(Photo Courtesy: Meg McLaughlin // theregister.com)
By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Des Moines — 16 KILJ-area wrestlers remain alive at the conclusion of the first day of the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships.
14 of those 16 are in the winners’ bracket, wrestling tomorrow for their chance to advance to the semifinals.
With state championships in mind, the usual suspects fired hot on Day One.
In 2A, that meant outstanding opening round bouts for top-ranked 182-pounder C.J. Walrath — who stapled his first round opponent Wayne Johnston in :47 seconds — and undefeated Blaine Frazier, who inched closer to 200 career wins, rolling past Easton O’Brien (Atlantic-CAM) in 1:40.
Sam West and River Belger also clocked in and punched their timecard to the quarterfinals.
West cruised by Decorah’s Austin Wilkins by fall in 4:53, while Belger made quick work of Tate Schmitt (Hampton-Dumont) earning a pin in 1:28.
Isaiah Fenton, Carter West and Kaiden Dietzenbach all advanced to the quarterfinals with relatively easy first round wins, as well.
On the backside of the bracket following first round losses, 120-pound freshman C.J. Davis (NDWB) wrestled a gutsy 2-0 decision win over Crestwood’s Kole Johnson which kept his podium hopes alive.
Likewise, 138-pounder Tate O’Shea (NDWB) — who seemed to be nursing a knee injury — snagged a mettlesome come from behind wrestleback triumph in thrilling 4-3 decision fashion.
Outside of the Nikes, Columbus Community-Winfield-Mount Union’s Lane Scorpil continued to impress with a major decision, 8-0 success over Carter Lamont (Vinton-Shellsburg).
Scorpil will quarrel with Caelan Oakes-Sudhish (Southeast Valley) in the quarters tomorrow.
Not to be outdone, 1A did not disappoint.
The fireworks started when three-time defending state champion Marcel Lopez made mincemeat of overmatched Van Meter freshman Garrett Cole.
Lopez ripped his way to fall win in 1:06.
His younger brother Dominic, the three-seed in the 152-pound bracket, circled like a Tiger on raw meat establishing his presence this weekend with systematic tech fall win over Foxe Youngblut (Don Bosco).
Lopez will get Nashua-Plainfield’s McKade Nunn tomorrow in the quarters.
Josh Glendening also got out on the right foot junior upholding his end of the bargain with a workman-like fall win in 1:10.
Mediapolis’ lone qualifier Quinten Aney will hope to get revenge tomorrow.
Now 41-1 after a decision win over Sean Thompson (Logan-Magnolia), Aney will wrestle the only man to beat him tomorrow in Lisbon’s establishment name Cade Siebrecht.
WACO’s two qualifiers both advanced.
Freshman — not by appearance — Louden Huisenga showed he was ready for the spotlight.
The 12th ranked 145-pounder snagged an earth-shattering come from behind win over 11th ranked Myles McMahon of Don Bosco.
Human wrecking ball Jonah Clark looked like a kitten with a ball of yarn winning his bout with Maquoketa Valley’s Brady Davis by fall after leading 11-2.
The lone elimination on the entire day was New London’s Gage Burden, though you could hardly call his season a disappointment. Burden finished his season 37-19 with a state appearance now inked on his resume. His future is undoubtedly vivid.
Tomorrow’s morning session will begin at 9:00 a.m.
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