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PHETXOUMPHONE BRINGS HOME 5TH PLACE MEDAL

Lynx 106-pounder goes 4-2 at state; Olson falls one win short of medal

WCHS freshman 106-pounder Camron Phetxoumphone works a cradle while balancing on his head during a 17-7 major decision win over Union’s Lincoln Mehlert during a consolation match at the state wrestling tournament Friday night in Des Moines. Phetxoumphone went on to place fifth. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

DES MOINES — One of the littlest guys wearing a singlet inside Wells Fargo Arena Saturday afternoon showed that his future is awfully big.

Webster City freshman 106-pounder Camron Phetxoumphone put the finishing touches on a 40-win season by placing fifth in Class 2A at the state wrestling tournament. He won four of six matches over the three-day stretch, three by major decision, and vaulted himself up the podium with a 3-0 shutout victory over fifth-ranked Rylie Anderson of Bondurant-Farrar.

“I thought Cam had a great freshman year and I think this will give him a lot of confidence going forward,” WCHS head coach Chad Hisler said. “He wrestled smart and stayed in control (against Anderson) and he wrestled competitively in every match.”

Phetxoumphone was admittedly nervous, something most first-time qualifiers deal with, but he couldn’t complain with the end result.

“I’m satisfied with what I got and it’s been a great season,” Phetxoumphone said minutes before collecting his fifth-place medal in front of a packed house Saturday night. “I didn’t have a definite plan coming down here; all I did was wrestle and try to get better.”

WCHS freshman 106-pounder Camron Phetxoumphone (top) collects near-fall points in a 17-7 win over Union’s Lincoln Mehlert in a consolation bout on Friday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Phetxoumphone (40-6), ranked seventh, scored on an escape early in the second period and then added a takedown in the final seconds of the second to build the three-point lead on Anderson. The WCHS rookie kept Anderson on the mat throughout the third period.

His dream of becoming a state champion, for the time being anyway, came to an end during Friday’s quarterfinals when second-ranked and eventual state runner-up Blaine Frazier of Burlington Notre Dame dealt him a 6-1 setback.

Utilizing his considerable height and reach advantages, Frazier notched a takedown in the first and another in the third while keeping Phetxoumphone back on his heels.

It ended a streak of 24 consecutive wins for Phetxoumphone.

“I couldn’t be myself in that match,” Phetxoumphone said. “(Frazier) didn’t even have to shoot in on shots, he could just reach in and grab me.”

WCHS senior 195-pounder Caleb Olson (facing) attempts to roll East Marshall’s Noah Bandstra onto his back during a quarterfinal match on Friday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

But Phetxoumphone rebounded nicely in a 12-0 dismantling of Perry’s Cole Nelson during the blood round to clinch a medal. Phetxoumphone ripped off two takedowns and put Nelson on his back twice.

Later on Friday, Phetxoumphone dismantled Union’s 10th-ranked Lincoln Mehlert for the second time in a nine-day span, 17-7. A quick takedown and three-point near fall gave the Lynx grappler an early 5-0 lead and he pushed the advantage to 13-4 after two periods. He piled up eight back points in the rout.

Fourth-ranked senior Jacob Mielke of Pocahontas Area shipped Phetxoumphone into the fifth-place match with a 4-0 win in the consolation semifinals Saturday morning. Mielke grabbed a 2-0 lead after one period and tacked on a second takedown midway through the second period.

“I didn’t quite wrestle my best against the Pocahontas kid,” Phetxoumphone said. “Having a close loss when you’re wrestling those top-notch guys, it sucks.”

Caleb Olson, the Lynx senior fifth-ranked 195-pounder, fell one win short of claiming his second state medal. He lost by fall in the quarterfinals to second-ranked Noah Bandstra of East Marshall and then dropped a 16-9 decision to 10th-ranked Isaac Boucher in the blood round.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Olson led Bandstra 3-2 when he gave up a takedown and turn midway through the second period. Boucher attacked Olson’s legs repeatedly and piled up seven takedowns.

Olson exits the program as one of only 19 wrestlers to reach 100 career victories. He joined that club during Thursday’s first round.

WCHS compiled 42 team points and placed 16th in the 2A field. West Delaware won the team title with 761⁄2 points despite not having any finalists.

State Wrestling Tournament

At Wells Faro Arena

Des Moines

Webster City Results

FRIDAY

Quarterfinals

106 — Blaine Frazier, Burlington Notre dame dec. Cam Phetxoumphone, 6-1.

120 — Drake Doolittle pinned Kyler Dunn, Spirit Lake Park, 1:19.

195 — Noah Bandstra, East Marshall pinned Caleb Olson, 3:50.

Consolation Second Round

106 — Phetxoumphone major dec. Cole Nelson, Perry, 12-0.

195 — Isaac Boucher, Mid-Prairie dec. Olson, 16-9.

Consolation Third Round

106 — Phetxoumphone major dec. Lincoln Mehlert, Union, 17-1.

Semifinals

120 — Doolittle dec. Kaden Anderlik, Crestwood, 8-3.

SATURDAY

Consolation Semifinals

106 — Jacob Mielke, Pocahontas Area dec. Phetxoumphone, 4-0.

Consolation Finals

106 (5th Place Match) — Phetxoumphone dec. Rylie Anderson, Bondurant-Farrar, 3-0.

Finals

120 — Doolittle dec. Nathaniel Genobana, Centerville, 9-4.

Individual State Champions

106 — (3A) Trever Anderson, Ankeny; (2A) Carter Fousek, Crestwood; (1A) Marcel Lopez, New London.

113 — (3A) Drake Ayala, Fort Dodge; (2A) Matthew Lewis, Centerville; (1A) Aidan Noonan, Cascade.

120 — (3A) Carson Taylor, Fort Dodge; (2A) Drake Doolittle, Webster City; (1A) Adam Allard, West Sioux.

126 — (3A) Caleb Rathjen, Ankeny; (2A) Hayden Taylor, Solon; (1A) Robert Avila, Lisbon.

132 — (3A) Joe Pins, Dubuque Hempstead; (2A) Eric Faught, Clear Lake; (1A) Cael Happel, Lisbon.

138 — (3A) Eli Loyd, Pleasant Valley; (2A) Jack Thomsen, Union; (1A) Cobe Siebrecht, Lisbon.

145 — (3A) Collin Lewis, North Scott; (2A) Joey Busse, Humboldt; (1A) Wade Mitchell, Woodbury Central.

152 — (3A) Lance Runyon, Southeast Polk; (2A) Kyler Rieck, Spirit Lake Park; (1A) Kory Van Oort, West Sioux.

160 — (3A) Cade DeVos, Southeast Polk; (2A) Skyler Noftsger, Ballard; (1A) John Henrich, Akron-Westfield.

170 — (3A) Anthony Zach, Waukee; (2A) Paul Ryan, Mt. Vernon; (1A) Treyton Cacek, GT-RA.

182 — (3A) Jacob Wempen, Linn-Mar; (2A) Tristin Westphal, Washington; (1A) Gabe Pauley, AHSTW.

195 — (3A) Gabe Christensen, Southeast Polk; (2A) Julien Broderson, Davenport Assumption; (1A) Zach Ryg, Central Springs.

220 — (3A) Beau Lombardi, WDM Valley; (2A) Cody Fisher, Woodward-Granger; (1A) Garet Sims, Iowa Valley.

285 — (3A) Andrew Snyder, Waverly-SR; (2A) Spencer Trenary, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows; (1A) Arron Olson, Missouri Valley.

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