GARNETT — Friday night went according to plan at the 4A regional wrestling meet in Garnett for the Iola Mustangs.
In head coach Jason Bates’ six-year stint at the helm, the most state qualifiers he had was three, but that is no longer the case. TJ Taylor, Trent Jones, Gary Lower, and Logan Brown have already punched their ticket to Salina.
“Out of 12 wrestlers, 11 of them are still competing in day two, which is another great thing for us,” Bates said. “But there’s still a lot of work on that back side that needs to be done.”
TJ Taylor received a bye in his first round before winning his quarterfinal bout by fall over Cade Saporito of Columbus. In the semifinals, he won by an 8-6 decision to clinch a state berth in the 113-pound division.
Trent Jones earned a win by fall over Osawatomie’s Jackson Lowe. In the quarterfinals, Jones earned a 10-3 decision victory, and comfortably won his semifinal bout by a 8-1 decision. This will be the sophomore’s second trip to state, and will be competing in the 145-pound weight class.
Gary Lower, Iola’s 220-pound wrestler, won both his quarterfinal and semifinal bout by fall to solidify a place at the state meet. Logan Brown also won both his semifinal and quarterfinal matches by fall in the 285-pound division, becoming the fourth Mustang to reach state
Taylor, Jones, Lower, and Brown will all wrestle on Saturday for the chance to be crowned regional champions.
“It feels great,” Bates said. “I know the boys are excited. Once the fourth one got through, that’s when it hit that we are a good team, and have made some progress.”
Bates is hopeful that more Mustangs will navigate a way to state on Saturday.
“I wanna be optimistic,” Bates said.”
