CARBONDALE — The Iola Middle wrestling team had 12 wrestlers finish in first place at the Santa Fe Trail Mixer Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
The Mustangs who finished in first place were Ean DeLaTorre, Broderick Peters, Rohan Springer, Keden Vega, Austin Crooks, Kale Pratt, Noah Anderson, Kevon Loving, Jase Herrmann, James Hunt, Olivia Mathews and Addilyn Wacker.
Our wrestlers did really well at Santa Fe Trail,” said Iola head coach Jason Bates. “We decided that we were not going to focus on winning or losing. Our goal yesterday was simply, ‘Don’t get pinned.’ With that mindset, our wrestlers fought harder than I’ve seen them fight all season.
Iola’s DeLaTorre came in first with four team points. He first defeated Rossville’s Jordan Martinek on a fall 39 seconds in before defeating Silver Lake’s Blaise Hill in a 23 second fall.
Mustang Kollyn Wilson came in second with two team points. Wilson first lost to Santa Fe Trail’s Trevon Brooks on a fall 44 seconds in before winning by medical forfeit to Liberty Memorial’s Hudson Kirk.
Cadin Peres placed in second with no team points. Peres won by decision against Silver Lake’s Jax Manhart before falling to Silver Lake’s Kyle Connor.
Iola’s Tripp Mathes came in second place with no team points. Mathes lost to Silver Lake’s Camden Kruger in a 7-0 decision before he defeated Rossville’s Cale Horak in a 6-2 decision.
Mustang Peters placed in first with no team points. Peters won by decision over Silver Lake’s Hill, 8-2. He then took down Rossville’s Martinek in a 6-1 decision.
Ruger Boren came in second place with four team points. Boren first won on a fall over against Silver Lake’s Lane Ray in a 1:30 fall before beating Silver Lake’s Manhart in a 1:18 fall over.
Iola’s Brock Michael placed in third with no team points. Michael lost in a major decision to Santa Fe Trail’s Michael Guffy before falling in a major decision to Santa Fe Trail’s Dale Kirby, 13-1.
“Brock Michael is one that stands out,” Bates said. “He got caught in a tight head throw. He got thrown straight to his back with 54 seconds. A tight head throw is extremely difficult to get out of and mostly ends with a pin fall. Brock fought the entire minute. He fought through the pain and the stressful situation and refused to get pinned. That takes a lot of heart.”
Mustang Rohan Springer came in first place with four team points. Springer won on a fall over to Santa Fe Trail’s Brooks 3:03 into the match. He then won again on a fall over against Rossville’s Brayden Van Vleck 25 seconds in.
“I believe these small goals contribute to our success,” said Bates. “Rohan Springer took first place for the first time. He wrestled hard and never gave up. This mentality allowed him to continue scoring enough points to come back from a deficit and win the match.”
Beau Erickson came in second place with two team points. Erickson won by decision against Rossville’s Creed Wood, 3-2, before winning on a fall over to Santa Fe Trail’s Devon Potter. Erickson then lost to Liberty Memorial’s Drennan Shorter in a 7-6 decision.
Iola’s Vega placed in first with four team points. Vega won on a fall over Santa Fe Trail’s Kirby in 1:51. He then beat Silver Lake’s Easton Layman 3:13 into the match.
