scored a 3-0 decision over Bellevue's Jake Hiland before losing in the finals to MFL MarMac's Karter Decker by fall at 145. Hartsook pinned Nashua-Plainfield's Maverick Dietz-McDonald and Postville's Stephen Rusell, both in 1:48, before falling to Columbus Catholic's Maximus Magayna by fall in the championship match at 170.
Daniel Hyman (152) and Rhett Hedrick (160) both placed third, Jacob Harrison (126) took fourth and Tony Horness (113) and Tucker Vitzthum (132) each placed fifth for Ballard.
At the double-dual meet in Huxley Harrison, Hyman and Hedrick each scored a fall against Ankeny. Vitzthum earned a 15-8 victory over the Hawks' Kinnick Vos, Kahler pulled off a 5-3 win over Alex Cox, Sampson downed Andrew Haase by a 6-1 decision and Gabe Christensen pulled off a 5-1 win over Cade Bennethum.
In the loss to Webster City Harrison pinned the Lynx's Addison Scott, Kahler downed Luke Estlund by fall, Sampson stuck Dylan Burnette-Bingham and Gabe Christensen scored a fall over Skyler Scott. Vitzthum earned an 11-3 major decision over Webster City's Tristan Mason and Hedrick scored a 10-6 decision over Brady Jessen and Hartsook pulled off a 4-1 decision over Austin Mason.
Two Ballard girls place second at Valley
The Ballard girls had two wrestlers place second and another take third at the Valley Invitational.
Ally Baker and Noelle Boettger were the two Bombers to finish runner-up in their respective classes.
Baker pinned Gilbert's Emma Britcher in 4:43 and Des Moines Public Schools' Avah Blakeman in 3:02 before falling to Ames' Lexa Rozevink by fall in the finals at 120. Boettger stuck Perry's Ayden Erickson and Nevada's Gracie Leslie before losing by an 8-2 decision to Southeast Polk's Cecilia Scarff in the finals at 135.
Caliegh Rhiner took third at 140 for Ballard. Rhiner lost by a 6-3 decision to Southeast Polk's Mya Hadaway then came back with three consecutive pins over Ames' Cecilia Pelzer, Cedar Falls' Madisen Theil and Nevada's Mia Reichart.
Zach Haus places sixth for Collins-Maxwell at Saydel
Zach Haus came in sixth for the Collins-Maxwell wrestling team at 106 during the Saydel Invitational.
Haus scored a fall over Drew Miller of the Waukee JV team in 1:01 during the consolation semifinals. He also received two byes and suffered a pair of losses.
Marshall Day was the only other wrestler to earn a victory in competition for Collins-Maxwell. Day was 1-3 with a win by fall over Tommy Lloyd of the Waukee JV team during the consolation second round at 195.
Alliyah Thompson, Alise Van Pelt lead Bomber girls to dominant wins
The Ballard girls basketball team had no trouble keeping its unbeaten record intact last week.
In the victory over Bondurant-Farrar the Bombers built a 27-10 halftime lead and coasted to victory. The Bombers made nine 3-pointers, held a 34-26 rebounding advantage, forced 32 turnovers and only committed seven miscues.
Alliyah Thompson continued the hot start to her junior season with 21 points, three steals and one block. Kiley Calvert added 10 points and two steals off the bench, Lily Beall finished with 8 points, six rebounds and five steals, Raegan Loewe scored 5 points and Alise Van Pelt finished with 3 points, seven rebounds and four assists and steals apiece.
Ballard went up 26-12 at the half against Boone to put the game away early. The Bombers held Boone without a 3-pointer and they posted a 32-26 rebounding advantage.
Van Pelt turned in her best game of the season against Boone with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Paige Noe hit 3 of 6 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, Lily Hillebrand put up 10 points and four rebounds and Beall finished with 4 points and eight rebounds.
Great defense leads Ballard boys past Boone
The Ballard boys basketball team couldn't stave off Bondurant-Farrar's comeback Dec. 6.
The Bombers were up by three heading into the fourth quarter, but they were outscored 27-18 over the final eight minutes. Ballard forced 18 turnovers and hit 12 3-pointers, but they were outrebounded 36-18 and only made seven free throws to Bondurant-Farrar's 22.
Mason Gorsh hit 5 of 10 3-pointers and went for 23 points and Jude Gibson tallied 19 points and six assists for Ballard in a losing effort. Austin Shoen added 13 points and three rebounds and Miles Mudd 7 points, four rebounds and three assists and steals apiece.
Ballard came back strong in its win over Boone.
The Bombers outscored the Toreadors 16-2 in the second quarter and held Boone to 17 total points over the first three quarters in building a 12-point lead. That was more than enough to fend off Boone's late scoring flurry.
Ballard overcome 21 turnovers by holding Boone to 27.5% shooting from the field and posting a 27-23 rebounding advantage.
Gorsh hit 4 of 6 3-pointers and went for 24 points in the victory over Boone. Gibson had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists, Mudd 6 points, five rebounds and three steals and Shoen 6 points and rebounds apiece.
Big second half carries Spartan girls past Ankeny Christian
The Collins-Maxwell girls basketball team came on strong when it mattered most against Ankeny Christian.
The Spartan girls outscored the Eagles 26-13 over the final two quarters to overcome a 24-18 halftime deficit. Collins-Maxwell prevailed by holding Ankeny Christian to one 3-pointer and forcing 24 turnovers.
Erica Houge came up big for Collins-Maxwell in the win. Houge had 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Chloe Wierson added 12 points, eight rebounds and five steals and Marissa Boege 7 points, three assists and three steals.
Houge, Wierson and Boege also stood out in the win over Meskwaki.
Houge went for 20 points, six assists and four rebounds. Wierson posted a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds and she added four steals and two blocks and Boege ended up with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Collins-Maxwell boys bounce back strong with win over Meskwaki
The Collins-Maxwell boys basketball team couldn't shake a 21-9 turnover deficit in its loss to Ankeny Christian.
The Spartans fell despite outrebounding the Eagles, 37-22, and making 7 of 20 3-pointers. Collins-Maxwell was hurt by a poor finish to each half as the Spartans were outscored 14-8 in the second quarter and 17-9 in the fourth.
Luke Huntrods had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists and Josef Dvorak 8 points and 12 boards for Collins-Maxwell in the loss. Ethan Haus chipped in 9 points and eight rebounds, Jace Huntrods 7 points and four assists and Dane Beattie 6 points and five assists.
Collins-Maxwell raced out to an overwhelming 35-0 lead over Meskwaki after one quarter and coasted to victory over the Warriors for a big bounce-back win. The Spartans had 32 steals and 25 offensive rebounds in the victory.
Beattie made 13 of 21 field goals, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, in going off for a career-high 31 points against Meskwaki. He also had eight steals.
Luke Huntrods had 14 points and three blocks, Dvorak 12 points and three steals, Jace Huntrods 9 points and seven steals and Haus six rebounds and 5 points, assists and steals apiece against the Warriors.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ballard wrestlers place third at Nashua-Plainfield
