Wildcats, Hawks send seven to districts

Saturday proved to be a successful day for multiple area wrestling teams at the sectional tournaments, with numerous area athletes advancing to next week?s district tournament.

Washington, Mid-Prairie and Columbus all were in attendance at the Class 2A sectional tournament in Mediapolis, and combined to send 17 athletes to the district tournament at Clear Creek Amana, held next week.

For the full report on Washington?s 10 athletes who advanced, check out the separate story.

For Mid-Prairie one sectional championship highlighted the day that saw four Golden Hawks advance to next week?s competition, and after a tough week, which saw the team battling the flu, head coach Justin Garvey was proud of his team.

?It?s big for us,? Garvey said. ?These are the guys who have led our team this whole season and we had opportunities today, but we just didn?t seize them. A point here and a point there, and we could have gotten a couple other guys through. With the four guys we have moving forward, we know we are in a good spot to take all four of them to state.?

The Hawks were led by Levi Duwa?s 220-pound sectional title, as the Mid-Prairie junior is looking to advance to the state tournament for the second straight season.

?It feels great,? Duwa said. ?Last year I won sectionals too, and it?s an awesome feeling. It?s a whole different ballgame at districts when you get there. We just have to keep pounding until next week. Everybody has the mentality that they are going to go (to Des Moines), so you have to come ready to wrestle.?

Duwa, ranked No. 6 in the state, picked up a pin fall in his semifinal match, defeating Columbus? Kyle Giese, before claiming the title over West Burlington/Notre Dame?s Gage Jarrett.

He will face Williamsburg?s Logan Knutson in the district round next Saturday.

Also advancing from Mid-Prairie were Duncan McCain (113 pounds), Cameron Tolander (170 pounds) and Visouth Peterschmidt (195 pounds), who all took second in their brackets.

?The big focus right now is getting everyone healthy and feeling better, then individually breaking them down,? Garvey said. ?It?s going to be a long five days. It?s a long week of practice, and hopefully we can get somewhere else to practice with other teams. The focus has to be on everything we did right and wrong today.?

Columbus finished the Saturday tournament with three athletes earning a spot in the district tournament, led by a pair of sectional champions.

Josh Keller (ranked No. 2 at 113) and Tucker Morrison (ranked No. 3 in 170) each claimed a title, as they look to return to Des Moines this season.

Keller won his first match quickly, with a 49-second pin fall, before defeating McCain (Mid-Prairie) by a 9-5 decision in the championship round.

?All the experience and close matches have helped me going up a weight (from 106),? the Columbus senior said. ?It?s completely different, because the kids are a lot bigger, and I?m a lot bigger. When things start to go crazy, I know how to control myself.?

Keller will take on Vinton-Shellsburg?s Carter Weeks in the first round of districts.

Morrison also earned a pin fall in the semifinals, before taking down Tolander (Mid-Prairie) by a 4-1 decision in the championship match, and he thinks he has improved a lot this season.

?The coaches I have in the room are helping a lot, and I?ve grown a lot mentally over the last year,? Morrison said. ?I feel comfortable now. It?s a lot of offseason work.?

Morrison will face Benton?s Samuel Maresh in the district tournament.

Armando Quiroz, who fell to Washington?s Andrew Waite in the 126 championship round by a 6-2 decision also advanced to districts.

?He?s had that ability all year, and we know that he has it.? Columbus wrestling coach Bill Plein said. ?I thought it all came through today.?

Overall, the Columbus coach was proud of the way his team battled throughout the day.

?I thought we did well,? Plein said. ?We had some young kids who competed really hard. We did well, and did some good things. We?ll continue to get better.?

Districts for Washington, Mid-Prairie and Columbus will be at Clear Creek Amana on Saturday.