Top-ranked Petersen to state; Janssen denied

Published by editor on Tue, 02/16/2021 - 9:22am

West Fork's Kale Petersen dominates his 106-pound district final match, pinning Nashua-Plainfield's Kendrick Huck in the first period. (Kristi Nixon/Mid-America Publishing)

By:

Kristi Nixon

Regional Sports Editor

CLARKSVILLE — West Fork senior heavyweight Levi Janssen knows where his future lies.

And, though he walked off the mat in his final match a winner, he looks forward to competing on the gridiron instead after recently signing on the dotted line for Central College.

“I was just focusing on going out with a win because it was my last match of my season, forever,” Janssen said. “I ended up on a winning note, that’s what I wanted to do, my goal.”

West Fork coach Jared Arbegast, who was also an assistant on the Warhawk football team knows that, too.

“Super-proud of Levi,” Arbegast said. “He’s been a great kid throughout his high school career. I would have really liked to see him make the state tournament, but obviously that didn’t happen. You know, he’s still going to do a lot of good things in life. He committed to Central this week, so that is a highlight for him because he really wants to play football in college.”

While Janssen didn’t get his ultimate goal of qualifying for the state meet, 106-pound sophomore Kale Petersen won the district meet convincingly and enters as the top-ranked and top-seeded wrestler in Class 1A.

“Obviously, he did better than last year, to be on top of the podium,” Arbegast said. “We just have to keep working and don’t leave anything on the mat. Keep getting after it.

“You know, when you put the number one on there, there is always a target.”

Petersen (23-1) wrestles Sumner-Fredericksburg’s Trace Meyer (26-6) in his first match on Thursday, Feb. 18.

Class 1A District 4

Team scoring

1. Lake Mills 92; 2. Central Springs 79.5; 3. Nashua-Plainfield 70; 4. South Hamilton 65; 5. South Winneshiek 49; 6. Riceville 40.5; 7. North Butler-Clarksville 39; 8. West Fork 29.5; 9. Northwood-Kensett 27.5; 10. Tripoli 26; 11. St. Ansgar 24.

West Fork results only

106— Championship match, Kale Petersen (WF) pinned Kendrick Huck (N-P) 1:40

285— Third-place match, Levi Janssen (WF) pinned Dalton Dewitt (CS) 3:19. No wrestleback.

State first-round pairing

106— Petersen (23-1) vs. Trace Meyer (S-F) 26-6.