Sports

NASHUA — Both of West Fork district qualifiers reached it in different ways, but the thing that matters is that the duo of Kale Petersen (106) and Levi Janssen (285) are moving on.

Petersen, ranked ninth via IAWrestle.com, lost to second-ranked Garret Rinken of N-P in the sectional final and didn’t have to wrestleback to go to this Saturday’s district meet in Denver.

He had to face Rinken last week in the Top of Iowa Conference final, losing by a major decision. This time, he was pinned in the first period.

HAMPTON — Strong defense in the final five minutes of the game helped to propel the No. 15-rated (in Class 3A) Hampton-Dumont/CAL girls to a 48-46 North Central Conference overtime basketball win over the Algona Bulldogs Friday.

Hampton-Dumont/CAL took an 11-2 conference and a 17-2 overall slate into Tuesday’s showdown at No. 4 Clear Lake. The Lions were 12-1 in league play going into Tuesday’s game and were seeking to wrap up sole possession of the NCC title. Algona fell to 8-5 in the league and 11-8 overall.

GRUNDY CENTER – Laurie Gann wants the AGWSR girls’ basketball team to sneak up on opponents this postseason.

Gann, the AGWSR head coach, saw last Thursday’s game at Grundy Center as a chance for the Cougars, win or lose, to play in a hostile environment in what’s been a back-and-forth rivalry.

As it turned out, AGWSR made enough plays defensively and got the shots to fall for a 46-30 win over Grundy Center and the first season sweep of the Spartans since the 2014-15 season.

AGWSR won the first meeting this season in Ackley, 43-38, on Jan. 7.

GREENE – It was a simple, straight-forward plan, really.

And it worked for a while as North Butler (2-16, 2-12 Top of Iowa East) was facing Class 1A No. 3 West Fork (18-1, 14-0 TIC East).

The plan: hold onto the ball as long as the Bearcats could so the Warhawks couldn’t score.

However, that plan worked only so long as the visitors were able to break out for a 58-22 win over North Butler.