DHS bounces back to defeat Mandan

• Chris Sickler

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Dickinson High junior heavyweight Chris Sickler gets Mandan sophomore Mikael Fetch in a headlock before pinning him during a West Region wrestling dual on Thursday night.

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The Dickinson High wrestling team jumped out to a 24-9 lead after the first six matches and even weathered Mandan’s Zachmeier storm en route to its fifth dual victory of the season.

The Midgets collected six pins to defeat the Braves in a West Region dual 42-32 on Thursday at DHS gymnasium.

“We got a lot of energy off of getting pins,” Dickinson sophomore Clayton Tangen said. “Going up against their tough wrestlers, we didn’t get pinned.”

Tangen, who wrestles in the 145-pound weight class, solidified the dual with a pin. The sophomore pinned Jacob Dillman in 1 minute, 39 seconds.

Dickinson, which is 5-1 in West Region duals, won four of the first six matches on three pins and a forfeit. Jace Dukart, a junior at 182 pounds, pinned Trevor Peterson in 1:23, while Michael Cherwinski (160) won by forfeit.

Ashton Schatz and Chris Sickler put together back-to-back pins at 220 and heavyweight, respectively. Schatz normally wrestles at heavyweight and Sickler at 220, however, the risky moved paid off for the Midgets.

“We’ve been doing that all year,” Dickinson co-head coach Pete Dobitz said. “Schatz has been weighing in the 220-pound weight class year all. We just haven’t had an opportunity to swap them until today. Today it worked out very well for us.”

Once the dual hit 106 pounds, however, Mandan’s Zachmeier brothers went to work. Ryan Zachmeier (106), Brandon Zachmeier (126) and Curt Zachmeier (132) are all ranked in the top six in their respective weight classes. Dickinson’s main goal was to limit pins against them.

“We knew we were going to run into some good wrestlers in the middle,” Dobitz said. “What I was very pleased with is, in duals, it comes to pins and not getting pinned. Even running into the Zachmeier’s, we didn’t get pinned.”

All three Zachmeier’s won though Brandon was the only brother who collected a pin. He stuck Dickinson’s David Davis in 58 seconds.

“Those three Zachmeiers work hard in our room every day,” Mandan head coach Ben Beckler said. “Every time they step on the mat, we know we are going to get 100 percent effort.”

Dickinson got pins from Austin Hutzenbiler (113) and Jaret Lee (120).

Tangen was happy about the team’s bounce-back performance after losing to No. 2-ranked Bismarck High 63-10 on Tuesday.

“It makes us feel really good,” Tangen said. “We just came off a loss and we knew we needed a win. It feels really good to get it.”

The Midgets have nearly two weeks off before traveling to the Bismarck Rotary Tournament starting on Jan. 4 and 5.

“I think the boys did a good job of putting it behind them,” Dobitz said of the recent loss. “Nobody sat and dwelled on Tuesday. It’s great to end this full week grind with a win. I think it was a great confidence builder especially for our big guys.”

106: Ryan Zachmeier, M, dec. Caden Haugen, 8-3. 113: Austin Hutzenbiler, D, pin. Caydon Cymbaluk, 2:42. 120: Jaret Lee, D, pin. Cainen Fredericks, :47. 126: Brandon Zachmeier, M, pin. David Davis, :58. 132: Curt Zachmeier, M, dec. Devin Berger, 9-2. 138: Cayne Cymbaluk, M, pin. Bryce Smith, 4:21. 145: Clayton Tangen, D, pin. Jacob Dillman, 1:39. 152: Adam Stein, M, tech. fall Michael Dobitz, 16-1. 160: Michael Cherwinski, D, by forfeit. 170: Konnor Peterson, M, pin. Jacob Shypkowski, 3:31. 182: Jace Dukart, D, pin. Trevor Peterson, 1:23. 195: Alex Spilman, M, dec. Jacob Brooke, 9-5. 220: Ashton Schatz, D, pin. Benaiah Simburger, 3:12. HWT: Chris Sickler, D, pin. Mikael Fetch, 1:05.

Tags: high school wrestling, dickinson midgets, sports, wrestling