(Oakland) Riverside has six wrestlers in action Saturday at the District Tournament in Underwood.
The Bulldogs and head coach Casey Conover send sectional champs John Schroder, Jace Rose, and Eddie Vlcek to the District 7 Tournament. Dalton Smith, Nolan Moore, and Kaiden Hendricks will also be in the field. Conover says, “Overall we wrestled pretty well. We wrestled with a lot of intensity, aggressiveness, and fire. I’m really happy for the guys that got through.”
Dalton Smith advanced from last Saturday’s Sectional Tournament at Oakland with a runner-up finish at 106, “He has a tough challenge with some highly ranked kids. I was really impressed by his toughness in a wrestle back. He went a kid that’s very physical and he didn’t let that hurt him.”
Schroder is a two-time state qualifier and he might be the favorite at 113 pounds. “He just has to stay the course. We can’t get into close matches. He needs to control the situation like he’s been doing all year long and good things are going to happen.”
Rose at 120 is also a good bet to qualify. “The big thing with Jace is keeping his emotions under control. When he does that he’s one of the elite wrestlers in the state of Iowa.”
Nolan Moore made a late season shift to 138 pounds and is two wins away from a return trip to state. “It was a tough cut down for him. It was a little bit of a struggle. That’s the big thing this week is getting weight under control. We have to focus on weight management this week. I felt like he was a little tired on Saturday and that’s on me. I need to do a better job getting his mind right and making sure his weight is at a better control. I think if we can do that he can do very, very well this weekend.”
Coach Conover previews things for Kaiden Hendricks at 182. “We just have to keep our intensity. Keep aggressive and put pressure on the opponent. If we can do that, good things can happen. I think our conditioning is getting better and better. I like the draw we have with Kaiden.”
Eddie Vlcek had cut from 220 to 195 and will be a tough out in that bracket Saturday. “It’s been a good weight cut down for him. Pound for pound he’s probably the strongest kid in that weight class.
Saturday’s tourney involves wrestlers from AHSTW, Missouri Valley, Riverside, St. Albert, Tri-Center, Underwood, West Central Valley, Bedford/Lenox, East Mills, East Union, Mount Ayr, SW Valley, and Treynor.
