Mustang grapplers score best-ever team finish at state tournament

DES MOINES —Prairie City-Monroe set a new bar for its wrestling program this season.

Earlier this season, the Mustangs claimed their second straight Heart of Iowa Conference title. They locked down their first district championship in program history and qualified a program-best six wrestlers for the state tournament.

The bar went even higher at the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships when the Mustangs claimed their best team finish in school history and came home with their first individual state champion.

Five of the six state qualifiers won at least one match, three of them earned state medals and the Mustangs finished fifth in Class 2A standings. The final placing wasn’t determined until junior Lucas Roland clinched the 170-pound title Saturday night.

“We were close to that top-three trophy this year,” PCM coach Jeff Nicholson said. “We lost a bunch of close matches early, and one of our best wrestlers Payton Drake wasn’t even here. If he gets out of that tough district and competes with the rest of our guys, we probably finish even better.”

Junior Wes Cummings (160) and freshman Colby Tool (138) joined Roland on the medal stand as fourth-place finishers in their weight classes. Roland’s championship win put PCM ahead of Centerville for good.

The Mustangs finished with 62.5 points. Centerville and third-ranked West Liberty were tied for sixth with 59.

The 2A team championship went to second-ranked Dubuque Wahlert, which won with 94 points. Top-ranked New Hampton finished second with 80 points and sixth-ranked South Tama County ended up third with 75 points.

Fourth-ranked Ballard was 6.5 points ahead of PCM. No. 9 Davenport Assumption finished one point back of West Liberty and Centerville in eighth.

Saturday

When second-ranked Cummings filled out his goal sheet at the beginning of the season, his ultimate goal was to be in the top four when the season ended.

On Saturday morning, Cummings completed that goal.

Cummings and Tool opened the final 2A consolation round with semifinal wins over ranked opponents. Each one came up short in their respective third-place match.

“The goal was top four. That’s what I got,” Cummings said. “I should have come out on top in that first match. And I didn’t wrestle the way I wanted to wrestle in that last match, but it happens. I still got the goal I set.”

Cummings lost a heartbreaker in the closing seconds of his opening-round match against third-ranked Luke Hageman of Dyersville Beckman Catholic. He bounced back by pinning his way to the third-place match but fell short against fourth-ranked Tate Battani of Ballard.

Battani got control early and never looked back. Cummings trailed 4-2 after one, 8-4 after two and lost 11-5. Battani (46-8) won the match because of four near-fall points scored in the second period that put him up 8-2.

Tool, who is unranked, defeated eighth-ranked Matthew Doyle of Independence in his opening match Saturday. He was defeated in the third-place match by fourth-ranked Tanner Probasco of South Tama County.

Probasco (30-1) controlled the match, winning 9-1. He defeated Tool 6-4 in the district championship last week.

“I knew what I was coming up here for, and I knew what I was capable of doing,” Tool said. “I was determined to come home with a medal.”

Cummings began his day with a first-period pin against sixth-ranked Zach Williams of Osage. Cummings got an early takedown and then put Williams on his back with his next takedown.

“The year went by so fast. We all worked hard in the room and a lot of guys helped me get to this point,” Cummings said. “I am happy about where we ended up. I got to the place I wanted to finish at, too.”

Cummings set two individual school records this season. The win over Williams was the 50th victory of the season, which sets a new single season record. Cummings, who lost just four matches this season, also set a single season school record with 37 pins.

Tool (36-10) defeated Doyle 1-0. Tool, who lost to Doyle 4-3 to open the tournament, rode out Doyle for two full minutes in the second period to preserve a scoreless match. In the third, he got an escape point that held up in the 1-0 win.

Tool denied Doyle’s attempt at a match-winning takedown late in the match.

“The difference in the second match was I went out with a lot more confidence. I was nervous in that first match, and I shouldn’t have been,” Tool said. “I made sure I stayed on my offense. It was a 1-0 match, but I feel like I controlled it because I was on the offense the whole time. He couldn’t score or do much against me because I was just going, going, going.”

Friday

PCM went 2-2 in its 2A consolation wrestlebacks on Friday.

Tool won his 138-pound wrestleback 7-0 over ninth-ranked Adam Hansen of Center Point-Urbana.

Cummings was even more dominant in his consolation win over No. 8 Cale Reicks of New Hampton. Cummings took Reicks to the mat early and scored a first-period fall to add to his school-record pin total.

“It’s definitely hard to come all the way back from a first-round loss,” Nicholson said of Cummings. “He’s been charged up. He had time to process the loss and got after it today.”

It’s the first state medals earned by both Tool and Cummings.

The day didn’t go as well for freshman Landon Fenton and junior Jarron Trausch.

Fenton lost his only match, a 106-pound wrestleback, 7-0 to sixth-ranked Jacob Mielke of Pocahontas Area. He caps his first high school season at 39-10.

Seventh-ranked Trausch started the day on the front side of the bracket. He moved to the backside after being pinned in the first period by sixth-ranked Thomas Bentley of Red Oak. He was eliminated later in the day when third-ranked Ben Lee of Ballard pinned him in the second period. The three-time state qualifier ended his season at 44-6.

Of the six state qualifiers, five will be back next season. Sixth-ranked Payton Drake also will be back after winning 39 matches this season.

“Next year will be fun,” Cummings said. “Jarron should have medaled. Landon could have easily medaled. Payton didn’t make it down here, but he would have medaled had he made it.

“It’s time to reflect and look back at this season and then after a while, I will get back at it. My goal is definitely to be on top next season.”