Highland's Cole takes fifth place at state

Highland 126-pounder Travis Cole took fifth place at this past weekend?s state wrestling tournament in Des Moines, and Mid-Prairie brothers Phirom and Nearoth Peterschmidt also finished on the medal stand.

Cole, ranked ninth in Class 1A, opened the tournament in dominant fashion, with a 16-0 technical fall over Central Lyon-George-Little Rock sophomore Colby McIntire. But Cole lost to fourth-ranked Lane Nichols of Woodbury Central 4-1 in the tournament quarterfinals.

Cole rebounded with back-to-back wins on the consolation side of the bracket, defeating Clarion-Goldfield sophomore Joel Haberman 10-5 and then winning a 12-0 major decision over 10

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-ranked Jacob Koch of Alburnett. Cole then got pinned in the third period by second-ranked Sawyer Amling of Edgewood-Colesburg, but he came back with a 9-0 major decision over sixth-ranked Nathan Schmitz of Don Bosco in the fifth-place match. Cole finished his junior season with a record of 48-5.

Phirom Peterschmidt took seventh place at 182 pounds. Ranked ninth in Class 2A, he opened the tournament with a 4-3 loss to Bedford-Lenox senior Cole Bonde, but then came back with back-to-back wins on the consolation side of the bracket. He defeated Carlisle senior Nathan Stickley 10-4 and then won a 12-1 major decision over Davenport Assumption sophomore Gabriel Rangel. But then Peterschmidt lost a 7-3 decision to seventh-ranked Jay Reisetter of East Marshall, dropping him into the seventh-place match, which he won over 10

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-ranked Carter Isley of Chariton. He finished his junior season with a record of 48-5.

Nearoth Peterschmidt placed eighth at 195 pounds. Ranked 10

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in Class 2A, he opened the tournament with a loss to fifth-ranked Christian Brobst of Sioux City Heelan, getting pinned in the second period. Peterschmidt rebounded with back-to-back wins on the consolation side of the bracket, winning an 11-2 major decision over Atlantic senior Tyler Stork and then a 9-5 decision over Mediapolis freshman Ethan Timmerman. Peterschmidt then suffered a tough 1-0 loss to eighth-ranked Lance Evans of Solon, and he was pinned again by Brobst in the seventh-place match. He finished his senior season with a record of 41-11.