N-P’s Bloker works four pins to fourth-place finish

Franzen, Jones also pick up victories at Osage Invite

By Kelly Terpstra, Nashua Reporter

Nashua Plainfield girls wrestlers traveled to Osage to compete in a tournament on Thursday, their first action back from the holiday break.

Four N-P varsity wrestlers saw action, with junior 155-pounder Nevaeh Bloker continuing to shine this winter.

Bloker’s first and last match of the day weren’t her greatest performances – but the in between was one of the reasons Bloker brought home another medal.

“Her chain wrestling was phenomenal today. She was going from move to move with little time in between,” said Nashua-Plainfield wrestling coach Reece Reams, a 2015 N-P alum.

Reams’ three other wrestlers – along with freshmen JV competitors Klaire Marshall (155) and Hailey Wilkens (170) – are aiming to flip the switch when the referee signals the start to any match.

“I don’t want ’em to be mean people, but when it comes to wrestling you gotta break some noses,” said Reams. “I told them you can be their friend after you win.”

N-P finished 17th out of 19 teams in attendance.

Cedar Falls – which sported 13 ranked wrestlers out of the 14 weight classes in IAwrestle’s first ratings of the season – won the meet over Osage, 273.5 to 253.5. East Buchanan was third (180).

“The more years we get under our belt the better,” said Reams. “Like every program, we’re still new. We don’t have a lot of numbers. That makes it real hard in the room when you have two to three people out due to injury. It’s really hard to get reps in when you don’t have the right weight partner and that kind of stuff.”

Bloker, in the third-place match, encountered a buzzsaw in the form of Kalen Jo Westerfield (12-5) of Lewis Central. Westerfield stuck Bloker in 1:21.

Bloker’s fourth-place finish included four pins in a row prior to the medal round. She went 4-2 on the day, all but one of the pins coming in under less than a minute.

Fellow Husky junior Emerson Franzen (170) got her first victory of the season with a 7-4 decision over Bree McCusker of Alburnett in the first round of consolation matches.

“She’s getting a lot better,” said Reams. “We’re starting to calm down. She still kind of gets excited. She’s very aggressive. If we can channel that to moves I think she’ll be unstoppable, too, but we just gotta work it in there.”

Lily Jones – a sophomore 155-pounder – picked up a win on the backside of the bracket with a fall over Abby Diamond of Northwood-Kensett in just 1:11.

N-P freshman 100-pounder Makynlee Dana (4-5) wrestled in two matches, but had to medically forfeit the last bout.

N-P returns to Osage on Monday in a quad versus the host Green Devils, Lake Mills and Janesville.

OSAGE GIRLS TOURNAMENT TEAM SCORES

Cedar Falls 273.5, Osage 253.5, East Buchanan 180, Lewis Central 144.5, Mason City 141, Lake Mills 103, Clear Lake 99.5, Alburnett 94, New Hampton/Turkey Valley 90, Nevada 72, Crestwood 71.5, Dubuque Senior 66, St. Ansgar 57, Waukon 43, Don Bosco 24, South Winneshiek 24, Nashua-Plainfield 20, Northwood-Kensett 11, Eagle Grove 8.

NASHUA-PLAINFIELD RESULTS

100 – Makynlee Dana did not place. Champ. Round 1 – Josie McGraw (ALB) pinned Dana, 2:19. Cons. Round 2 – Grace Sutcliff (SA) won by medical forfeit Dana

155 – Nevaeh Bloker placed fourth. Champ. Round 1 – Jocelyn Schwartz (CF) pinned Bloker, 1:38. Cons. Round 1 – Bloker pinned Jayda LaSalle (MC), 1:09. Cons. Round 2 – Bloker pinned Clara Keller (CR), 0:28. Cons. Round 3 – Bloker pinned Mya Connolly (DS), 0:50. Cons. Semi – Bloker pinned Olivia Chapman (OS), 0:53. 3rd Place Match – Kalen Jo Westerfield (LC) pinned Bloker, 1:21.

155 – Lily Jones did not place. Champ. Round 1 – Mya Connolly (DS) pinned Jones, 3:38. Cons. Round 1 – Jones pinned Abby Diamond (NK), 1:11. Cons. Round 2 – Piper Kjeldahl (LM) pinned Jones, 0:40.

170 – Emerson Franzen did not place. Champ. Round 1 – Avery Hoffmeyer (LM) pinned Franzen, 1:06. Cons. Round 1 – Franzen dec. Bree McCusker (ALB), 7-4. Cons. Round 2 – Addison Schenker (OS) pinned Franzen, 0:56.

JV RESULTS

155 – Klaire Marshall placed fourth. Round 1 – Keira Wersinger (DS) pinned Marshall, 0:13. Round 2 – Brenna O’Connell (CF) pinned Marshall, 0:22. Round 3 – Brooke Stine (CF) pinned Marshall, 0:11.

170 – Hailey Wilkens placed fourth. Round 1 – Savanna Hoffert (CF) pinned Wilkens, 1:31. Round 2 – Kyle Sulley (OS) tech. fall Wilkens, 21-5. Round 3 – Molly Hildebrand (DS) pinned Wilkens, 2:51.