Dixon wrestlers fall in opener to Lena-Winslow/Stockton

DIXON – Nobody can accuse the Dixon wrestling team of getting fat on some early season scheduling cupcake.

In fact, the Dukes got their fill of some of the toughest hombres around Tuesday night, when the Lena-Winslow/Stockton PantherHawks came to town. They left with a 52-26 victory, in a match that was the season opener for both teams.

Lena-Winslow/Stockton won Class 1A team state championships in 2017 and 2019, and annually are one of the toughest small-school teams around. This year figures to be more of the same, despite being without two of their top performers in 145-pounder Marey Robey and 285-pounder Gennings Dunker, who are out with injuries from football. Dunker is an Iowa football recruit.

Dixon coach Chris Bishop was pleased with his how his team competed against such a formidable foe.

“What I feel really good about is I’ve got a young crew, they’re learning, and this was a great test against Le-Win,” Bishop said. “I think our guys did a nice job. There’s a couple of opportunities that we missed, but when you’ve got people that are learning, that stuff happens. I’m glad to be here, and these guys are just glad to have the opportunity.

“Le-Win looks great, and I’m happy with my team. There’s things we’ve got to work on, and we knew that would be something that came out of it.”

The match started at 126 pounds, and Dixon got off to a fast start. Cade Hey, a freshman, needed just 1 minute, 18 seconds to finish off Brady Haas and stake the Dukes to a 6-0 lead.

“I got warmed up pretty good and I was ready to go,” Hey said. “It was my first varsity match. I just went in there, took him down, and tried my hardest.”

Dixon’s next wrestler, senior 132-pounder Will Weidman, used a cradle to get Carson McPeek to his back five times and came away with a 17-0 technical fall.

“I like it,” Weidman said. “When nothing else is working, I just figure I’ll throw in the cradle. I probably should have thrown in other stuff, but it wasn’t working.”

Unfortunately for Dixon, the party ended there. Lena-Winslow/Stockton won the next eight bouts, seven of them by pin, to seize a 46-11 lead. The only non-pin came at 160 pounds, where the Dukes’ Steven Kitzman fought off pin attempts by Jason Hermann, who won a 15-2 major decision.

Dixon’s drought ended at heavyweight, as Justin Dallas won by pin in 1:25 against Jackson Spinhirne.

The Dukes’ other contested win came at 113 pounds, as Max Beckman took a 4-0 decision against Noah Draeger. Dixon received the match’s lone forfeit, at 106.

Bishop noted it was a learning experience for his team, but the same could be said for Lena-Winslow/Stockton coach Kevin Milder. He annually puts together a team that can challenge for titles, and this group looks to be of that ilk.

“I was pretty pleased,” Milder said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. We’ve got a lot of new faces, and a lot of guys at heavier weights that aren’t used to that kind of competition. I thought we responded. We had a bit of a rough start there. [Dixon] has got some good kids at the bottom weights. I was pleased with our effort, for the most part. We had some good wins tonight.”

Wrestling

Le-Win/Stockton 52, Dixon 26

Stars of the match: Cade Hey, Justin Dallas, Dixon, wins by pin

Up next: Dixon, Sycamore at Belvidere North, 10 a.m. Saturday