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STATE … HIGH-FIVE!

TICKETS PUNCHED FOR NELSON, DOOLITTLE, HARTNETT, WILLIAMS AND OLSON

WCHS junior 170-pounder Zane Williams (top) scores the winning takedown and two-point near-fall on a scramble during the closing seconds of his Class 2A district finals match against fourth-ranked Kyler Fisher of Southeast Valley on Saturday. Williams is one of five Lynx state qualifiers. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WEBSTER CITY — The weight cut, the mat burns, the constant aches and pains — Zane Williams was sick of it all. Wrestling was a part of his past, not his present and certainly not his future.

Or so he thought.

Hey, Zane, have you had a change of heart?

“Yeah, it’s pretty great right now,” Williams, Webster City’s junior 170-pounder said with a smile on his face Saturday afternoon. “I’ve wrestled my whole life, but these last few years I didn’t want to do it. I just didn’t care anymore. But my friends are all wrestlers and the coaches are awesome, so I decided to come out.”

As flip-of-the-coin decisions go, this one couldn’t have turned out any better.

WCHS 132-pounder Carson Hartnett (standing) fends off the shot of Southeast Valley’s Trey Lawrence at Saturday’s Class 2A district tourney. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

In a four-man bracket that featured a pair of top-five grapplers, Williams stood head and shoulders above both on Saturday, as he captured a district title and punched his ticket to the state tournament for the first time.

And right there waiting for a hug was Lynx head coach Chad Hisler, who gave Williams the sell job in November just to keep him on the team.

“Zane has said every year that he’s not going to wrestle,” Hisler said while chuckling. “It helps that all of his buddies are out for wrestling. For him to come out and win that loaded weight, that was awesome. That was fun to see.”

Williams was one of five state qualifiers for the Lynx, who finished second in the team standings behind Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (991⁄2 points to 96). Second-ranked Drake Doolittle (113) and Carson Hartnett (132) also won gold, while Trey Nelson (106) and Caleb Olson (195) moved on as district runners-up.

Luke Rohmiller (138) and James Cherry (220) felt the sting of coming close, but falling short. Both placed third.

Caleb Olson (center) receives a hug from WCHS head coach Chad Hisler as assistant coach Tyler Patten adds his congratulations on Saturday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“This day is bittersweet every year because they’ve all worked so hard and everybody prepared well,” Hisler said. “But we got five through and we’re happy with that.”

Williams knocked off fourth-ranked Kyler Fisher of Southeast Valley for the second straight week to collect his spot on top of the podium. Trailing 3-1 with under 30 seconds remaining, Williams shot in on the legs of Fisher and, after a scramble, found himself on top and collecting near-fall points near the edge of the mat. The four-point move was enough to give him a 5-4 win, even if he was in the dark until moments after the final whistle.

“I didn’t know I got the takedown or back points,” he said. “I didn’t know until I looked up at the scoreboard and thought, ‘holy crap!’ It was awesome.”

Fisher scored a last-second takedown to beat second-ranked Conner Shaw of Garner-Hayfield/Ventura in the semifinals. Shaw could only look on in misery as Williams pulled his own late-match heroics to eliminate him from state contention.

Doolittle, a 2016 state bronze medalist, quickly pumped his fist before he sprinted out of the WCHS gymnasium following his 8-5 victory over top-ranked and 2016 state silver medalist Eric Faught of Clear Lake in the tournament’s most highly-anticipated bout.

Webster City senior 106-pounder Trey Nelson finishes off Southeast Valley’s Coledon Bethel by fall in 59 seconds to qualify for the state tournament for the first time during Saturday’s Class 2A district tournament inside the WCHS gymnasium. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Leading 4-3 after two periods, Doolittle took Faught off his feet and promptly deposited him on his back for a three-point near-fall that gave him plenty of breathing room midway through the third. It was his second win in three battles this season with his Sebolt Wrestling Academy teammate, and to come out on top on such a big stage made it even more gratifying.

“I like to stay away from the noise and get out of there,” Doolittle, who won his semifinal by fall in the first period, said about his quick exit following the showdown. “This is huge for confidence. I’ll just use it as motivation going into the state tournament.”

Hartnett became one of the Lynx four first-time state qualifiers after a business-like afternoon that gave him little trouble. He took out Algona’s Carson Devine by fall in the semifinals and then never trailed Southeast Valley’s Trey Lawrence en route to a 5-3 win in the gold-medal round. Hartnett notched takedowns in the first and second periods to build a 5-1 lead on Lawrence.

And just like Doolittle and Williams, there was no celebration by Hartnett. It was what he expected.

“It’s pretty awesome and it sure does taste better than those dippin-dots, I’ll tell you that,” Hartnett joked, referring to the ice cream treat he’s enjoyed as a spectator at the state tournament over the years. “I did what I set out to do. I pushed my pace and I wrestled my matches.”

Second-ranked Drake Doolittle (front) works for a second-period takedown against top-ranked Eric Faught of Clear Lake in the 113-pound title bout at Saturday’s Class 2A district tourney. Doolittle prevailed, 8-5. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Olson advanced on the strength of a 6-2 win over CGD’s Ben Powers in the semifinals. A first-period takedown and a ride-out in the second put Olson in front, 2-0, and he added two escapes and a late takedown in the third.

Olson dropped his finals match to Woodward-Granger’s Cody Fisher, but a win by Powers on the adjoining mat ensured the WCHS sophomore of his state berth.

Nelson, a senior who owned just 24 career victories, forfeits included, during his first three seasons on the mat, put a bow on a stellar campaign to date by decking Southeast Valley’s Coledon Bethel in the wrestleback round. Nelson dropped an offensive show to Pocahontas Area’s Jacob Mielke, 17-12, in the finals, but he quickly regrouped and left no doubt when the state berth was on the line.

“To come out and do what he’s done this year is great,” Hisler said of Nelson, who owns 33 wins this year. “He was basically a (junior varsity) wrestler last year, so that’s exciting to see.”

Rohmiller’s dream ended with a 9-4 loss to Humboldt’s Joey Busse in a wrestleback. Clinging to a 3-2 lead in the final minute of the third period, Busse earned crucial near-fall points in a scramble and Rohmiller was unable to catch up.

Cherry fell in the semifinal round to 10th-ranked Dominick Etherington of Algona. Cherry came back to take out Tim Elliott of Pocahontas Area, 9-6, in the third-place match, but didn’t get a wrestleback.

The 2A first round and consolation first round will get underway at 6 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Thursday.

Class 2A District Tournament

Saturday at Webster City

Team Standings

(Number of State Qualifiers)

1. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (5) 991⁄2; 2. Webster City (5) 96; 3. Humboldt (4) 69; 4. Pocahontas Area (3) 52; 5. Woodward-Granger (3) 50; 6. Clear Lake (2) 451⁄2; 7. Algona (2) 44; 8. Southeast Valley (2) 42; 9. Greene County (1) 27; 10. Garner-Hayfield/Ventura (0) 20; 11. Roland-Story (1) 14; 12. Forest City (0) 0.

Championship Matches

106 — Jacob Mielke (PAC) dec. Trey Nelson (WC), 17-12. 113 — Drake Doolittle (WC) dec. Eric Faught (CL), 8-5. 120 — Shea Ruffridge (PAC) pinned Cresten Craven (H), 0:55. 126 — Connor Johnson (CGD) pinned Zach Anderson (R-S), 5:13. 132 — Carson Hartnett (WC) dec. Trey Lawrence (SEV), 5-3. 138 — Tanner Abbas (CGD) dec. Luke Rohmiller (WC), 12-7. 145 — Ryan Leisure (CL) pinned Clayton Reis (PAC), 1:15. 152 — Jaden Kampen (H) dec. Austin Scharlau (W-G), 5-2. 160 — Reymundo Vasquez (CGD) dec. Gus Arnold (H), 3-2. 170 — Zane Williams (WC) dec. Kyler Fisher (SEV), 5-4. 182 — Tanner Vermaas (W-G) dec. Mason Carpenter (CGD), 7-0. 195 — Cody Fisher (W-G) pinned Caleb Olson, 1:39. 220 — Hunter Ruth (GC) dec. Dominick Etherington (ALG), 5-1. 285 — Spencer Trenary (CGD) pinned Josh Wegener (ALG), 3:23.

Wrestleback Matches

106 — Trey Nelson (WC) pinned Coledon Bethel (SEV), 0:59. 113 — Eric Faught (CL) pinned Austin Case (GH/V), 1:23. 138 — Joey Busse (H) dec. Luke Rohmiller, 9-4. 160 — Gus Arnold (H) dec. Kaelan Lundberg (SEV), 5-1.

State Tournament Matches

Webster City Only

Ranked Wrestlers Noted

106 — Trey Nelson (33-10) vs. No. 1 Grayson Kesterson (45-1), Williamsburg.

113 — No. 2 Drake Doolittle (40-2) vs. Jason Peta (28-9), Estherville-Lincoln Central.

132 — Carson Hartnett (27-4) vs. Nate Lasher (20-7), Charles City.

170 — Zane Williams (35-8) vs. Jacob Wingert (32-10), Harlan.

195 — Caleb Olson (22-6) vs. Seth Moore (33-3), Ballard.

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