South Hamilton’s junior leaders mauled their way through a Class 1A district tournament on Saturday and claimed titles to punch their tickets to the state tournament in Des Moines later this week.

They’re the Hawks first state qualifiers since Luke Peters and Keaton Hetland both reached the big stage in 2017.

“Trevor and Lane had awesome days,” South Hamilton head coach Dan Brodie said. “That’s about as good as it gets and they’re both really excited.”

Colton Willis came up one win short of moving on, as he finished third.

Lane Swenson (top) controls East Union’s Brant Looney during the 170-pound final on Saturday in Pleasantville. Newton Daily News photo/Troy Hyde

“We were a match away from perfect,” Brodie said. “Colton wrestled really well, but just made one mistake and it cost him.”

Swenson (38-3) bullied his way through the 170-pound bracket and left no doubt in either of his wins. He needed just 1:25 to deck Curtis Jacobe of I-35 in the semifinals and then controlled the action and scored at will in a 12-3 major decision over Brant Looney of East Union in the title bout.

“Lane, again, was business as usual,” Brodie said. “He didn’t mess around. He built a big lead in the finals, but didn’t do anything crazy to put himself in jeopardy.”

Thompson’s trip to the top of the podium was a bit more dramatic at 195 pounds. Trailing 2-1 against I-35s Brock Thompson with under 30 seconds remaining in the finals, the South Hamilton grappler got to his feet and then reversed his opponent to his back for a pair of near-fall points. The four-point move gave Trevor Thompson a 5-2 win.

“It was a great match and a great moment,” Brodie said. “Both kids probably deserved to win, but Trevor was just in a good position when he got to his feet.

“Trevor’s championship win was one of the biggest wins of his career. He’s been so close in matches up to this point, but he finally got over the hump against somebody that was pretty dang good.”

Thompson (35-8) opened the tournament by throwing East Union’s Louis Gonzalez to his back for the fall just 32 seconds into their semifinal scrap.

Willis (25-13) was pinned in his 220-pound semifinal by Sam Vonnahme of I-35, but rebounded to pin Mount Ayr’s Donovan Morales in 51 seconds in the third-place match.

Swenson and Thompson will take part in Thursday evening’s opening 1A session inside Wells Fargo Arena.

Class 1A District Tournament

Saturday at Pleasantville

Team Standings

1. Martensdale St. Marys 85; 2. Mount Ayr 78; 3. I-35 761⁄2; 4. (tie) Ogden and Pleasantville 53; 6. (tie) South Hamilton and Colfax-Mingo 47; 8. Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas 45; 9. Wayne 44; 10. Moravia 28; 11. East Union 271⁄2; 12. Lynnville-Sully 9; 13. Collins-Maxwell 8; 14. Baxter 0.

South Hamilton Results

Lane Swenson (first, 170 pounds) — Semifinal: won by fall over Curtis Jacobe (I-35), 1:25; Final: won by maj. dec. over Brant Looney (EU), 12-3.

Trevor Thompson (first, 195 pounds) — Semifinal: won by fall over Louis Gonzalez (EU), 0:32; Final: won by dec. over Brock Thompson (I-35), 5-2.

Colton Willis (third, 220 pounds) — Semifinal: lost by fall to Sam Vonnahme (I-35), 1:42; Consolation Final: won by fall over Donovan Morales (MTAY), 0:51.