Pekin?s King sole area wrestler to make podium

DES MOINES ? By the Iowa state wrestling tournament?s conclusion Saturday, Pekin?s Aaron King had accomplished what he sent out to do four years earlier.

The 120-pound senior proudly stood on the podium in Wells Fargo Arena to claim his eighth-place medal. It was his first time placing at the Iowa state wrestling tournament in his final opportunity.

?It was Aaron?s main goal ? to get back and place,? said Pekin head coach Al Chapman. ?It meant a lot to him, and we couldn?t be happier for him. It was great to see him reach his goal.?

Last season as a junior, King qualified for the state tournament for the first time but was ousted on day two.

This time, King again wrestled his way into day two, where he ran into Maquoketa Valley?s Jared Coyle in a second-round consolation match to decide if he?d be wrestling on Saturday.

Ultimately, King prevailed with a 4-3 decision in a nail-biter of a match.

Over the first two periods of the decisive match, King and Coyle traded takedowns, and an escape by Coyle and penalty point granted to King knotted the score up at 3-all entering the final period. An escape from King to begin the final period proved to be all the Panther needed for a 4-3 win.

?After grabbing the 4-3 lead, he stayed on the aggressive and continued to attack, and honestly I think it threw his opponent off. [Coyle] wasn?t expecting to be on the defensive,? Chapman said.

King concluded his run Saturday with a 9-0 loss to Collin Kolars of BGM, and in the seventh-place match he fell 10-1 to Taylor Hagen of Martensdale. King was the only area wrestler to make it to the third day of the tournament and finishes his senior season with a 28-9 record.

In other area action, Cardinal sophomore Ryan Cale fell one win short of the podium Friday. Wrestling at 113 pounds, Cale made it into the second round of consolation but ran into eventual fourth-place finisher Zach Welter of North-Linn. Welter, who entered the state tournament with only one loss on the season, won by technical fall.

Cale?s season wraps up with a 24-13 record, including one win at the state tournament.

Van Buren?s Zach Corman also made it to day two but was greeted by West Hancock?s Zac Schleuger, who was coming off his first loss of the season in round two. Schleuger, the eventual third-place winner, ended Corman?s 30-3 season with a 9-2 victory.

Don Bosco won the Class 1A team title with 95.5 points. Pekin?s five points placed the Panthers 59th overall, while Van Buren and Cardinal got on the scoreboard with three points apiece.

Pekin Individual Results

Aaron King (120)

1st round: Hagen (Martensdale) def. King 7-0

Consolation 1st: King win by fall vs. Dorage (NW Webster) 2:56

Consolation 2nd: King def. Coyle (Maquoketa Valley) 4-3

Consolation 3rd: Kolars (B-G-M) maj. dec. King 9-0

7th place: Hagen (Martensdale) maj. dec. King 10-1

Thomas Slaney (182)

1st round: Hunt (Maquoketa Valley) def. Slaney 9-6

Consolation 1st: Leonard (Midland) win by fall vs. Slaney 1:27

Cardinal Individual Results

Ryan Cale (113)

1st round: Rader (S. Hamilton) maj. dec. Cale 12-2

Consolation 1st: Cale win by fall vs. Schmitz (Don Bosco) 0:38

Consolation 2nd: Welter tech. fall vs. Cale 17-1

Andrew Hemm (220)

1st round: Miller (West Branch) def. Hemm 8-1

Consolation 1st: Coyle (Central Springs) def. Hemm 5-4

Van Buren Individual Results

Zach Corman (195)

1st round: Willer (Akron) win by fall vs. Corman 1:30

Consolation 1st: Corman win by fall vs. Derry (Panorama) 2:20

Consolation 2nd: Schleuger (West Hancock) def. Corman 9-2

Class 1A Team Standings (Top 10)

1. Don Bosco 95.5, 2. Nashua-Plainfield 90, 3. Alburnett 79, 4. North-Linn 72.5, 5. West Branch 66, 6. Lisbon 61, 7. Martensdale-St. Marys 61, 8. Underwood 58.5, 9. Eddyville-Blakesburg 52, South Winneshiek 49