Columbus, Highland, WACO boast strong conference performers

A number of area athletes made their presence known at the Southeast Iowa Super Conference wrestling tournament on Saturday.

Columbus, WACO and Highland all went to the tournament hosted by Wapello, and combined to have eight wrestlers advance for the opportunity to claim tournament titles.

When all was said and done, seven of them came away with the title, with the only second-place finisher falling to another area athlete.

Columbus led the way, picking up four of the tournament titles, with Josh Keller continuing his unbeaten season, improving to 34-0 on the day.

Keller (113 pounds) picked up a first-period pin in the semifinals against Highland?s Brady Hahn, while picking up a pin at 2:49 over Wapello?s Timo Caro in the championship round.

At 170 pounds, Tucker Morrison continued his strong season, picking up a first-period pin in the semifinals, before defeating Louisa-Muscatine?s Hunter Connor by an 8-1 decision for a tournament title. Morrison sits at 35-1 on the season.

At 182 pounds, Jayce Malone, who is 8-6 on the year, picked up a pair of wins to earn the tournament title, defeating WACO?s Alfredo DeLaCruz and Van Buren?s Terry Rankin by pin falls.

In the heavyweight class, Trace Taylor (24-12 on the year), advanced to the tournament title match with a third-period pin fall in the semifinals, and faced off against WACO?s Cody Crawford (20-3), who used a third-period pin fall to advance to the championship round.

Taylor proved to be too much for Crawford on Saturday, as the Columbus senior pinned Crawford at 5:05.

Highland was responsible for the other tournament champions at the meet, with reigning state champion Bryce West (46-0) running through the quarterfinals and semifinals with first-period pin falls. He eventually claimed the 120-pound title with a 21-6 technical fall over Mediapolis? Zach Osborne.

Bryce?s brother, Drew (45-0), also ran through his competition at 126 pounds, using first-period pin falls to defeat his three opponents and claim the title.

At 152 pounds, Highland?s Ross Frank picked up a pair of first-period pin falls to claim a spot in the tournament title match, where he pinned Wapello?s Clayton Meeker at 5:09 to claim the crown.

Columbus will be at Mediapolis for its Class 2A sectional tournament on Saturday, while Highland and WACO will head to New London for their Class 1A sectional.