6 area wrestlers advance in Iowa state wrestling tournament

Published 3:31 pm Thursday, February 18, 2021

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Six area wrestlers, five from Lake Mills and one from Northwood-Kensett started their state wrestling journeys Thursday morning in the Class 1A session of the tournament. 

While all six of them are moving on to day two of the tournament, only four are still alive for a state championship in their respective weight classes. 

For the Bulldogs, senior Dalton Thorson was first on the mat at 138 pounds. Thorson took on No. 8-ranked Bryce McDonough of Central Springs and lost in a 9-1 major decision. The loss moved Thorson into the consolation bracket, where he defeated Lawton Bronson’s Matt Peterson in a 7-3 decision. The win advances Thorson into the second round of consolations. 

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In the next weight class up, sophomore Alex Beaty started his tournament with a pinfall win at 145 pounds. Beaty, unranked coming into the tournament, beat No. 5-ranked Max McGill of Woodbury Central to move into the second round of the tournament. Beaty will face the tough task of taking on No. 1-ranked Robert Avila Jr. of Lisbon in the second round. 

Unranked Lake Mills junior Brett Peterson lost in this opening-round matchup at 152 pounds to No. 8 Josh Glendening of New London in a tightly contested 6-4 decision. The loss relegated Peterson to the consolation bracket where he found redemption by beating Alburnett’s Gunnar Keeney in a third-period pinfall. He moves into the second round of the consolation bracket. 

The area has two wrestlers in the 160-pound division in Lake Mills senior Casey Hanson and Northwood-Kensett junior Drake Tiedemann. 

Hanson, ranked No. 3 in the weight class, defeated North Linn sophomore Jarin Peyton with a fall in the second period. An unranked Tiedemann beat Kingsley-Pierson senior Kole Reis in a 9-3 decision. 

Hanson moves on to the second round, where he will see Midland sophomore Caden Ballou. Tiedemann advances to take on No. 4-ranked MFL Mar-Mac junior Gabe McGeough. 

Lake Mills senior Elijah Wagner closed out the day for area wrestlers with a first-round win at 182 pounds. The No. 2-ranked Wagner beat Iowa Valley junior Brady Hoyt. The win advances Wagner into the second round, where he will take on No. 9-ranked Midland junior Cayden Miller. 

Beaty, Hanson and Tiedemann will wrestle in the second round of the championship side of the bracket. The second round is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Friday. Thorson and Peterson will wrestle in the second round of the consolation bracket, which will start immediately after the championship bracket’s second round. 

Check back with the Tribune for tournament results as they become available. 

About Tyler Julson

Tyler Julson covers sports for the Albert Lea Tribune.

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