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Five MFL MarMac wrestlers qualify for state tournament

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Bulldog wrestlers Holden Mathis (left), Taylor Herzmann, Quinn McGeough and Karter Decker have qualified for the state tournament. Not pictured is Keith Anderson, whose addition wasn't announced until Tuesday. (Photos by Audrey Posten)

Junior Holden Mathis was the 132-pound champion at the Feb. 11 Class 1A District 6 tournament in Monona. This marks his first trip to state.

A second-place finish at districts made senior Karter Decker a rare four-time state qualifier. This year, he did it at 145 pounds.

Taylor Herzmann’s conference title at 220 pounds a few weeks ago was the previous high point of his wrestling career. The senior said advancing to state certainly tops it.

Sophomore Quinn McGeough had to win a wrestle back to solidify second place and his spot in the state tournament. He sealed it with a fall against Wapsie Valley’s Brock Kleitsch.

In a surprise turn of events, coach Chet Bachman confirmed Tuesday that 113-pound sophomore Keith Anderson has also qualified due to an injury to the first-place qualifier from Starmont.

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

Five MFL MarMac wrestlers have qualified for the state tournament. Holden Mathis was the 132-pound champion at the Feb. 11 Class 1A District 6 tournament in Monona, and Karter Decker (145), Quinn McGeough (160) and Taylor Herzmann (220) all placed second to punch their tickets.

 

Then, in a surprise turn of events, head coach Chet Bachman confirmed Tuesday morning that 113-pound sophomore Keith Anderson has also qualified due to an injury to the first-place qualifier from Starmont.

 

“It was a roller coaster like always,” Bachman said Saturday. “It doesn’t always go as planned and you’ve got to be ready for the unexpected. Then, you always hope you have a surprise, and we had that too. We had a little bit of everything. You’re happy for the ones who made it through.”

 

Mathis cruised to the first-place match with a 27-second fall in the semifinals. A 4-1 win over Wapsie Valley’s Easton Krall put him atop the podium.

 

“Today went good for me,” said Mathis. “My mindset was just to work hard and finish everything.”

 

The junior was a two-time district qualifier, but wasn’t able to break through until this season. Mathis said his mindset all year long played a large role in his success.

 

“I thought to myself that I can do whatever I put my mind to. Work hard at it to get better,” he shared.

 

Bachman called Mathis a grinder.

 

“Holden has been wrestling well. I believe every time he steps on the mat he’s going to win,” the coach said.

 

Mathis’ goal for next week? “I want to wrestle my hardest and go as far as I can.”

 

He enters the state tournament 47-4 and is seeded 10th in Class 1A. He’ll face Hunter Wernli, a 23rd-seeded sophomore from North Mahaska, in the first round.

 

Like Mathis, Herzmann had a shorter path through the tournament. He edged Wapsie Valley’s Keegon Brown 2-1 in the semifinals before getting pinned by Brady Davis of Maquoketa Valley in the first-place match.

 

“I knew I only had to wrestle one match to get to the finals” and a trip to state, Herzmann said. “I went in blind, not knowing how good he is. I just went in and wrestled.”

 

“He was on today,” quipped Bachman.

 

Herzmann’s conference title at 220 pounds a few weeks ago was the previous high point of his wrestling career. The senior said advancing to state certainly tops it.

 

“[Conference] showed me I can actually do it and reach my potential, that I can be good,” Herzmann said. “I thought I wasn’t even going to win a tournament at the beginning. I exceeded my own expectations.”

 

Wrestling at the state tournament this week will be “pretty cool,” he added. “I wrestled when we went to team state, but I’ve never wrestled by myself. It’s going to be the experience of a lifetime.”

 

Herzmann is seeded 19th with a record of 37-12. He’ll take on 14th-seeded Kennen Roadcap of Montezuma in the opener.

 

Decker, also a senior, is no stranger to the state tournament. Saturday’s second-place finish at districts made him a rare four-time state qualifier. 

 

The path wasn’t easy, though. After collecting falls in both the quarter- and semifinals, Decker met a familiar opponent in Starmont’s Keaton Moeller in the finals. Of Decker’s three losses heading into the match, Moeller was responsible for two of them. Moeller handed him another one Saturday, this time by 13-6 decision.

 

“I had a tough kid in the finals. He’s good everywhere—he’s good on top, good on his feet, good on bottom,” said Decker.

 

“I thought Karter wrestled well. Against the Starmont kid, he wrestled very smart. Give the other kid credit,” Bachman said.

 

The loss put Decker in a wrestle back, where he won a 10-4 decision against Dallas Tisue of Wapsie Valley to secure second place.

 

Decker admitted that may have been the first time in his career he wrestled two six-minute matches in less than an hour.

 

“It was tough. I was tired,” he said. “The score was closer than I felt like it was. I felt like I had the match controlled.”

 

Heading into state, Decker hopes he’ll have a size advantage at 145, a weight he chose over 152 pounds after wrestling both this season. With a record of 49-4, he’s seeded 13th, and will face the 20th seed, Kaden Abbas from AGWSR, in the first round.

 

Making it to state “feels good,” according to Decker. “Four times doesn’t happen too much.” Now, he wants to make the podium. “I’ve been down there three years and missed it all three years. I’ve just got to wrestle smart. I can’t go out there and try throwing Hail Marys. I have to wrestle my match and good things will happen.”

 

Like Decker, McGeough had to win a wrestle back to solidify second place and his spot in the state tournament. He sealed it with a fall against Wapsie Valley’s Brock Kleitsch.

 

“The finals match was a tough one. It was close, and he was a good kid,” said McGeough. “I had to flush that and get ready for the wrestle back because that was the most important one. It was difficult, but I didn’t really have another choice.”

 

It helped to have McGeough’s older brother Gabe, a state runner-up last year, there for support.

 

“He just said, ‘This is it. You’ve only got one match left to go to state. Your opportunity is right there. Go seize it. This is what you train for. This is what wrestling is all about,’” McGeough recalled.

 

Bachman praised the sophomore’s season, noting McGeough has the best shot—an offensive shot to a leg attack—on the whole team.

 

“When Quinn is on, he’s unstoppable,” Bachman said. “That finals match, he didn’t wrestle well, but then he bounced back.”

 

According to McGeough, the difference this season is that he’s prepared to wrestle a full six minutes.

 

“Last year, my conditioning wasn’t as good. This year, I’ve gotten a lot better at wrestling a whole match and finishing matches,” he explained.

 

Heading into the season, “my goal was to make it to the state tournament and get a medal,” McGeough added. “Now, I’m one step closer. It feels wonderful. A lot of hard work paying off.”

 

McGeough, who is 43-11, is seeded 16th in the 160-pound bracket. His first opponent will be Kayden Baxter of AHSTW, who’s seeded 17th.

 

Anderson originally placed third at districts, rebounding from a semifinal loss with a fall in the consolation semis and 16-7 major decision victory in the third-place match. The win put him in position to advance should one of the two state qualifiers not be able to compete.

 

This is the sophomore’s first state tournament appearance, and he comes in seeded 24th with a record of 39-14. Anderson’s first match will be against Austin Etzel of Wilton, who is seeded ninth.

 

The Iowa High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament will begin Wednesday, Feb. 15 and wrap up Saturday, Feb. 18, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Class 1A first and second rounds and first round consolation will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 15.

 

Several other Bulldog wrestlers placed at districts, just missing state qualification. Bryce Radloff (138) and Austin Schaller (182) were third in their respective weight classes. Rylee Kugel (126), Dayne Kohrs (170) and Nolan Lerch (195) all finished fourth. 

 

Wyatt Mohs (106), Jarett Hanson (120), Clayton Freese (152) and Will Howes (285) did not place.

 

“You’re happy for everybody who competed and gave their best effort today. I’m really proud of our entire team. I’m proud of our coaches. I’m proud of our young kids in our lineup who really did a lot for us this year,” Bachman said.

 

He liked this season’s postseason format, which eliminated sectionals and expanded the number of state qualifiers. With more district sites, there were fewer teams at each location, allowing smaller schools like MFL MarMac to host.

 

“There were a lot of people here in our gym,” Bachman said. “Not too often have we held a state event to qualify. It was a very special day and I told the kids that. I think you’re going to see a similar situation for some other schools eventually being able to host events like this.”

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