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Reaching state not good enough for Lynx trio

WEBSTER CITY – Match by match, win by win, Gavin Dinsdale has had to reassess his goals during the long and grueling wrestling season.

Just qualifying for the traditional state tournament was good enough back in November, but not anymore. Occupying a spot on the awards podium sounded like a fine way to complete his junior campaign when the calendar turned over to 2015, but now even that only slightly peaks his interest.

So what is it that he wants? The answer should be obvious.

Dinsdale (42-2), ranked No. 4 at heavyweight in Class 2A, and teammates Freddie Seeley (36-9), a senior 120-pounder, and Ryan Ferrari (38-10), a junior 152-pounder, will head to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Thursday for the opening day of the traditional state wrestling tournament. The 2A first round will commence at 1:30 p.m.

Dinsdale has his eyes on the gold, but he knows that task won’t be easy.

“At the beginning of the year I was definitely just thinking of making it to state,” Dinsdale, also a state qualifier as a freshman in 2013, said. “As the year went on it changed to place at state, and now with how well I’ve been doing it’s to make it to the finals and to win it.”

One thing is crystal clear – if Dinsdale does find himself on the top of the podium come Saturday night, he will have earned it the hard way.

Dinsdale finds himself in arguably the most intriguing first-round match at 285, as he’ll face fifth-ranked Kyle Davis (37-3) of Columbus Junction. Davis is also a two-time state qualifier.

The road will likely only get tougher for the Lynx junior. No. 3-ranked Alex Silberstein (39-2) of Ballard is in his quarter of the draw, and No. 1 Logan Linderbaum (43-2) of Solon is a potential semifinal opponent.

But Dinsdale is no stranger to tough competition. He has handed No. 2 Mario Pena (44-2) of Hampton-Dumont his only two losses this season.

“For me to compete with (Pena) and beat him twice in a row, it’s definitely a confidence booster for me to go down to state,” Dinsdale said.

Several milestones could also be reached with a good week. Dinsdale needs just one more victory to tie and two to break the WCHS single-season wins record. Three more wins gets him to 100. But forgive him if those achievements mean little in the present.

“State means everything right now,” he said. “I don’t care about the 100 wins.”

Seeley is also making his second trip to the state tournament. He’ll go in search of his first win on the lofty stage when he faces Creston/Orient-Macksburg sophomore Trevor Marlin (29-23) in the opening round.

“I definitely want to win some matches this year,” Seeley said. “I’m more confident and there are people there that I’ve already beaten.”

Seeley and Marlin have never met. They were both in the 120 bracket at the Dallas Center-Grimes Mustang Invite back in December; Seeley went home with the tournament title, while Marlin placed sixth.

Ferrari will face an uphill battle in his first bout against No. 8-ranked Hunter Morrow (34-4) of Cherokee, a four-time qualifier who is 3-6 in nine career state tournament matches.

Top-ranked Chase Straw (42-1) of Independence is in Ferrari’s quarter of the draw.

“I know it’s going to be awesome,” Ferrari said of his first state tournament. “But my goals aren’t done now. I want to get on that podium.”

First-round wins propel grapplers into Friday’s quarterfinals. Those wrestlers who lose in the opening round will have to wrestle again in the consolation first round on Thursday.

It takes two victories to place in the top eight.

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