Five HC wrestlers make All-GTNS

It was a typical year in wrestling for the Golden Triangle News Service. The area had so many state qualifying wrestlers that not everyone who made it to Des Moines ended up on the All-GTNS team, and the area had plenty of wrestlers fighting for glory on the final day of the meet.

The year was highlighted by two state champions in the Golden Triangle area. Washington's Tristin Wesphal-Edwards finished off an undefeated senior season to earn a state title at 182 lbs., and New London freshman Marcel Lopez bursted onto the scene with a title at 106 lbs.

Below are wrestlers who went above and beyond in 2018-19, the All-Golden Triangle wrestling team.

Coach: Brent Van Weelden, Washington

Although Washington's consecutive Southeast Conference title streak ended this season with Ft. Madison claiming the crown, Van Weelden was the captain of five straight league championships.

Van Weelden also coached five wrestlers to the state meet and had eight advance through sectionals. He completed his 13th season at the helm with a state champion in Tristin Westphal-Edwards.

Captain: Tristin Westphal Edwards, Sr., 182 lbs.

Westphal-Edwards set a goal of becoming an undefeated state champion and achieved that with a 6-5 victory in the Class 2A state title bout. Westphal-Edwards finished the season with a record of 43-0 and a career record of 172-23. The career record puts him atop the Demons career wins list with 17 more than second place. He is one of only six state champions in Demons' wrestling history.

106: Marcel Lopez, Freshman, New London

Marcel Lopez bursted onto the high school scene as one of the most promising lightweights in Class 1A, and he did not disappoint, losing just three matches all year, and winning the ones that really mattered.

The Tiger freshman won his district and went into the state meet as the No. 5 wrestler in the class. At state, Lopez knocked out the top three ranked wrestlers in the class, ending his run with a 4-0 decision over top-ranked Stevie Barnes of Underwood to bring a state title home to New London.

113: Mason Dye, Jr., Sigourney-Keota

Dye capped his state tournament in Class 1A with an 18-2 technical fall in 4 minutes, 11 seconds in the match to place fifth. Dye fashioned a record of 31-6 and was seeded fourth at state, where he won his first match, 19-4 in 5:03, and his second match, 6-3, before a loss in the semifinals sent him to the consolation bracket. Dye was both a sectional and district champion.

120: Walker Ikerd, Sr., Washington

Ikerd lost his two matches at the Class 2A state tournament by identical 7-6 scores. Ikerd produced a 35-7 record during his final year as a Demon and is fifth on Washington's all-time wins list with a record of 143-32.

138: Jarod Kadel, Sr., Columbus/W-MU

Winfield-Mt. Union's senior star finished his career in a fitting way, with yet another big run at state.

After finishing second at 106 lbs., last season, Kadel competed at 138 lbs. this year. He went 41-3 and made another long run in Des Moines, eventually winding up with a sixth-place finish.

145: Brady Hahn, Sr., Washington

Hahn was the Huskies' lone state qualifier last season but one of four this year. Hahn was both a sectional and district champion and won his first two matches at state. A semifinal loss at the Class 1A state tournament sent him to the consolation bracket where he placed sixth. Hahn's record this season was 36-6.

145: Nathan Wallace, Sr., Mt. Pleasant

The 145 lbs. weight class was too stacked to have just one representative from the Golden Triangle Area, so Nathan Wallace slides in as our second selection in the weight class.

Wallace had one of the best years of any Mt. Pleasant wrestlers, but his run in the postseason is what really sticks out.

After getting second at districts to earn a return trip to The Well, Wallace placed sixth in his bracket at Class 3A. Even more impressive was the way he did it. After falling in his first match, Wallace battled all the way back with three wins in a row to earn a spot on the podium, even outlasting his first round opponent.

152: Kade Chance, Sr., Cardinal

The Comet grappler wrestled through six matches at the Class 1A state tournament, going 3-3 to finish his senior campaign with a 30-5 record and a sixth place finish at state after qualifying for Wells Fargo in Des Moines by finishing second in the 1A-8 district bracket. 'It's been a dream of mine forever to wrestle at state and I was close last year which made me push just a little bit harder this year,” explained Chance. 'I knew I was going to have a tough first round and all the way through, but I found out I could actually wrestle with the good kids.” This is the first All-GTNS selection for Chance.

170: Caleb Stoltz, Sr., Van Buren

The lone state qualifier from Van Buren, Stoltz returned to Wells Fargo on a mission after qualifying as a sophomore and winning a match but missing a chunk of his junior season due to an illness. Unfortunately, he ran into a tough draw and went 0-2 to finish his senior season with a 29-8 record after qualifying first in the Class 1A-8 district bracket.

'During my first match I was nervous but fairly confident in myself,” explained Stoltz. 'After the first period, I was winning 2-1 and he chose neutral and took me down and then I escaped making it 3-3. In the third, I chose down and got an escape to lead by one, but with about a minute left he got a take down and rode me out making the final score 4-5. In the second match, I was having a hard time coming off a loss and the first period was a lot of hand fighting and attempting shots. The first period ended 0-0 and I chose neutral to start the second period. With 40 seconds left in the match, he locked me in a double under hook and I got thrown and pinned.”

This is the first All-GTNS selection for Stoltz.

195: Logan Escher, Sr., Washington

Escher won a sectional and district title, then won his first match at state before losing to the state champion in the quarterfinals. Escher finished the season with a 31-6 record. He had a career record of 81-41 as a Demon.

195: Isaac Boucher, Jr., Mid-Prairie

Despite finishing second at the district meet and losing his first match at the Class 2A state tournament, Boucher rallied to make the medal stand, winning his next three matches before losing to the third-place wrestler. Boucher was a point scorer at state, building up point totals of 11, 16 and 12 in his victories. Boucher placed sixth at state and finished his season with a 41-10 record.

220: Zach Beason, Sr., Mt. Pleasant

One of the most feared wrestlers in Southeast Iowa was Mt. Pleasant's Zach Beason, who worked his way up to the top five in the Class 3A 220 lbs. rankings, eventually landing at No. 6.

Beason was one of the very last wrestlers to qualify for Des Moines, winning his wrestleback at districts in Cedar Rapids. Beason, who came into the had a brutal schedule that saw him face the second and fourth ranked wrestlers in the class in early rounds at Des Moines. He finished his trip to state with a 1-2 record.

285: Dagisteno Shilling, Sr., Cardinal

After winning the Class 1A-8 district bracket to qualify for the state meet with only two losses, the Cardinal senior lost in the first round to the eventual eighth-place finisher before being eliminated in his second match to finish his senior year 27-4 overall. 'I got too tired in both of my matches,” explained the multi-sport student athlete. 'I just couldn't finish the matches well enough to come out on top.” This is the first All-GTNS selection for Shilling.

Note: This season was the inagural year of the girls' state wrestling tournament. The Golden Triangle area was represented in the state meet by a couple of freshmen. Mt. Pleasant's Abby Blint wrestled at state for Mt. Pleasant and Mid-Prairie's Rylee Vercande wrestled at 132 lbs.

The 2018-19 All-GTNS wrestling team was selected by Doug Brenneman of the Washington Evening Journal, Andy Krutsinger of the Mt. Pleasant News and Justin Webster of the Fairfield Ledger