The Norwalk boys wrestlers went 3-0 at Tuesday’s Pella Quad meet, scoring lopsided wins over Centerville, Davis County and Pella. The Norwalk basketball teams, meanwhile, were swept by Dallas Center-Grimes in a girl-boy doubleheader heard live on 94.3 KNIA and the KNIA3 stream.
WRESTLING
The Class 3A, 11th-ranked Warrior boys wrestling team improved to 11-3 overall and 4-0 in Little Hawkeye Conference duals with a dominant performance. They defeated Centerville 71-4 and Davis County 62-15 before handling the host Dutch 64-12.
Nine Norwalk wrestlers finished 3-0 on the night, but only three of the nine had to compete in three matches. Aiden Moret won by major decision, technical fall and a pin at 126 pounds, Victor Esparza scored a tech fall and two pins at 190, and 215-pounder Harrison Tripp won by decision along with two pins. Asaiah Martinez, Kale Wadle and Liam McLaughlin combined for two pins and four technical falls in their six contested matches.
The Warriors return to the mats on Thursday for a quad meet at Des Moines East.
BASKETBALL
It was a tough night for the Norwalk basketball teams as they were swept on their home floor by Little Hawkeye rival Dallas Center-Grimes. The Class 4A seventh-ranked Mustangs held off a late rally to hand the third-ranked Warrior girls their first loss of the season, 53-48. DC-G won the boys game 49-47.
The Norwalk girls led 21-16 in the second quarter, but hit a prolonged scoring drought and were outscored 24-2. The Warriors fought back from a 40-23 deficit with the help of four 3-pointers by Pearl Brown and Grace Linder. They cut the margin to 50-48 but could not get over the hump.
Braylyn Birmingham made 9-of-11 free throws and led Norwalk with 17 points. Bailey Birmingham made three first-half treys and finished with 11 points, Brown scored 10 points and Linder added eight. Macy Meyer and sophomore reserve Addie Abens scored 13 points each for DC-G and freshman Ava Smid added 10 critical points – all in the second half.
The back-and-forth boys game was close throughout. Norwalk led 13-11 after one quarter and trailed by one point at halftime as well as after three. Down 45-39 in the fourth, the Warriors pulled within 49-47 and had a chance to tie the score with two free throws in the final seconds but could not convert.
Grady Sigrist led Norwalk’s balanced attack with 11 points, followed by Kaleb Foltz and Cameron Thomas with 10 each and Jack Larson eight. Kyle Cason led the Mustangs with 22.
The Norwalk girls are now 10-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play. They will not play again until Tuesday at Newton. The Norwalk boys, now 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the LHC, play at Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Saturday afternoon.