Four Wildcats reach district meet

Wrestling

     Maquoketa Valley qualified four wrestlers to district competition as a result of the Class 1A sectional meet held Feb. 5 at MFL MarMac.

     Moving on to the Feb. 12 district meet at Cascade are Michael Schaul at 152 pounds, with a 31-7 record; Aiden Salow at 182, 22-15; Nathan Beitz at 195, 22-12; and Brady Davis at 220, 34-4.

     All four of them had to win wrestleback matches to advance. Schaul, Beitz and Davis reached the finals, lost, and had to wrestle back for the true second spot. Davis won his by fall; Schaul and Beitz won by forfeit. Salow had to win a third place match and then win again, which he did, by an 11-6 decision.

     Tyreese Crippin at 138 pounds and Devin Smith at 285 finished third. Brenden Frasher was fourth at 106. Arion Rave (126) and Mason Jolley (145) both took fifth. In sixth was Kobe Peter at 160.

     The Wildcats finished fourth among the seven teams in the sectional, with 131 points. MFL MarMac was the champion with 234.5, Dyersville Beckman was second with 196, and East Buchanan finished third with 161.

Girls basketball

     Maquoketa Valley played three Tri-Rivers Conference girls basketball games last week, winning one of them.

     A furious comeback for MV at Central City Jan. 31 fell short as the host school held on for a 58-54 victory despite being outscored 24-14 in the fourth quarter. It was a big night for Haley Ronnebaum, who scored 19 points. Kylie Chesnut had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Bianka Ronnebaum had 11 points. Kennedy Rausch had six points, five rebounds and three assists.

     At Starmont Feb. 1, MV scored a 49-23 victory. The Wildcats started out by blanking Starmont 13-0 in the first quarter. They led 22-8 at halftime, then outscored the Stars 27-15 in the second half. Bianka Ronnebaum and Caelyn Sands each scored 11 points. Carissa Sabers had eight points and six rebounds. Chesnut contributed five points and nine rebounds. 

     On Feb. 4, the Wildcats (7-7, 12-9) lost at Springville by a score of 37-34 despite outscoring the Orioles 20-16 in the second half. Haley Ronnebaum led MV with nine points. Off the bench, Ella Mensen ascored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Erin Knipper had seven points and seven rebounds. Chesnut had six rebounds and five steals.

Boys basketball

     Maquoketa Valley won one out of three Tri-Rivers Conference games in last week’s boys basketball action.

     MV (5-8, 8-12) traveled to Central City Jan. 31, and lost a 51-45 decision. Landen Deutmeyer scored 11 points, Kody Hoeger added nine, Toby Grimm had eight, while Avery Holtz, and T.J. Cook scored six apiece and Lucas Orcutt added five. Hoeger also had 10 rebounds. Holtz made five assists.

     On Feb. 1, the Wildcats played at Starmont, and won 62-44. Holtz had a big night, with 17 points, seven steals and four assists. Orcutt had 14 points and five rebounds. Hoeger and Lance McShane added eight points and four rebounds apiece. Cook scored seven points. Deutmeyer had five rebounds.

     At Springville Feb. 4, the Wildcats lost 60-40. Holtz scored 12 points, Hoeger added 10 points, and McShane came off the bench to score seven. Grimm, Hoeger and McShane had five rebounds apiece. Grimm also had five assists, and Holtz had four.