Newton junior Ray Schroder didn't seem to focus on his losses at the state tournament. He only seemed focused on what lies ahead.

Schroder went 1-2 in his first experience at Wells Fargo Arena, but took stock in every one of his moves and matches to make sure he's as prepared as possible for a possible trip back to state in his senior year.

“It was awesome. I got to wrestle at state, and I won a match,” Schroder said. “It did suck to lose, but I’ll be back next year, so I’ll have one more chance.”

The tournament wasn't kind to Schroder in the beginning, as he suffered a first-round loss to Des Moines Roosevelt's Sawyer Kochel. The two had an epic match earlier in the season that Kochel also got the best of, but this time it sent Schroder to the consolation bracket.

“I just need to be more offensive,” Schroder said. “I’ll have to put the work in during the offseason and just get used to taking more shots. That’s really what cost me some matches, I just didn’t shoot enough.”

It was in the first round of consolations that Schroder scored his one victory of the tournament. Facing Clinton freshman Justin Guilliams, Schroder built up a 5-2 lead after the second period. Despite Guilliams making a furious comeback bid, Schroder held him off and shored up at least one more match on Friday.

That Friday match may have been one of the most grueling of Schroder’s season, but it ended in a three-overtime loss to Fort Dodge’s Riley Prescott, whom he also lost a close overtime decision to in the regular season. Regulation scoring in the match came only from escapes, and Prescott eventually earned the victory with a stalling point from Schroder and another escape.

“We already wrestled four, then in overtime I got dinged for stalling and that cost me the point,” Schroder said. “I was just kind of in the moment for that match. I knew I had to win or I’d be done, so I just tried to focus on that match.”