EUREKA — Iola High’s 2012-13 wrestling season got off on the right foot Thursday, as Mustang wrestlers won four of six contested matches against host Eureka High. THE PROCEEDINGS went quickly. Only six of a possible 14 matches were contested, and all were decided by pins.
Iola’s greatest success came in the heavier weight classes.
Trey Colborn, Bryce Misenhelter, Andrew Garber and Cody Conner all won by pinning their opponents.
Colborn, wrestling in the 285-pound division, made quick work of Eureka’s Quade McCoy. Just a sophomore, he pinned McCoy 41 seconds into the match.
Misenhelter, a 182-pound junior, pinned Eureka’s Chris Ray 59 seconds into his match. Misenhelter’s success was keyed by a double-leg takedown, an unusual move for heavier wrestlers, Iola wrestling coach Brad Carson said.
“I was giving him a hard time about it,” Carson said. “Usually, our bigger wrestlers don’t shoot for double-leg (takedowns). But Bryce is a good wrestler. We expect he’ll be good for us all year long.”
Colborn’s pin came moments after he rolled McCoy onto the mat.
The move was almost too powerful, as the momentum from the roll briefly put McCoy on top before Colborn quickly took command.
“Trey gathered himself and did well,” Carson said. “He has a lot of strength and power.”
Garber, a 170-pound freshman, quickly assumed the upper hand against Dustin Gibson. Garber led 11-2 on points before pinning Gibson with 26.9 seconds left in the second period.
Cody Conner, a 145-pound junior, had the shortest night of the Iola wrestlers. He took all of 38 seconds to pin Eureka’s Dakota Cline.
“Andrew and Cody both did a great job,” Carson said. “Everything happened so fast tonight with all of the pins.”
Officially, Iola was credited with 42 points while Eureka scored 18. The Mustangs received six points each for Colborn, Misenhelter, Garber and Conner, and six points each for Zeph Larney, Travis Rieske and Stephen McDonald, who won by forfeit.
Larney, a senior, was unopposed in the 152-pound division. Rieske, a junior, was unopposed in the 170-pound division. McDonald, a senior, was unopposed at 220 pounds.
Trevor Tomlinson, a 113-pound freshman, was pinned by Eureka’s Casey Garner 72 seconds into the match. Kaleb Mock, a 132-pound sophomore, was pinned by Eureka’s Chuck Schmidt at the 59-second mark.
“Kaleb fought hard,” Carson said. “The kid he went up against is a good wrestler, and he got caught in a bad position. With Trevor, we wanted to get a good look at him to see how he would react.”
Eureka also claimed one victory by forfeit, while four other weight classes had no qualifiers on either squad.
“I’m pretty pleased with our upper weight classes,” Iola wrestling coach Brad Carson said. “We’re really strong up there.”
Iolan Brice Aiello, a 145-pound freshman, made quick work of Eureka’s Jared Jones in a junior varsity exhibition, pinning his opponent 32 seconds into the match. The JV match was not counted among varsity scores.
Iola is in Caney today for an invitational tournament. The Mustangs be in Garnett next Saturday for the Anderson County Invitational.
Iola wrestlers hit the mats
