March 29, 2024

Wrestlers, clear the mats

When I left for work Wednesday night, I gave my wife and daughter each a hug and told both of them that I would see them Sunday.

It was sort of tongue and cheek but not really.

The truth is, as you are reading this column, I will likely be scouring through the eight wrestling mats on the floor at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships kicked off at 9 a.m. and runs through 9 p.m. both Thursday and Friday.

Saturday’s action starts at 10 a.m. and goes until late in the evening with championship matches and awards.

My schedule the next three days will be jam packed. Twelve wrestlers from Jasper County programs will be in action. Six from Prairie City-Monroe, three from Newton, two from Colfax-Mingo and one from Lynnville-Sully.

The talent ranges from six first-timers, four second-timers and a pair of three-time qualifiers.

I love this event. It’s taxing. And by Saturday night, I am ready for 10 hours of sleep in my bed. But the action is non-stop, and the sports itself is intense.

I have been covering wrestlers at this event for about 10 years. I have covered more 0-2 wrestlers than state champions. But that doesn’t make my time any more interesting.

This year, I am prepared for everything.

PCM’s Lucas Roland and Wes Cummings are both ranked No. 2 in their weight classes by the Predicament. They both have strong chances to reach Saturday’s finals.

Roland could meet up with a wrestler in the finals who he lost two twice at state last year but held leads in the third period of both of them.

Cummings’ championship match opponent, if he gets that far, could be against a wrestler who is 9-2 but is a three-time state champion in another state.

He has been ranked No. 1 all season despite missing half the year because of transfer eligibility rules.

PCM’s Jarron Trausch comes in ranked No. 7 but hasn’t lost since Dec. 21 and has knocked off a handful of ranked wrestlers along the way.

Trausch and Roland are making their third trips to state. Roland is a two-time medalist.

The other three Mustangs are two first-time freshmen who both have 30-plus wins in Landon Fenton and Colby Tool and a first-time senior who had nearly as many wins this season as he had his first three years in the program in Chase Shirk.

Of the three Newton grapplers — Blayden Rhone, Jaise Gulling and Gage Linahon — who will be in Wells Fargo Arena this week, only Linahon has been on the big stage.
And Linahon was a late addition last year and really had no preparation time.

Lynnville-Sully’s Josh Dunsbergen is back at state in his senior year after advancing his freshman season.

Colfax-Mingo’s Cauy Fitch clinched his first state berth this year. He will become the school’s all-time wins leader next season barring an injury. He’s got a tough draw this week but will get valuable experience either way.

The final area wrestler is Chance Rice. He is wrestling at his third high school in four seasons. He qualified as a sophomore at Manson-Northwest Webster but an injury derailed his junior season at Saydel.

Rice comes into the week ranked sixth at 160 in Class 1A and has a strong chance to medal.

The kinds of stories that will develop inside “The Well” are intriguing. Things I don’t expect always surface and things I expect sometimes don’t work out.

Either way, it’s time to strap it on and get to work.

Contact Troy Hyde
at thyde@newtondailynews.com