Waukee Wrestlers Post First Win Over Urbandale

Two pins and a forfeit gave the Waukee wrestling team to its first-ever win over Urbandale on Thursday, according to the Des Moines Register.

The Warriors scored seven falls in the 42-36 win over the host J-Hawks, including dual-deciding pins by Troy Gatzionis at 138 pounds and Ryan Sullivan at 145. With the team score tied 30-30, Waukee recorded back-to-back pins to secure the win heading into the final match, the newspaper reported.

"(There was) a little bit of pressure," Gatzionis said of his key win over Mike Stuart. "I wrestle (Stuart) about every day. He's one of my really good friends and we both know each other really well. I knew he would come out strong and aggressive and try to get me off-balance. I knew if I stuck to my offense, I would get points."

Leading 6-0 heading into the third period, Gatzionis knew he needed to step up.

"I decided the team was counting on me, and so I decided to be a team captain and try to get the pin," Gatzionis told the Register.

Waukee coach Chad Vollmecke praised the senior.

"Things haven't always gone his way," Vollmecke told the newspaper. "That was a true testament to him caring about his team. There have been times when Troy wouldn't have fit that (team captain) mold. It's all about growth. When he grows as a wrestler and a man, that's the whole package."

The Register's rundown on the match:

A win of any kind at 145 pounds sealed the win for Waukee, which Sullivan notched by recording the fall over the J-Hawks' Hunter Matthews.

"Every athlete dreams of it," Sullivan told the Register of his victory-clinching match. "You get a chance to seal the deal and you do. We didn't give up and we kept fighting."

Another key win was Nick Tweeten at 220 by fall over Urbandale's Jake Heinrich; the Warriors forfeited against ninth-ranked Shaquille Wells at 285.

Other weight classes were: Dady Mansaray (160) and Reece Cracraft (182) had pins for Urbandale, while Zach Lohner (170), Nathan Jacobsen (195) and Tweeten got six points each for Waukee.

No. 10 Jakob Allison (106) and Storm Eastvold (113) scored falls for Waukee. Urbandale then snagged three straight wins. A 10-3 win by Zeljko Caculovic (120), a fall by eighth-ranked Jon Paulson and a decision by second-ranked Colby Knight evened the score at 30-30.

Knight earned a 10-5 win at 132 pounds over seventh-ranked Chris Grow in the lone top-10 matchup.

Vollmecke sees the Waukee program gaining respect around the state, but knows there is more work to be done.

"Someday this will be old news, but today it's pretty exciting, Vollmecke said. "Anytime you can beat Fort Dodge and Urbandale in a (short) period it's good. Let me throw in Clear Lake there, too. Three teams with pretty good tradition. When people see that in the paper, they will think about what's happening in Waukee."

160: Mansaray (U) pinned Spyksma, 5:41; 170: Lohner (W) pinned Golden, 3:03; 182: Cracraft (U) pinned S. Jacobsen, 4:00; 195: N. Jacobsen (W) pinned Petrillo, 2:43; 220: Tweeten (W) pinned Heinrich, 3:08; hwt: Wells (U) won by forfeit; 106: Allison (W) pinned Towers, :59; 113: Eastvold (W) pinned J. Caculovic, 3:21; 120: Z. Caculovic (U) dec. Hofbauer, 10-3; 126: Paulson (U) pinned Brown, 2:42; 132: Knight (U) dec. Grow, 10-5; 138: Gatzionis (W) pinned Stuart, 4:48; 145: Sullivan (W) pinned Matthews, 3:35; 152: Pearson (U) pinned Hansen, 1:33.