DISTRICT WRESTLING: Underclassmen snag titles while trio of seniors narrowly miss out on state trip

By BRANDON HURLEY
Managing Editor
news@beeherald.com

The Greene County Rams entered last weekend’s Class 2A district tournament in Glenwood with six wrestlers still alive, hoping to all reach the state tournament. While three of those did secure a return trip with impressive district titles, the other trio narrowly missed out on the prestigious honor.

Greene County’s Nate Black (top) finished third at 160 pounds at the Class 2A district tournament Feb. 12 in Glenwood. The senior pinned Creston’s William Bolinger in the semifinals but lost by tech fall, 16-0 in the title match against sixth-ranked Dawson Bond of Red Oak in the title match before getting pinned by Clarinda’s Karson Downey in the second place match.
Greene County’s Noble Hoyt (left) placed fourth at 182 pounds at the Class 2A district tournament Feb. 12 in Glenwood. The senior lost both his matches, getting pinned by Atlantic’s Jarret Armstrong in the semifinals before getting pinned by Clarinda’s Jase Wilmes in the third place match.

Fellow senior Brenner Gallagher also placed fourth, at 138 pounds, losing both his matches to Creston’s Austin Evans (8-4) in the semis and Atlantic’s Dante Hedrington (6-5) in the third place match. Gallagher finished the year at 31-20 overall.

Greene County’s talented trio of McKinley Robbins, Kale Petersen and Gavin Scheuermann helped power the Rams into the state tournament last weekend.
Robbins captured his third career district title thanks to a semifinal pin of Creston’s Trey Chesnut at 132 pounds before securing a 12-4 major decision of Atlantic’s Easton O’Brien in the title match. The junior improved to 42-3 overall,

Second-ranked Kale Petersen (120 pounds, left) secured a tech fall of Carroll’s Cael Nelson (right) in the district championship in Glenwood, earning his third trip to the state tournament, and first as a Greene County Ram. Scheuermann defeated Creston’s Briley Hayes in convincing fashion in the semifinals, winning 9-2 before securing his second straight trip to state with a decisive 6-1 victory over Atlantic’s Brain South in the 152 pound championship match.
Second-ranked Petersen made quick work of his district opponents at 120 pounds, pinning Atlantic’s Cruz Weaver 96 seconds into their semifinal match before prevailing by tech fall, 20-5 over Carroll’s Cael Nelson in the championship.  

Greene County finished fifth as a team at the Class 2A, District 2 tournament with 65.5 points. Atlantic secured the team title with 124 points followed by Carroll (77), Clarinda (72) and Creston (69).
Greene County head coach Zach Beekman feels the Feb. 12 performance was a tad underwhelming, though the talented district field made things rather rough as well. Despite that, three state qualifiers is quite the haul.

“We have had better performances, but it is the district tournament so most matches are going to be tough,” the coach said.
The 2022 Iowa High School State Wrestling tournament began Thursday morning in downtown Des Moines. The spectacle runs through Saturday, with the final matches starting at 6 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena. A thorough preview can be find in the Jefferson Herald sports section.