New London leads All-Union Marcel Lopez earns captains honors, March Chiri named head coach

It was a busy year of wrestling in the Union coverage area, from the start of practice in November to the 2021 state meet in February.

The area saw local wrestlers battle through rugged district tournaments in the postseason to finish the year. New London had the most names wrestling in Des Moines, and the Tigers were the most well-represented on the 2021 All-Union squad.

Coach

Mark Chiri, New London

The Tigers' long time head coach had himself another great year at New London. Coach Chiri earns the nod for the All-Union team following a solid year from New London.

The Tigers took third at the Southeast Iowa Super Conference tournament, advanced six wrestlers to the district tournament and pushed five of those wrestlers to the state meet.

When Chiri's team made it to Des Moines, the Tigers scored 53 points. New London had one state champion, two Top-three finishers and three podium finishers.

Captain

Marcel Lopez, junior, New London

It doesn't get much better than New London's junior superstar. Lopez had big expectations heading into the 2020-21 season after winning state titles as a freshman and sophomore, and he never disappointed, going a perfect 60-0.

Lopez won the gold at the SEISC tournament and cruised through sectionals and districts, allowing him to take a No. 1 ranking into the 120 pound Class 1A tournament.

At the state meet, Lopez went a perfect 4-0. He dominated the first round with a technical fall and won his next three matches by decision. In a battle of 2020 state champions, Lopez defeated Lisbon's Brandon Perez 1-0 in the 120-pound championship.

When Lopez gets back on the mats next season, he will be aiming for the rarest of feats in high school wrestling, a fourth state title.

106 pounds

Easton Schlabaugh, sophomore, Highland

Schlabaugh started the season as The Predicament's fifth-ranked wrestler at 106 pounds. He finished the season at the state tournament, mounting the medal stand as the fifth-place wrestler at 106. While he fell to No. 10 in the rankings, he maintained his focus on the end goal. He finished with a record of 43-8. He was 4-2 at the state tournament.

He won his first match at state but fell to the consolation bracket with the next round's loss. Schlabaugh scored a couple of two-point wins before a loss put him at the fifth-place match, where he notched a 4-2 win over Nashua-Plainfield's Kendrick Huck.

113 pounds

Lane Scorpil, junior, Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union

Columbus-WMU's star lightweight was one of the area's favorites from the word ‘go' in 2020-21. Scorpil began the season ranked in the Top-5, and he remained a dominant force in Southeast Iowa all season.

Scorpil rolled to a conference championship in the 113-pound bracket of the SEISC tournament. He coasted to the state meet, earning sectional and district championships along the way, and took third place at the state meet.

Scorpil had to battle back in at the state meet after falling in the second round to Osage's Tucker Stangel. The junior wrestledback all the way to the third place match, where he harnessed sweet revenge, beating Stangel 10-6 to earn bronze.

120 pounds

Bryce Thompson, senior, Highland

Moved to 120 as the slot was open with Marcel Lopez as the captain, Thompson wrestled at 113 and was the district champion at that weight. He rose from an early ranking of No. 8 to sixth and bettered that at state with a flourish. He fashioned a record of 36-5 with two of his five losses at state. He went 1-1 to start the tourney, cruised in his first consolation match on an 11-3 major decision. He then defeated Andrew Kimball of powerhouse program Don Bosco 4-3. A 6-4 loss sent him to the fifth-place match. and he asserted his wrestling prowess, racking up an 8-2 win over Edgewood-Colesburg's Dawson Bergan.

126 pounds

Carson Coleman, junior Mt. Pleasant

Mt. Pleasant's junior 126-pouder took a lot of momentum into the 2020-21 season after making the state meet as a sophomore. Though Coleman didn't make it back to Des Moines, he picked up plenty of accolades before his junior year was over.

Coleman went 29-5 on the year, one of the best records among Southeast Conference wrestlers. He took finished on the second team of the All-SEC list, but fell victim to a stacked bracket at the sectional tournament.

132*182 pounds

Ayden Frazer, senior, Washington

Frazer is the All-Union entry at 132 pounds because as a state qualifier, he is definitely All-Union material, more deserving of any area wrestler at 126.

Frazer was the only Demon to make the All-Southeast Conference First Team. He spent some time out of action but recovered to post a 21-9 record with two of the losses at the state tournament. Frazer got to state with a pressure-filled wrestleback win at district. At state, Frazer had to face the 182-pound No. 1 seed in his opener and lost. His next match was a repeat of a district loss and he turned the tables with a win against Ben Meader (35-11) of Mid-Prairie. Frazer lost in the next match. Meader got to state with a late reversal on Frazer in the district semifinal and an even later one, 18 seconds remained, in the district final. Meader's other state loss was against Austin Roos (36-9) of Benton County, who would finish fifth.

138 pounds

Cohyn Roach, senior, Fairfield

It was another big year for Roach, a senior leader on the Fairfield team, and eon of three All-SEC selections. Roach went 21-14 on the season and was one of three Trojans on the SEC first team.

Roach battled through his sectional tournament to make the Class 2A District tournament in Mt. Pleasant, but was unable to come out of a foursome that included three wrestlers with five losses or less.

145 pounds

Dominic Lopez, sophomore, New London

As a freshman, Lopez put his name on the map by with a fourth-place finish at the state meet. In his sophomore year, Lopez was determined to improve on that spot, and he did just that.

Much like his older brother Marcel, Dominic bolstered his resume with an SEISC championship in late January. He had no trouble getting to Des Moines, and once he was at the state tournament, he made his way back to the state semifinals.

Lopez dominated his first two matches at state, but fell in the semifinals in a 1-0 tiebreaker. He ended his sophomore year in style, pinning Beckman Catholic's Nick Hageman to win third place in the Class 2A 145-pound bracket.

152 pounds

Josh Glendening, sophomore, New London

Yet another member of New London's core, Glendening gave the Tigers another state podium threat in 2020-21.

Glendening couldn't quite scoop up a conference championship in January, but he did put together a thrilling postseason run. He advanced to the state meet and battled his way to the 152-pound podium.

Glendening had to scratch and claw, going 2-2 in his first four matches at state, but he came up clutch in the seventh place match. Glendening defeated Lisbon's Lincoln Holub 4-0 to give his team a third Top-7 finish.

160 pounds

Cael Baker, senior, Pekin

Baker was a leader in a special class of wrestlers for the Panthers. His record of 32-11 this season gave him a career total of 120 wins. With Michael Jones and Mason Jones, it gave Pekin three senior wrestlers with 100 wins. Baker went 1-2 in the state tourney, with both losses three-point decisions and his win a two-pointer.

170 pounds

Cade Molyneaux, junior, Sigourney-Keota

A strong season peaked at the right time for Molyneux with a district title the champion at 170 pounds by opening with a 13-3 decision, then clipping Pickle (43-14), 7-4. He went 24-13 and made the state tourney.

That gives him a second state appearance in the 2020-21 school year with the first a semifinal round football playoff entry.

Molyneaux lost his opener at state, then scored a 9-7 win before elimination.

182 pounds

Mason Juhl, senior, Pekin

A seventh-place finish at state was accomplished with a little redemption. A 3-1 district semifinal final loss was avenged in the seventh-place match at state. Juhl faced Collins-Maxwell's Brody Sampson once again and did not let a decision decide it, recording a pin in 5:48.

Coincidentally, Juhl is Pekin's all-time pin leader with 82 and Juhl is Pekin's all-time wins leader with 150.

Juhl won a Southeast Iowa Super Conference title this season to become a four-time league champion (at 195, 220 twice and this year at 182). He was the ninth in conference history and Pekin's first to capture four championships.

195 pounds

Cael Garvey, junior, Mid-Prairie

The son of Golden Hawks coach Justin Garvey, Cael Garvey (36-7) made the state tournament and advanced with an 11-9 win in his opener, then fell in 3:58 to the eventual second-place finisher Jacob Reicks (46-2) of New Hampton-Turkey Valley. Garvey got a pin in the blood round in 4:45 but dropped a 14-5 major to wrestle for seventh where he lost in 3:51.

220 pounds

Josh Wallington, senior, Mid-Prairie

Wallington strung together an impressive 39-5 record this season that boosted him to over 100 career wins for the Golden Hawks. He won the district title to qualify for Des Moines. At state, he was pinned in 1:17, then recorded a pin in 4:42, but was out after losing a 6-1 decision to the eventual seventh-place finisher.

285 pounds

Chance Malone, Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union

Columbus/WMU's heavyweight made the mean streets of Morning Sun Iowa proud in his senior campaign on the mats.

Malone was the thunder to teammate Scorpil's lightning all year as the duo dominated for the Wildcats. Shortly after Scorpil won his SEISC championship, Malone picked up one of his own, and that was the same story when it came to earning a state berth.

Malone dominated at the district tournament, picking up a pair of wins to advance to the state meet with a 36-3 record. Malone won his first match at state, beating Okoboji's Nick Bronstad 5-0, but fell in his next two to finish just off the podium.