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Lynx crown 3 champions at DC-G Invite

GRIMES – With a grand total of two varsity matches under his belt, Webster City freshman 113-pound wrestler Drake Doolittle carried next to no clout in the seeding meeting leading up to Saturday’s Dallas Center-Grimes Mustang Invite.

He most likely won’t face that problem again. Why? The answer is in the results.

An unknown who was essentially the No. 7 seed at the start of the day, Doolittle showed he’s anything but a run-of-the-mill rookie, as he blitzed the competition on his way to a gold medal.

But he wasn’t alone.

WCHS picked up a tournament-best three individual titles and placed 11 of its grapplers in the top eight at their respective weights. The Lynx tallied 163 points to finish third against a tough 12-team field that included champion Creston/Orient-Macksburg (2211?2 points) and runner-up Ankeny Centennial (1851?2).

Ten of the teams in attendance had at least one individual champion. Only WCHS, Creston/Orient-Macksburg (2) and fourth-place finisher West Marshall (2) had multiple winners.

Top-ranked (Class 2A) 220-pounder Gavin Dinsdale, a WCHS senior, navigated his way through a treacherous bracket and knocked off two rated challengers to rise to the top of the podium. Sophomore heavyweight Cooper Lawson, ranked No. 4, was similarly imposing; he pulled off a mild upset over third-ranked (2A) Nathan Heath of ADM, 5-3, in the finals to claim a crown.

In many ways, Dinsdale and Lawson were proven commodities leading up to the tournament. Doolittle didn’t have that luxury, at least not in the eyes of those who haven’t watched him in the Lynx wrestling room.

“These early tournaments won’t seed freshmen,” WCHS coach Chad Hisler said. “We knew going into (the seeding meeting) that because there’s no criteria. They don’t know about national tournaments or AAU stuff.”

First up for Doolittle was second-seeded and former state qualifier Steve Stych of Ankeny Centennial. Many takedowns and a slew of near-fall points later, Doolittle walked off Mat No. 4 with an 18-1 technical fall win in just 3:21.

Following a 14-2 major decision rout of No. 3 seed Nathan Phillips of Interstate 35 in the semifinals, Doolittle built a sizable lead over top-seed Max Tracy of Dallas Center-Grimes before ending the gold-medal bout by fall in 5:27. Tracy has also previous qualified for the state meet.

“That kid was really good,” Hisler said of Tracy. “The thing I’ve noticed about (Doolittle) is he’s good at getting himself ready to compete. He’s always looking to score, too. If he’s on top, he’s looking to score. If he’s on bottom, he’s looking to score. He’s fun to watch.”

Dinsdale, the No. 1 seed in a bracket of four rated wrestlers, reached the semifinals courtesy of a quick fall, but was forced to work against seventh-ranked (2A) Hunter Gibson of ADM. The combatants were knotted at 4 after three periods, but Dinsdale secured the clinching takedown in sudden victory.

Dinsdale faced a less stressful title match against fourth-ranked (3A) Christian Heimer of Ankeny Centennial, as he racked up three takedowns and an escape point to win 7-4. All of Heimers’ points came on escapes.

“Gavin wrestled much better in the finals than he did in that overtime match,” Hisler said. “He took a bad shot (against Gibson) and he wasn’t happy with the way he wrestled.”

Lawson, seeded second, pinned his way into the finals. Against Heath, a two-time state qualifier and one-time state medal winner, Lawson capitalized on a pair of takedowns to take command.

“Cooper is another kid that put in a lot of time doing freestyle in the offseason,” Hisler said. “He controlled (Heath) and frustrated him.”

WCHS sent six grapplers into the semifinals. Senior Cole Nokes (126) and sophomore Luke Rohmiller (132) rebounded from losses in the round of four to claim bronze medals. Sophomore Zane Williams (152) wound up in fourth place.

Other Lynx place winners included Carson Hartnett (126, fifth), Gage Sadler (138, fifth), Carter Rholl (145, fifth), Ryan Ferrari (160, sixth) and Rocco Miller (195, eighth).

Doolittle’s championship victory started a string of six consecutive WCHS triumphs in the last round. Hartnett flattened Carlisle’s Grant Mutch in 1:58 in the medal round; Nokes, Rohmiller, Sadler and Rholl all won their battles by decision.

Hartnett was the busiest WCHS wrestler on the day. He stepped onto the mat five times and came out victorious four times either by fall or technical fall. His only hiccup was a loss to eventual champion and freshman Matthew Jordan of Des Moines East in the quarterfinals.

“That was a freshman that I didn’t know about and he was good,” Hisler said of Jordan. “Carson looked good and I thought Luke wrestled really well.

“I think we’re pretty happy finishing third. I thought we’d be a little closer to Centennial, but it’s early in the year and our kids fought. They were competitive.”

WCHS added a double dual on Thursday to its schedule. The Lynx will travel to Huxley to face Ballard and Carlisle beginning at 5:30 p.m.

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