Already on a hot streak over the past two weeks, the Knoxville wrestling team got the emphatic win it was looking for last night, and unfortunately for Pella High, it came at the expense of the Little Dutch. The Panthers picked up wins by fall in the first five matches of the night, and cruised to a 63-9 win over host Pella.

Panthers’ head coach Ron Peterson said the wins by his grapplers in the upper weight classes set the tone for the night.

“They really did build some momentum for us, so that was a nice win,” said Peterson after the match. “The Pella kids fought hard. We caught them in a couple of situation and got some falls where maybe the falls weren’t really there; but credit to our kids. Hopefully we can keep getting better.”

Pella High’s only points on the night came courtesy of a forfeit at Heavyweight, and by a hard-fought 10-8 victory by Kyle Langstraat at 132 pounds over Knoxville’s Kieran Robuck.

“Tonight that was exactly what he [Langstraat] needed to do. He got thrown to his back early in the match, and had to battle back the entire time, but he never quit,” said Pella head coach Joe Burch.

“He never slowed down, [and] he stayed in good position, and ended up winning the match right at the end there. That was really exciting, it’s exactly what I was hoping he’d be able to do today.”

The Little Dutch are back on their home mats for their home invitational tomorrow, while Knoxville will have its hands full tomorrow with a tournament at powerhouse Southeast Polk.

Full Results:

106: Zine Stough (9) lost by decision 0-4 vs. Skyler Cunningham

113: Levi Azinger (10) lost vs. Jay Fresh by major decision 1-9

120: Chase Petty (9) lost by tech fall 0-15 vs. Colton Havens

126: David Wiley (11) lost by fall in 5:06 vs. James Stittsworth

132: Kyle Langstraat (11) won by decision 10-8 vs. Kieran Robuck

138: Zakk Belloma (12) lost by decision 4-9 vs. Hamo Kindley

145: Austin LaFollette (11) lost by fall in 1:47 vs. Lane Colwell

152: Knoxville won by forfeit

160: Jesse Arrendell (9) lost by fall in 0:59 vs. Aaron Crossett

170: TJ Melhus (12) lost by fall in 1:57 vs. Dylan Crouse

182: Matt Nieuwsma (11) lost by fall in 1:00 vs. Jake Sears

195: Logan Van Brogan (10) lost by fall in 1:43 vs. Brad Osborn

220: Seth Strong (11) lost by fall in 0:19 vs. Dylan Burke

HWT: Houston Naaktgeboren won by forfeit