State wrestling: Clark makes incredible run

DES MOINES — WACO’s Jonah Clark once said he was all done with wrestling. Clark didn’t finish his junior year on the mats, and had no plans for wrestling as a senior.

Flash forward to Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena, and Clark was walking away from the final night of action with a second place finish at Class 2A, 220 pounds.

“I talked to the coach and said I never wanted to wrestle again, that I hated the sport,” Clark said. “And here I am.”

A refreshed Clark, who lost just one match all season, had a dream run to the state finals. He picked up a pair of pins in his first two matches, and then stunned the bracket on Friday night with a 6-3 upset of top-seeded Mathew Francis of West Hancock.

“I'm just so proud of him,” said WACO wrestling coach Seth Pugh. “It's tough to put into words.”

Clark couldn’t quite pull off the 220-pound final. Don Bosco’s Jared Thiry spiked a takedown at the end of the first period and never trailed, eventually winning 8-1 on a takedown and back points at the end of the third.

But even minutes after falling in the championship bout, the WACO senior said he’s more proud than disappointed.

“I have a great community behind me,” Clark said. “So many people come to watch me. People love me and support me.”

The state wrestling tournament isn’t for the faint of heart, and it was a gut-wrenching weekend for New London’s Lopez family. An emotional weekend for junior Dominic Lopez was capped off by his brother Marcel winning his fourth state title, but hours earlier, Lopez was finishing off a third-place run at Class 1A 152.

Lopez dominated every match except one; a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to MFL MarMac’s Gabe McGeough.

“It's been a roller-coaster, up and down,” Lopez said. “It was a tough loss for me, obviously, but seeing my brother get his fourth just seals the deal for me. I'm happy.”

Lopez had three major decisions in the tournament and one pinfall. He pinned Lisbon’s Lincoln Holub in 3 minutes, and 3 seconds to take third.

“(Marcel) was watching me at the hotel, cheering me on,” Lopez said. “It was kind of big for me to go out and dominate so he was in the right space of mind.”

Teammate Josh Glendening had a similar fate in the semifinals. The New London junior wrestled for just over two total minutes in his first two matches, pinning his opening round and quarterfinal opponent, but a late takedown from Westwood’s Jackson DeWald knocked him out 4-3.

During that same round, Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union’s Lane Scorpil faltered in the Class 2A, 120 pound bracket. Scorpil was deated 10-3 by Greene County’s Kale Petersenc, and like Glendening and Lopez, needed to wrestleback to get to the third place match.

Glendening and Scorpil each fell in the third place match, giving them both a fourth-place finish.

Other podium placers included Sigourney-Keota’s Cade Molyneaux (1A-160) and Conner Reed (1A-220) both took sixth. Molyneaux a senior, won his first match but had to battle through the consolations after a quarterfinal loss. Reed, another senior, fought all the way back after an opening-round defeat.

Sigourney-Keota’s Reanah Utterback, who became just the sixth girl in Iowa high school wrestling history to make the state tournament, ended her weekend at 0-2. Utterback (1A-120) lost her first match by decision and was pinned in her second. The freshman will have three more years to win a title at the girls tournament, which will be sanctioned starting next year.

Fairfield freshman Cason Miller went 0-2 at Class 2A, 132. The son of Trojan head coach Steve Miller, and lone representative from the Union area’s big schools, was pinned in the first round and lost a nail-biting 3-2 decision in his second match.

WACO’s Louden Huisenga, Highland’s Easton Schlabaugh and Mid-Prairie’s Gannon Callahan were all 1-2 on the weekend. New London’s Gage Burden and Highland’s Carlos Valenzuela both finished 0-2.

For the area’s seniors, it was the culmination of all the hard work put in over their high school careers. For others, a chance to visualize bigger things in the future.

“I'm so glad I've got another year,” Lopez said. “I know it's coming. I'm expecting nothing but first next year.”