WELLSVILLE — The Iola High wrestling team took to the mats at the Pioneer League wrestling championships on Thursday evening.
Wyatt Westervelt, Korbin Cloud and Isaac Hopkins placed in the top three in their respective weight classes. Three other Iola wrestlers matched up in Trapper Boren, Griffin Westervelt and Xander Sellman.
“This team has come together very well and it’s fun to watch,” Iola head coach Jason Bates lauded the team’s camaraderie. “Seeing our guys come up to the side of the mat to cheer on their teammates brings a ton of energy and really helps our wrestlers.”
Boren came in fourth place with four team points in the 106-pound weight class.
Boren first got taken down by Burlington’s Ryan Hoyt on a fall over in two minutes. Boren then lost by a tech fall over to Santa Fe Trail’s Tanner Sleichter in 1:54 and fell to Wellsville’s Luke Owings in a 31-second fall.
G. Westervelt’s place is unknown. He scored two team points in the 126-pound weight class.
He received a bye in the first round before getting taken down by Anderson County’s Zach Schaffer by fall over in 43 seconds. Westervelt then got flung down by Wellsville’s Kyle Fouts on a 2:18 fall over.
“We focused on certain items and every single one of our wrestlers really improved in those areas,” said Bates. “I thought Griffin wrestled his best in the final home meet and he carried that over into league. He’s been getting beat pretty badly and he recognized what he was doing wrong and corrected it.”
Sellman placed fourth with seven team points in the 132-pound weight class.
Sellman lost in a 1:29 fall against Santa Fe Trail’s Max Black before he received a bye. Sellman then won by a major decision against Prairie View’s Coltaun Bartlett by an 11-2 major decision. He then lost to Black again by fall in 2:26.
Cloud placed second with 16 team points in the 138-pound weight class.
A junior, Cloud, received a bye in the first round before he won by injury default against Santa Fe Trail’s Bryson Crotinger in 3:24. Cloud then fell to Anderson County’s AJ Schaffer by a 6-5 major decision.
Hopkins placed third with nine team points in the 150-pound weight class.
Hopkins lost to Anderson County’s Colten Wittman by an 8-1 decision before he received a bye in the second round. Hopkins also won by decision over Burlington’s Aden McManus in a 7-3 decision before toppling Osawatomie’s Ricky Anderson by a 7-0 decision.
“Isaac has really impressed me this year,” said Bates. “He really took a big step up from JV to varsity and he’s done well. He’s been winning varsity matches and it’s pretty impressive to see how far he’s come from last year. He works really hard and has a lot of heart on the mat.”
W. Westervelt finished in second place with 16 team points in the 190-pound weight class.
