Doyle and Brands lead Trojans at MVC’s
The wrestling team placed seventh overall Jan. 30 at the Mississippi Valley Conference Championships with two wrestlers winning their division.
January 31, 2016
Donovan Doyle ’16 and Nelson Brands ’18 led the West High Wrestling team Saturday night at the Mississippi Valley Conference Championships, hosted by Cedar Rapids Prairie High School.
But a conference title isn’t the only thing on Doyle’s mind this season.
“It just reinforces my belief that I’m on the right path. I have high expectations and I’m doing the things I need in order to achieve those,” Doyle said.
This is the second conference title the senior has under his belt, and Doyle is ranked second at 195 pounds in Class 3A according to The Predicament. He is ranked behind Fort Dodge’s Sam Cook ’16. The two wrestlers have not yet met up this season.
Brands, ranked fourth by The Predicament, upset the State’s second ranked wrestler, Clint Lembeck ’16 of Cedar Rapids Xavier, in the Conference finals to capture the gold.
This 2016 Conference title was Brands’ second title, after winning it last year and capturing the Outstanding Wrestler award. Brands was again voted this award in 2016. This may add some added pressure to the next season for some wrestlers, but not for Brands.
“What happened in the past stays in the past, one tournament at a time,” Brands said.
Eight Trojans placed in the tournament, including Doyle and Brands.
8th place: At 113 pounds, Hunter Davis ’18 lost to Christian Simpson of Cedar Falls with a score of 2-4.
8th place: In the 145 pound match, Ben Bertell ’16 lost to Kale Crawford from Cedar Rapids Kennedy by a score of 1-7.
8th place: Ashton Stumpf ’18 at 160 pounds, lost to Mike Jasa from Cedar Rapids Prairie, 3-6.
7th place: West’s 220 pounder, Guy Snow ’18 beat Keenan Stewart of Cedar Rapids Prairie, 10-4.
4th place: Senior Aaron Stumpf lost to Trenton Wennermark from Cedar Rapids Prairie with a score of 2-10, in the 126 pound third place match.
2nd place: 182 pounder, Nate Kelsay ’16 fell to Nick Dreckman from Cedar Rapids Jefferson by a score of 3-12.
1st place: Nelson Brands ’18 beats Cedar Rapids Xavier 138 pounder, Clint Lembeck in the finals with a score of 10-7.
1st place: Donovan Doyle ’16 takes the 195 pound title for the second year in a row, beating Taylor Mehman of Cedar Rapids Prairie, 5-2.
West High placed seventh overall at the tournament.
The Trojan Wrestling team will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 4 at Cedar Rapids Prairie for their last regular season dual of the season.
Click on the image below to view more photos.
Photos by Leah Dusterhoft.
