Together.

They began to show those glimpses that coaches like to see and steadily improved as sophomores.

Together.

They piled up the wins and took over as leaders as juniors.

South Hamilton’s Colton Willis (left) scores on a single-leg against PCM’s Cooper Sloan in the HOIC tournament 220-pound final on Friday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Together.

And as seniors? They won Heart of Iowa Conference tournament championships.

Yes, together.

Tethered by their wrestling passion for years, South Hamilton classmates Lane Swenson, Trevor Thompson and Colton Willis accomplished a longtime goal on Friday. In a span of 30 minutes, they became league gold medalists, Swenson for the second time, Thompson and Willis for the first time.

“Us three, we’ve always had a special bond,” Willis,

Lane Swenson (left) tosses West Marshall’s Austin Pfantz to the mat during the 170-pound final at Friday’s HOIC tournament. Swenson, a South Hamilton senior who is ranked third, won his second straight league title. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

who owned the 220-pound weight class, said. “We’ve always pushed each other, every year trying to get better and better.”

“It was our goal to win conference together,” Thompson, the king at 195, said. “We did it and it’s really cool.”

“It just proves how hard our grade works,” Swenson, again the dominant force at 170, said. “We’ve dreamed of being the top three since we were freshman and now it came to fruition.”

South Hamilton’s three titles trailed only West Marshall and Greene County, who crowned four individuals each. West Marshall’s return to the league culminated with a team championship following its 197-point performance. Greene County (180) settled for second, followed by Roland-Story (172) and PCM (151), who combined for three individual gold medals. South Hamilton (139) was next in fifth.

Swenson (30-1), ranked third (Class 1A), blasted his way through the quarterfinals and semifinals with quick pins, and then staved off an early throw attempt by West Marshall’s Austin Pfantz in the finals en route to an 11-4 win. Leading 4-2 after two periods, Swenson turned Pfantz three times in the third period for seven near-fall points to put the bout out of reach.

South Hamilton’s Brent Greenfield (left) attempts a headlock throw against Roland-Story’s Eli Thorson at Friday’s HOIC tournament. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“It wasn’t my best match, but you’ve got to win the sloppy ones too,” Swenson, who defended his 170-pound HOIC title, said. “Top game is my thing. Getting those turns kept me motivated to keep scoring points.”

Thompson (21-3), a 2020 league silver medalist who’s ranked fourth, didn’t have to work nearly as hard. In fact, he spent only 2 minutes, 12 seconds on the mat in his two matches, and he roared through PCM’s Donovan Nickelson in the finals with a pin in 1:26. Nickelson attempted his own early throw and it failed miserably. Thompson applied his own bear hug and took Nickelson feet to back.

“He didn’t catch me off guard,” Thompson said. “I try to be comfortable in all aspects of wrestling. I just kept my composure and didn’t freak out.”

Willis (23-7) said he felt the burden to finish what his teammates started, and he accomplished his goal by scoring the winning takedown with 1:20 remaining in a 7-6 win over PCM’s Cooper Sloan. The match was knotted at 5 when Willis got to the right leg near the edge of the mat and dumped Sloan to take the lead for good.

“After watching Trevor and Lane, I just said I’ve got to do this,” Willis, who notched a quick semifinal pin, said. “(Sloan) got tired at the end, so I knew I had to keep pressure forward. Keep shooting the legs and keep wrestling hard.”

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Keyton Remsburg (113) and Brent Greenfield (182) both added bronze medals for the Hawks. They rebounded from semifinal losses with a combined three pins in the consolation rounds.

Connor Caudle (145), Owen Duns (160) and Stellen Willis (285) were all fourth for the Hawks.

HOIC Tournament

Friday at Jefferson

Team Standings

1. West Marshall 197; 2. Greene County 180; 3. Roland-Story 172; 4. PCM 151; 5. South Hamilton 139; 6. Nevada 84; 7. Saydel 62.

Individual Champions

106 — Kade Blume, Roland-Story. 113 — Brenner Gallagher, Greene County. 120 — McKinley Robbins, Greene County. 126 — JD Downs, West Marshall. 132 — Caden Vellinga, West Marshall. 138 — Brady Stauffer, Greene County. 145 — Christian Eslick, Roland-Story. 152 — Colby Tool, PCM. 160 — Luke Coulter, West Marshall. 170 — Lane Swenson, South Hamilton. 182 — Grant Nason, West Marshall. 195 — Trevor Thompson, South Hamilton. 220 — Colton Willis, South Hamilton. 285 — Sawyer Schiltz, Greene County.

South Hamilton Results

106 — Holden Klein 0-2, 5th. 113 — Keyton Remsburg 1-1, 3rd. 138 — Carter Stolee 1-2, 5th. 145 — Connor Caudle 0-2, 4th. 152 — Blake Harris 0-3, 6th. 160 — Owen Duns 1-2, 4th. 170 — Lane Swenson 3-0, 1st. 182 — Brent Greenfield 2-1, 3rd. 195 — Trevor Thompson 2-0, 1st. 220 — Colton Willis 2-0, 1st. 285 — Stellen Willis 1-2, 4th.