Iola wrestling traveled to Caney on Saturday to open its 2019-20 season. Four boys competed in the varsity competition, while five more boys along with two girls competed in JV action.
At the 106-pound division, Ryan Wools finished 3-2 to place seventh. In the first round, Wools defeated Iden Stover of Labette County High, but fell in his quarterfinal matchup against Erie. Wools wrapped up his tournament performance with wins against Tucker Roberts of Labette County and Stover to finish seventh in the division.
Last years state qualifier Tent Jones finished third in the 145-pound division. Jones started his tournament performance with a first-round bye before winning a decision over Quinton Relford of Wellington in the quarterfinals. Jones came up short in the semifinals, but rebounded for bronze with a win over Parsons Jaden Malson.
Holden Barker made his Mustang debut in the 160-pound division. Barker failed to muster a win, losing both matches to Andrew Bowman of Caney Valley High and Matt Smith from Pittsburg.
Gary Lower powered his way to a third-place finish in the 220-pound weight class. In the quarterfinals, Lower won by fall over Gary Smith from Coffeyville. After losing in the semifinals, Lower bounced back for two consecutive wins over Chandler Moore from Labette and Sylan Helbing of Central Burden.
JV BOYS
Laden Nading represented Iola in 120-pound division, winning three of four matches for second place. With a first-round win over Eli Pritchett from Cherokee-Southeast, Nading fell short in the semifinals. Nading responded with three consecutive wins over wrestlers from Caney and Girard to finish second.
Damian Dryden split his four matches to finish eighth in the 145-pound weight class. Drydens two wins both came by forfeit over Jourdain Granere of Pittsburg and Christian Taylor of Girard.
For the 170-pound division, Isaiah Melguin finished on top in four of his five matches to finish third in his weight class. A first-round win over Xander Drenik from Pittsburg was followed by a defeat in the quarterfinals to Austin Ourada of Labette. Melguin powered to three consecutive wins over wrestlers from Humboldt, Uniontown and Coffeyville.
Wyatt Westerbelt finished 2-2 for a fifth-place finish in the 170-pound division. After receiving a first-round bye, Westerbelt was defeated by Austin Ourdada of Labette in the quarterfinals. Westerbelt rebounded for a win over by fall over Parsons Trey Ginder. After a loss to Mackey Ditmore from Coffeyville, Westerbelt bested Uniontowns Ryan Lee in a sudden victory.
Splitting his four matches for a fourth-place finish in the 220-pound weight class was Dominic McGee. McGee lost his first-round match and third-place match to Hayden Jansen of Fredonia. In the two matches sandwiched in between, McGee earned two consecutive wins over wrestlers from Erie and Independence.
JV GIRLS
Ashtyn Aikins finished 1-3 for a fourth-place finish in the 116-pound weight class. Aikins lost her first three matches before earning a win by fall over Elizabeth Gutierrez. Skylar Walden lost both of her matches in the 136-pound division, losing to wrestlers from Coffeyville and Cherryvale.
