MONROE — The first dual of Thursday’s Heart of Iowa Conference triangular at PCM High School was close. And it came down the final match.
Fortunately for Prairie City-Monroe’s wrestling team, that close match didn’t involve the Class 2A No. 6 Mustangs.
PCM was dominant in its two duals, blasting Greene County 69-12 before blitzing South Hamilton 72-3 on Senior Night.
Senior Jarron Trausch recorded his 150th career win, junior Payton Drake hit the 100-win mark and PCM improved to 6-0 in HOIC duals this season.
“We are making progress every day,” PCM coach Jeff Nicholson said. “The guys have a great attitude. They come in ready to work and are giving us maximum effort. I really like where we are at right now.”
With just one HOIC dual left on its schedule, PCM wrapped up another conference dual championship. Against Greene County and South Hamilton, the Mustangs took five forfeits and were 19-3 with 18 pins in contested matches.
Second-ranked Trausch was one of 10 Mustangs who were 2-0 on the night. He was one of six who won both of those matches by fall.
Trausch is now only five wins from away from tying Xavier Miller’s school record of 156 career wins.
The milestone was important to Trausch, but the senior still has plenty to accomplish in his final season.
“It was cool. It means a lot to me, but there’s more to do. It’s a nice first step though,” said Trausch, who improved to 26-3 on the season.
The Mustangs (13-5 overall, 6-0 in the HOIC) recognized their seniors before the dual with Greene County.
Joining Trausch as seniors who were 2-0 on the night included top-ranked Lucas Roland, second-ranked Wes Cummings, Clay Van Wyk and Cody Wallace.
Senior Chance Palm made his season debut and earned a win by pin in his only match of the night against South Hamilton.
Senior Kaeden VanSoelen took a forfeit win in the victory over Greene County (14-8, 3-2). Seniors Fabio Sammet and Devin Burke also were recognized.
“I don’t think we’ll see a senior class like this one ever come through here again,” Nicholson said. “If we do, that means we have a pretty good team. It’s hard to put together a group of kids like we’ve got right now.”
Five of PCM’s six ranked wrestlers went 2-0 with two pins, including Trausch, Roland (9-1), Cummings (25-2), sixth-ranked sophomore Landon Fenton (9-1) and fourth-ranked sophomore Colby Tool (28-1).
Junior heavyweight Jace Smith (18-11) also was 2-0 with two pins. Seventh-ranked Drake, Wallace (24-6) and freshman Kaleb Ives were all 2-0 with one pin and one forfeit and Van Wyk was 2-0 with a pin and a win by decision.
Junior Seth Greiner (13-13) was 1-1 on the night, claiming a win by pin and a loss by decision. Freshman Trey Thomas took a forfeit against South Hamilton (4-14, 1-4).
Nicholson made a few lineup changes to get as many seniors on the mat as possible. He bumped Wallace, Cummings, Trausch and Roland up a weight class against South Hamilton.
Trausch and Roland both moved up a weight in the win over Greene County, too.
Trausch’s goal in claiming his 150th win was to accomplish the feat at home. And to not take a forfeit to get it.
“My 100th win last year was a forfeit, and I didn’t want that to happen again,” Trausch said. “Getting the win at home was important to me, too.”
This is the first season Trausch has been able to wrestle at his natural weight. That’s what makes his accomplishment of 150 wins all the more special, according to Nicholson.
“It’s pretty special. It’s a lot of wins,” Nicholson said. “To wrestle as heavy as he did as a freshman and a sophomore is tough. He’s never really wrestled his own weight either. Just to do what he’s done is pretty neat. I am proud of Jarron. I am proud of all the seniors.”
Drake earned win No. 99 with a forfeit against Greene County. He was able to wrestle on the mat for win No. 100 and got a second-period pin.
“It feels good. It was fun to get it at home,” said Drake, who improved to 22-4 on the season. “It’s fun to put a show on for the crowd, but I am not satisfied. I want to get to state and win some matches. I haven’t done that yet.”
By the time Trausch, Cummings and Roland are done this season, the trio could be sitting 1-2-3 in career wins at PCM. As a junior, Drake will have a chance to get to 150 next season.
“This goes back to the coaches putting in time when they are in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades,” Nicholson said. “Coach Hadsell, Coach Teeple, Coach Teeter and even Rusty some. I helped when I was a volunteer. When you start them young like that, and the coaches and kids come up together, it really helps build a program. It’s been a group effort and a community effort.”
Greene County edged South Hamilton 42-39 in the opening dual of the night. The Rams got a pin in the final match to secure the come-from-behind win.
PCM competes in the Centerville tournament at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Centerville.
PCM 69, Greene County 12
106: Braden Gallagher (GRCO) over Trey Thomas (PCM) (Fall 1:31) 113: Landon Fenton (PCM) over Chance McCollom (GRCO) (Fall 1:19) 120: John Sprague (GRCO) over Grant Uitermarkt (PCM) (Fall 1:05) 126: Payton Drake (PCM) over (GRCO) (For.) 132: Clay VanWyk (PCM) over Joe Davis (GRCO) (SV-1 2-0) 138: Kaleb Ives (PCM) over James Currier (GRCO) (Fall 0:51) 145: Colby Tool (PCM) over Will Hansen (GRCO) (Fall 2:22) 152: Cody Wallace (PCM) over (GRCO) (For.) 160: Wes Cummings (PCM) over Joel Ward (GRCO) (Fall 1:50) 170: Kaeden VanSoelen (PCM) over (GRCO) (For.) 182: Jarron Trausch (PCM) over Clint Dennhardt (GRCO) (Fall 1:23) 195: Lucas Roland (PCM) over Bryce Hoyle (GRCO) (Fall 3:32) 220: Seth Greiner (PCM) over Gage Michaelsen (GRCO) (Fall 3:01) 285: Jace Smith (PCM) over Matthew Naberhaus (GRCO) (Fall 0:42)
PCM 72, South Hamilton 3
106: Trey Thomas (PCM) over (SOHA) (For.) 113: 120: Landon Fenton (PCM) over Eli Angove (SOHA) (Fall 1:49) 126: Payton Drake (PCM) over Kaelen Miller (SOHA) (Fall 3:17) 132: Clay VanWyk (PCM) over Jose Galdeano (SOHA) (Fall 2:49) 138: Kaleb Ives (PCM) over (SOHA) (For.) 145: Colby Tool (PCM) over Michael Delegard (SOHA) (Fall 2:16) 152: Chance Palm (PCM) over Brent Greenfield (SOHA) (Fall 0:56) 160: Cody Wallace (PCM) over Sheldon Tapper (SOHA) (Fall 1:28) 170: Wes Cummings (PCM) over Landon Stolee (SOHA) (Fall 0:32) 182: Jarron Trausch (PCM) over Nathan Wilson (SOHA) (Fall 1:36) 195: Lucas Roland (PCM) over Trevor Thompson (SOHA) (Fall 0:41) 220: Colton Willis (SOHA) over Seth Greiner (PCM) (Dec 8-5) 285: Jace Smith (PCM) over Zach Larson (SOHA) (Fall 0:30)
