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PLEASANTVILLE — Three weeks ago, East Union freshman Sherman Hayes wasn’t so sure he could make a trip to state.
Eagles coach Justin Staver and his 126-pound freshman sat down and walked through the kids he would have to beat in sectionals and districts, some of whom he had already lost to this season.
Demonstrating a calm demeanor beyond his years while fighting strep throat, Hayes grabbed the school’s lone slot at the state individual wrestling championships this week at Wells Fargo Arena.
Hayes won two close matches, finishing Saturday’s Class 1A District 5 meet with a revenge-win over Ogden’s Austin Flynn by a 6-5 margin after having come up second to him at sectionals. He had been pinned by Flynn at sectionals, so they worked on his cradle defense in practice leading up to Saturday.
Hayes knew he had to make a move trailing late by a point to Flynn.
“I was confused, fighting to get a point. I knew I could get out, I just had to put my mind into it,” Hayes said.
After a restart with less than seven seconds remaining, Flynn was called for locking his hands, and then almost simultaneously Hayes scored an escape point right before the clock hit zero. Confusion ensued for moments after, but the match went in Hayes’ favor.
How it felt to Hayes?
Well, nothing short of...
“Amazing.”
To get to the final, Hayes defeated North Mahaska’s Tyler Strasser by 4-2 decision, scoring two points in the last 15 seconds of the match.
After the final, he was already in the mindset that he could succeed at state.
“I’m pretty excited. I’m ready,” Hayes said.
The support for Hayes spread all over social media in the aftermath of his win.
Staver knows that with his likeability, the support will be there for Hayes at Wells Fargo Arena.
“I think he’ll have a good crowd up there,” Staver said, “He’ll have a lot of community support from the wrestling family. I think a lot of his classmates will go up there to support him.”
Matthew Wittstock, Sanden Cheers and Beau Boswell won’t be at state as competitors alongside Hayes after coming up short Saturday, but will have his back in leading up to the championships.
Wittstock fell by 5-4 decision at 138 in his first match and lost to Kaleb Bauer of Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas, who he had defeated several times this season, 9-4.
Cheers fell 13-6 to Sigourney-Keota’s Alec Schuster. He then fell to Mason Woosley, who went on to earn a state trip for Interstate 35.
Daughton goes the distance
Heading into the District meet, Mount Ayr’s Cal Daughton had yet have a match end this season that did not end in fall.
Daughton had prepped all week after his Sectional title win to go the distance in a match.
Like the rest of the season, Cal worked with younger brother Marcus to prepare for the District meet. This time, with practices under his belt against wrestlers at Central Decatur and Creston/Orient-Macksburg, the focus was on getting Cal Daughton to be able to fight six full minutes.
In his first match of the day, Cal Daughton trailed Pleasantville’s Cael Lester 7-5 as the clock wound down in the third period.
The Raider senior was able to get Lester’s shoulders pinned and earned a win by fall with just 16 minutes remaining in the match.
“All this pressure being the only Mount Ayr wrestler up here wrestling I got really nervous,” Daughton said. “I have a tendency not to breathe when I wrestle, so the first period I was all panicky trying to get the win by fall. I had to slow my pace down next two periods to do it.”
The 170 title match pitted the rematch between T.J. Dierking of Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas, who Daughton had pinned the week before.
This time, Daughton lasted the whole match, scoring several big points in the matches’ final period to earn a win by decision, 9-5.
“It was good for Cal it was back and forth. He went the distance,” Mount Ayr coach John Ford said. “That’s his first time he’s won a match all year going the distance because every other one has been a fall. He’s either pinned or been pinned. That was good for him. A lot of confidence going into Thursday knowing he can do it.”
Brother Marcus Daughton was matside, squirming, cheering and panicking with every step.
“It’s nerve-wrecking to see how that match turned quick and came back,” Marcus Daughton said.
Next year, he wants to best whatever his brother accomplishes.
Ford jokingly suggested both matches nearly gave him a heart attack.
“He made a couple small mistakes but he won so that’s all that matters,” Ford said.
Now?
Cal Daughton believes he can make noise at Wells Fargo Arena.
“He couldn’t be any more confident,” Ford said.
The matchups for state individual competition and state duals can be found on the IAHSAA website.
Roadrunners fly to the Well
They call themselves the Roadrunners, but the Interstate 35 wrestling team had the type of soaring performance Saturday that would make Boeing proud with a 747 day.
Each and every Interstate 35 wrestler who made it to the Class 1A District 5 meet advanced on to state by finishing first or second in their class.
Jake Hutton and Ethan Elliott won district titles. Casey Baker, Nathan Phillips, Jacob Steinlage, Mason Woosley and Dante Arzani all took home runner-up finishes.
Hutton was a surprising finisher to many. He defeated Pleasantville’s Will Anthony, who had just two losses on the year coming in, 4-1 in the finals. He knew once he defeated Sigourney-Keota’s Cooper Greiner by pin that he had a chance to do something special.
Hutton noted that he knew Anthony was better working from the top position, so he worked especially hard to keep him off the top.
“I didn’t expect to come in and actually make it through districts to be honest with you,” Hutton said. “But as soon as I beat the first guy I realized I had a chance against him. I just went out there and wrestled my hardest, whatever happened, happened.”
Elliott ran through the 145 weight class, defeating Wayne’s Hunter Cobb by fall in 3:05.
Woosley and Steinlage rode the crest of a wave of energy, propelled by the energy of their teammates and the many Roadrunner supporters in attendance.
“I looked over and saw them all jumping up and stuff it just gave me more and more drive to finish it. Come out with the ‘W,’ “ Steinlage said.
Their teammates knew what was at stake with the possibility of sending every wrestler that day to Des Moines this week, so the matside presence was especially loud and visible for the wrestlebacks at 152 and 160.
“It feels so good,” Steinlage said. “Just putting all seven through from sectionals to districts, now on to state. That feels so good as a team. Team effort.”
The Roadrunners trudged their way through a rough January but got hot and healthy at the right time.
“We talk about finishing,” Interstate 35 coach Ryan Snyder said. “We always talk about finishing the year strong and what matters most is where you end up in February.”
The collective effort of this group continues. The 23 kids working in the gym to make their team better will benefit from seeing their classmates through to state.
“They’re still practicing. They’re still working,” Snyder said. “They know they’re not going to wrestle another match this year, but they’re working for next year.”
The Roadrunners will head to state by far the lowest ranked team in The Predicament rankings in 1A, that being 23rd.
Now the credit has to be given to the Interstate 35 family, even if wrestling fanatics won’t expect a win for the Roadrunners in the team dual versus number one Don Bosco.
“We’ll give Don Bosco a run,” Snyder said. “I know nobody thinks we will, but we will.”
The matchups for state individual competition and state duals can be found on the iawrestle website.
Individual results
EAST UNION
126 — 1. Sherman Hayes; 138— 4. Matthew Wittstock; 4. Sanden Cheers; 4. Beau Boswell.
MOUNT AYR
170 — 1. Cal Daughton.
INTERSTATE 35
113 — 2. Nathan Phillips; 120 — 2. Casey Baker; 145 — 1. Ethan Elliott; 152 — 2. Jacob Steinlage; 160 — 2. Mason Woosley; 182 — 2. Dante Arzani; 285 — 1. Jake Hutton.
First place matches
106 — Cole Cassady (MSTM) pinned Mason Dye (S-K), 23-6; 113 — Bryce Hall (SEW) dec. Nathan Phillips (I35) SV 2-0. 120 — Brady Kyner (SEW) pinned Casey Baker (I-35), 21-6; 126 —Sherman Hayes (EU) dec. Austin Flynn (O), 6-5; 132 — Joshua Tibbits (MSTM) dec. Blake Bauer (SEW) 7-2; 138 — Nicholas Martin (MOVA) pinned Caleb Stoltz (VB), 3:11; 145 — Ethan Elliott (I-35) pinned Hunter Cobb (W), 3:05; 152 — Sawyer Phillips (PV) dec. Alec Henderson (SEW), 7-2; 160 — Griffen McBride (PV)maj. dec. Alec Schuster (S-K), 10-0; 170 — Cal Daughton (MA) dec. TJ Dierking (SEW), 9-5; 182 —
Logan Schumacher (MSTM) pinned Dante Arzani (I-35), 2:53; 195 — Kaleb Reeves (S-K) pinned Quinton Casteel (MOVA), 2:26; 220 — Chaz Clark (PV) dec. Noah Boender (S-K), 5-1; 285 — Jake Hutton (I-35) dec. Will Anthony (PV), 4-1.
Team Scores
1. Interstate 35 100; 2. Southeast Warren/Melcher Dallas 91; 3. Sigourney-Keota 85.5; 4. Pleasantville 67.5; 5. Martensdale-St. Marys 57; 6. Moravia 41 7. Van Buren Community 24; 8. Pekin 19.5; 9. Mount Ayr 18; 9. North Mahaska 18; 11. East Union 16; 12. Ogden 14; 13. Wayne 12; 14. Colfax-Mingo 10; 15. Cardinal 0.