North Butler brings home a champion; Nashua-Plainfield wrestlers take 3rd, 8th

By Bob Fenske, editor@nhtrib.com

Chet Buss found sweet redemption on a mat in Des Moines Saturday night as the North Butler/Clarksville sophomore capped an unbeaten season with a dominating performance in the Class 1A state meet 285-pound finals.

Then again, it was that kind of tournament for Buss, who went 44-2 as a freshman only to not make it out of the district tournament.

“It feels great. It’s definitely helping me erase districts last year,” the top-ranked Buss said Saturday night after he dominated second-ranked Ryley Snell of I-35 on his way to a 10-2 victory.

“I just wanted to go out, wrestle my match and see what happened,” he said.

What happened was Buss at his best. He may have been giving up 30 pounds to Snell, but his athleticism carried the day. He scored a takedown 30 seconds into the match to take a 2-0 lead.

“That was huge,” he said. “I had to set the tone, and that gave me a lot of confidence.”

Still, Snell was in striking distance at 5-2 heading into the third period, but Buss put the match away with a takedown and three-point near fall to end the tournament with two pins, an 8-1 decision and major decision.

“The kid comes from a great family,” first-year North Butler/Clarksville coach Frank Kisley said of his state champion who finished the year 46-0.

“He works his butt off,” Kisley said. “When he finished third (at districts) last year, he went back to work. That’s just the kind of kid he is and that’s why I’m so happy for him.”

Buss’ rampage through the heavyweight division netted NB/C 27 points, good for a 16th-place finish.

Nashua-Plainfield, meanwhile, put two wrestlers on the podium as 106-pounder freshman Garret Rinken rebounded from a semifinal loss to handily win two matches Saturday to claim a third-place finish, and 182-pound senior Evan Kalainoff avenged five career losses with a thrilling pin on his way to an eighth-place finish.

Rinken, who came into the tournament ranked third, rolled to a 9-3 win over seventh-ranked Bryce Thompson of Highland in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinal round, setting up a match up with top-rated Gable Porter of Underwood later that evening.

Porter, though, came out of a scramble to record the match’s first takedown and went on to beat Rinken 6-2.

“I think if I get that first takedown — that’s one thing I have to do better, finish my shots,” Rinken said, “I could have won that match. He’s good, I’m not saying that, but I think I’m with him.”

Rinken came back and beat second-ranked Mikey Baker of West Sioux 10-2 and eighth-rated Dawson Schmit of Wapsie Valley 9-3 to claim third place. The standout first-year wrestler finished with a 54-2 record and set a new school record for most wins in a season.

The Huskies’ other placewinner got the biggest victory of his career Friday afternoon when he beat West Hancock’s Cole Kelly with a powerful move late in the second period.

The two met twice last season and three times this year, and each time, it was Kelly who had his hand raised, but with a trip to the podium on the line, Kalainoff finally broke the Kelly streak.

“I knew it was my last guaranteed match,” Kalainoff said, “and I just was going to give it all I had.”

Down 4-2 in the second period, Kalainoff got a takedown and took Kelly right to his back and seconds later, he had the pin and a spot on the medal stand. And the quiet, reserved senior let loose with maybe the biggest smile of his life as he hugged his coach, Al Frost, and his dad, Nashua-Plainfield assistant coach, Ben Kalainoff.

“Yeah, I know right? I smiled,” he said,. “But I didn’t want to just get here, I really wanted to place.”

And although Kalainoff ended his career with two losses, his coach said the Kelly match is what he wants his senior to remember.

“You know that’s a huge moment for him,” Frost said. “That was his match. He fought.”

And that’s what Frost, whose team finished in a tie for 17th with 26 points, said he’ll remember most about the 2020 state tournament, even though the Huskies’ lost three of their five wrestlers by Friday afternoon as Kyler Hackman (132) was knocked out of the tournament Thursday and Trey Nelson (126) and McKade Munn (138) both lost in the second round of the consolation tournament.

“Garret, in my mind, wrestled in the championship match on Friday night,” he said. “We’re on the right track with seeding but we’re not quite there yet. Evan gets a big win, but what I liked about all our kids is they showed so much fight out there. That’s all I want from my guys, and they gave it to us.”

NASHUA-PLAINFIELD
106 – Garret Rinken dec. Bryce Thompson (Highland), 9-3 (quarterfinal).
106 – Gable Porter (Underwood) dec. Rinken, 6-2 (semifinal).
106 – Rinken maj. dec. Mikey Baker (West Sioux), 10-2 (consolation semifinal).
106 – Rinken dec. Dawson Schmit (Wapsie Valley), 9-2 (third place).

126 – Wyatt Reisz (Logan-Magnolia) dec. Trey Nelson, 7-6 (2nd round consolation).

138 – Jordan Khommanyvong (South Central Calhoun) dec. McKade Munn, 12-7 (2nd round consolation).

182 – Evan Kalainoff pinned Cole Kelly (West Hancock), 3:41 (2nd round consolation).
182 – Evan Wulfekuhle (Dyersville Beckman) pinned Kalainoff, 1:13 (3rd round consolation).
182 – Jackson Dewald (Westwood) dec. Kalainoff, 9-3 (8th place).

NORTH BUTLER
285 – Chet Buss (NBC) pinned Isaac Steffans (Postville), 0:58 (quarterfinals).
285 – Buss dec. Barrett Pitt (Logan-Magnolia), 8-1 (semifinals).
285 – Buss maj. dec. Ryley Snell (I-35), 10-2 (championship).