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Panther wrestling crowned SEC champs!
Mt. Pleasant mops Burlington to finish league slate undefeated
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT — For the first time since 2009, the Mt. Pleasant Panthers are Southeast Conference wrestling champions.
The Panthers locked the championship up on Thursday night, bouncing Burlington 49-28 to polish off an undefeated 2024-25 season.
"This is great for the kids, the community and everyone who has put a lot of time and effort into this," said Mt. Pleasant head coach Anthony Blint. "It's a good confidence builder for the seniors going out, and for the lower classmen for next year."
The Panthers set the opportunity up with wins over Keokuk, Washington, Fort Madison and Fairfield earlier in the year, but Burlington still had a shot to at least somewhat spoil the party on Thursday. A Grayhound win would mean Mt. Pleasant had to share the title.
The Panthers took care of business early and often, grabbing pins from Levi Evans at 106, Lane Beckler at 126, Payton Walker at 190 and William Birdsell at 215.
"You could kind of feel it coming down to the wire when it got to the end of the season," Birdsell said. "We just came out here and did what we've been doing all season."
Other winners for the Panthers were Kolbein Ostby, who picked up a decision at 132, and Charlie Bohnenkamp, who won by major decision at 138. Mt. Pleasant also picked up three wins via forfeit.
After the meet, the wrestlers celebrated with classmates and fans as they were officially announced as SEC champions, something the Panthers have been building toward all season.
"We got Fort Madison, and I was like, 'Oh, we've got a shot. We've got a good shot,'" said Walker. "Now that we have a full lineup, we can compete more, and we're competing our butts off."
Mt. Pleasant 49, Burlington 28
106: Levi Evans (MOPL) over Lathan Hand (BURL) (Fall 2:44) 113: Braxton Hutchinson (BURL) over Landon Beckler (MOPL) (TF 16-0 1:57) 120: Roy Brown (BURL) over Cruz Aguilar (MOPL) (Fall 1:39) 126: Lane Beckler (MOPL) over Jax Rohrer (BURL) (Fall 1:14) 132: Kolbein Ostby (MOPL) over Buxton Carlson (BURL) (Dec 15-11) 138: Charlie Bohnenkamp (MOPL) over Payton Kenney (BURL) (MD 12-3) 144: Keegan Birdsell (MOPL) over (BURL) (For.) 150: Ramzy Davis (MOPL) over (BURL) (For.) 157: Adrian Perez-Hall (BURL) over Jackson Newman (MOPL) (Fall 1:34) 165: Tucker French (MOPL) over (BURL) (For.) 175: Owen Difederico (BURL) over Jaxsen Stuecker (MOPL) (TF 18-0 5:40) 190: Payton Walker (MOPL) over Kasey Moss (BURL) (Fall 0:50) 215: William Birdsell (MOPL) over Preston Thorton (BURL) (Fall 3:29) 285: Caden Huff (BURL) over Juan Lopez (MOPL) (Fall 2:46)
