Fairfield wrestling 3rd in Pella

The Fairfield wrestling team showed out at the 2024 Bill Van Horn Invitational in Pella on Saturday. The Trojans entered as one of 16 teams and finished third place, scoring 151 points.

Fairfield’s fantastic outing was led by two first-place finishers. Cael McCabe took first place in the 113-pound bracket, and Cason Miller finished first at 157.

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McCabe won three matches on the day, picking up one technical fall and two pins. In his final match, McCabe knocked off Tucker Ball of Davis County via a 1 minute, 6 second pin to take home the gold.

Miller continued his undefeated season with four wins. This included a decision win over Newton’s Lane Rozendaal in the first place match, beating Rozendaal 9-3.

Dain Burkhart finished second for the Trojans at 175 pounds. Burkhart won two nail-biters, beating Council Bluff Lincon’s Kowen Dighton via a tiebreaker and then defeating Xavier’s Dane Melchior by sudden death in the semifinals. In the championship match, Burkhart fell 7-2 to Boone’s Joseph Pestotnik.

Calvin McClain and Dre Smithburg each finished third. McClain took the bronze at 165 pounds, and Smithburg took third at 215.

McClain won five matches on the day, including the third place match against Gage Ries of North Mahaska, whom he pinned. Smithburg won three matches, including a technical fall over Marshalltown’s Ignacio Macias in the third place match.

TEAM SCORES

1. Xavier 188.5

2. Marshalltown 181

3. Fairfield 151

4. North Mahaska 147.5

5. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 134

6. Newton 117

7. Oskaloosa 115

8. Pella 112

9. Boone 90

10. Davis County 82

11. Van Meter 80.5

12. Knoxville 80

13. South Tama County 79

14. Montezuma 47

15. Mason City 41.5

16. Des Moines North-Hoover 13.5