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ONE LAST RIDE

No. 1 Drake Doolittle knows what he has to do to win that elusive state title

WCHS senior Drake Doolittle enters today’s state wrestling tournament with 171 career victories and three state medals. He’ll be one of the favorites to win gold in the Class 2A 120-pound bracket. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WEBSTER CITY — You could see it in his body language as he aggressively moved from the corner of the mat to the center, and in his face, his jaw so tight that he’s lucky he didn’t grind his back teeth down to dust.

But mostly you could see it in his eyes, expressionless and yet spewing fire at the same time.

Drake Doolittle was mad. And somebody had to pay.

Center Point-Urbana’s Caleb Fuessley drew the short straw, so to speak, and was on the receiving end of Doolittle’s fury on that Saturday afternoon one year ago. One takedown turned into two, followed by a turn. More punishment was inflicted and the lead grew to 11-3 before Doolittle put the match to bed with a fall.

It earned the Webster City wrestler his third state medal in as many tries. But it wasn’t gold, or silver, or even bronze.

Caleb Olson. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Fifth place, that’s what Doolittle walked away with a year ago. And you better believe he remembers the back-to-back losses, first in the semifinals and then the consolation semifinals.

“Sometimes I wrestle to keep everything inside and don’t open up,” Doolittle said, thinking back to the 2018 state tournament. “But you’ve just got to let it fly down there, you can’t hold back. If you keep matches close, anything can happen.”

And the show he put on against Fuessley?

“I was ready to go and I was in the right mindset for that match,” Doolittle said. “I need to do that every match.”

Doolittle (39-1), top-ranked at 120 pounds in Class 2A with a school-record 171 career victories under his singlet, will take that knowledge into his final state tournament beginning this evening inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Becoming just the second four-time state medalist in WCHS history would be nice, but it’s not what’s at the top of his list. Rather, he’s got his sights set on becoming just the fifth Lynx grappler to win a state title.

Camron Phetxoumphone. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“I’ve got one more shot and I’m going to go out there and give it everything I’ve got every single match,” Doolittle, who was third as a freshman and the runner-up as a sophomore at 113, said.

Is Doolittle the favorite in his 16-man bracket? He’s one of them, there’s no doubt about that. But he knows nobody will hand him anything, including first-round opponent Hunter Worthen (28-19) of Union, who Doolittle pinned at the regional duals a week ago.

Fuessley (39-0), ranked third, and Crestwood’s Kaden Anderlik (40-3), ranked fourth, are also on Doolittle’s side of the bracket. Doolittle pulled out a one-point win over Anderlik in last year’s state quarterfinals. Second-ranked and 2018 state silver medalist Nathaniel Genobana (35-2) of Centerville is among the heavy hitters on the other side of the bracket.

“You have to beat the best to be the best,” Doolittle said.

He walked right into an easy follow-up question: Is he the best?

Michael Gilbert. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“We’ll see,” he said with a sheepish grin on his face.

Doolittle is one of four WCHS wrestlers in the state-tournament field. He’ll be joined by seventh-ranked freshman 106-pounder Camron Phetxoumphone (36-4), senior 182-pounder Michael Gilbert (24-20) and fifth-ranked senior 195-pounder Caleb Olson (35-4).

Olson will go in search of career victory No. 100 when he meets Sioux Center’s Chayce Hooyer (27-9) in the opening round. A win would likely set up a date with second-ranked Noah Bandstra (37-2) of East Marshall in Friday’s quarterfinals. Top-ranked Julian Broderson (49-0) of Davenport Assumption, a two-time state champion, is also in that top portion of the bracket.

Olson is one of only 12 WCHS individuals to qualify for state at least three times. He placed eighth two years ago and wants nothing more than to end his career with another medal.

“”My goal is obviously to make the podium,” Olson said. “The last few years wrestling has been just a sport, but this year it’s developed into something and I’m not ready for it to be over.”

Phetxoumphone will face a familiar foe in his first-round bout, as North Central Conference rival and ninth-ranked Cole Nelson (38-12) of Humboldt will be in the center of the circle with him. Nelson beat Phetxoumphone, 13-8, at the Don Miller Invite in Fort Dodge back in December, but Phetxoumphone has reeled off 23 consecutive victories since, including a 9-4 win over Nelson in the semifinals of the conference tournament last month.

Phetxoumphone’s side of the bracket also includes top-ranked Keaton Ziemet (33-1) of Central DeWitt and second-ranked Blaine Frazier (43-3) of Burlington Notre Dame, the likely quarterfinal opponent of either the WCHS rookie or Nelson.

“I’m just going to take it one match at a time because I don’t really know what to expect,” Phetxoumphone said. “I just want to go out and do my best for my team and my city.”

Gilbert will face the toughest first-round challenge against sixth-ranked Luke Jenness (39-2) of Sheldon-South O’Brien. Either second-ranked Tristin Westphal (39-0) of Washington or Beau Barncastle (30-24) of Creston will be Gilbert’s second opponent.

State Tournament Schedule

Wells Fargo Arena

Des Moines

THURSDAY

9 a.m.-noon — Class 3A first round and consolation first round.

1:30-4:30 p.m. — Class 1A first round and consolation first round.

6-9 p.m. — Class 2A first round and consolation first round.

FRIDAY

9 a.m.-1 p.m. — Class 3A and 1A quarterfinals, 3A and 1A consolation second round.

2:30-5:45 p.m. — Class 2A quarterfinals, 3A semifinals and consolation third round, 2A consolation second round.

7:30-8:40 p.m. — Class 1A semifinals and consolation third round.

8:45-10 p.m. — Class 2A semifinals and consolation third round.

SATURDAY

10 a.m.-2:15 p.m. — Class 3A, 1A, 2A consolation semifinals and finals.

5:45 p.m. — Awards.

6 p.m. — Grand march and finals (all classes).

State Tournament Pairings

Webster City Qualifiers

First Round

106 — Camron Phetxoumphone, fr, Webster City (36-4) vs. Cole Nelson, jr, Humboldt (38-12).

120 — Drake Doolittle, sr, Webster City (39-1) vs. Hunter Worthen, fr, Union (28-19).

182 — Michael Gilbert, sr, Webster City (24-20) vs. Luke Jenness, soph, Sheldon-South O’Brien (39-2).

195 — Caleb Olson, sr, Webster City (35-4) vs. Chayce Hooyer, jr, Sioux Center (27-9).

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