With the basketball teams occupying Eagle Grove Elementary, the Eagle Grove boys wrestling team grappled at “Old Eagle High” on Tuesday, January 7. Former (and future) North Central Conference foe Webster City came to town for what Eagle Grove Head Coach Jake Groth called, “a dual that my coaching staff, fans, managers, and wrestlers will never forget.”
In the first match of the night, Jayden Kreitlow lost a 12-4 major decision to Carson Bertran at 175, and the Lynx won by forfeit at 190 and 215.
“Going into the dual, I knew we’d be giving up 24 points in forfeits,” Coach Groth commented. “I told my guys that we needed guys to step up and pull out some bonus points if we were going to play this out in our favor.”
The brawny Javy Baez (285) got to work and manhandled his opponent on the edge of the mat to take a 7-0 lead before eventually winning via fall in the 2nd period.
Ethan Schreiber (106) would also pin his man in the 2nd period, and Andrew Orozco had a 17-8 major decision despite distractions with his headgear. Coach Groth praised his two freshmen lightweights for “stepping up and gutting out huge wins.”
With the dual tied at 16, sophomores Dylan Terwilliger (120) and Hunter Waldo-Martinez (126) both picked up 1st period pins. Eagle Grove extended their lead after Cooper Thacker came out on top in a close bout at 132.
“Thacker gutted out a big win… that’s when I thought we could give Webster a good run for their money,” Groth reminisced.
Jackson Babcock (138) lost by fall in 3:32, and the Eagles gave up 12 more points due to open weight classes at 144 and 150.
At 157, Hayden Schafer took the mat in an evenly matched contest that went scoreless in the 1st period. In the 2nd period, he avoided a Tristan Mason takedown attempt and later earned a point on an escape from the bottom position. In the last minute, Schafer tactfully maintained control and won a 1-0 decision.
With one match left and the score knotted at 34, Coach Groth gave his final grappler a pep talk.
“About 30 seconds before Carter [Bjorklund] went out, I went back to the hallway to get him fired up,” Groth explained. “I told him that God had put a lot of opportunities in front of him this year and I know that he failed the last home meet to deliver his team a win when it came down to his match. I said that God landed another opportunity in front of him tonight and that this was his moment to lift his teammates and his hometown up.”
Just over a minute into the 1st period, Bjorklund tossed Blake Berninghaus onto his back, squeezing the Lynx wrestler into a ruthless headlock. The move sent the home crowd into a frenzy, and the hapless Berninghaus made every attempt to wriggle himself out of bounds. Bjorklund didn’t relent and refused to release his vice grip until the official emphatically slapped the mat. The 165-pounder won by fall in 1:55 to give the purple and gold a 40-34 team win.
“For that one moment in an old legendary gym, a 16-year-old kid had everyone freaking out in pure joy,” said Groth. “Our world needs more Carter moments right now! I’m so proud of him and our Eagle wrestlers!”
