Kellogg and Bieber get places on the podium

Clear Lake seniors Logan Kellogg and Matt Bieber ended their high school wrestling careers with outstanding performances at the State Wrestling Meet in Des Moines.  Kellogg battled all the way back from an opening round loss to finish third at 182-pounds.  Bieber earned fifth place in the 120-pound bracket.

    Coach Gary Weber said he was proud of his wrestlers’ efforts and the way in which they represented their school and community.
    Kellogg entered the State meet rated second and determined to bring home a championship.  The road to a title was challenging, as he was pitted against third ranked Garrett Smith of Denver-Tripoli in the opening round.  After a scoreless first period, Smith had an escape for a 1-0 lead then recorded a takedown with :35 left in the second period. Kellogg started the third period down and got the escape he was looking for, 3-1.  A stalling call against Smith in the final :30 brought Kellogg within one, 3-2, but he was denied the win.
    Kellogg was disappointed by the loss and came out driven in his second match a short time later.  He pinned Davenport Assumption’s Luke Powers in just :29.  He needed more wins to place third.
    “For Logan to win all five matches is amazing.  This shows how mentally tough he is,” said Coach Weber.  “He had a great career.”
    Kellogg’s wins included a 15-8 decision over Erik McKillip of West Liberty, an 8-3 win over Ethan Lindquist of Laurens-Marathon and an 8-4 victory over Jacyn Goebel of West Delaware.
    “Logan fought off a headlock in one match  and a throw in another to pick up his five wins. He is such a competitor and found a way to win,” said Weber.
    Bieber’s 120-pound weight class featured three state champions, but the Clear Lake senior was undaunted.  He started his State meet experience with a 12-6 drubbing of Centerville’s Erik Repasz.   Bieber used an aggressive style to break away from a 4-3 first period score.  Repasz knotted the score at 4-4 with an escape to start the second period, but Bieber rattled off four more takedowns for the win. Repasz’s remaining two scores came as the result of Bieber releasing him.
    Next up was Spirit Lake’s Zach Skopec in Friday’s quarterfinal round. The third ranked Skopec held a 1-0 lead in the final seconds of the match, but a stalling call against Skopec with one second left in the match made the score 1-1 and forced a one-minute overtime.  Bieber’s third takedown attempt in OT worked, giving him a memorable 3-1 win. 
    “The overtime win over Skopec from Spirit Lake was huge,” said Coach Weber.  “Bieber trailed 1-0 when he went out of bounds. The ref called stalling with one second left in the match and then Matt took down- Read More Via e-Edition