In without breaking a sweat.
That was the case for a number of Comet wrestlers on Saturday in Solon for the distict meet as West Liberty secured four spots in this week’s state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.
Juniors Ryan Cassady (113) and Ryker Dengler (150), as well as freshmen Briggs Collins (132) and Kaden Wiele (157) will be wrestling this week in Des Moines at the boys’ state individual tournament.
Cassady, Collins and Wiele all won district titles, while Dengler secured second place, to punch their tickets into the big dance.
Earning his 30th win along the way, Cassady just needed two wins to win his title. After receiving a bye in the quarterfinals, he pinned CJ Martin of Mount Vernon at 3:23 in the semifinals.
In the championship, he needed the full six minutes but came away with a 4-0 decision win against 40-win Jacob Nelson of Columbus/WMU.
Cassady is the No. 15 seed in the Class 2A 113-pound bracket. He opens his competition against No. 18 Lane Travis of Creston with a potential battle against No. 2 Linden Phetxoumphone of Webster City in the second round.
Wiele also only wrestled twice on Saturday, but it was all he needed. In the semifinals, he defeated Solon’s Teague Williams via 3-2 decision.
The finals pitted him against Tipton’s Aidan Graves, but the Comet came out on top in an 11-8 decision win.
In Des Moines, Wiele is the No. 11 seed and faces No. 22 Gage Blauwet of West Lyon in the opening round. Next up could be the No. 6 seed Karson Kolbet of NHTV.
While Collins wrestled three times, he spent the least amount of time on the mat of any Comet qualifier. He pinned all three of his opponents in the first-period.
He took out Caleb Keegan of Mount Vernon in the quarterfinals, Max Howe of Mid-Prairie in the semifinals and Charlie Karam of Solon in the championship.
Collins is the No. 18 seed in the 132-pound bracket and faces No. 15 Jaxson Lundgren of North Fayette Valley in the opening match. No. 2 seed Matt Beem of Glenwood awaits the winner.
Dengler also only needed two matches to secure second place. He defeated Carson Kidwell in the semifinals via third-period pin, which was a critical victory.
Kidwell and Dengler were slated to square off in the second-place match, but Dengler had that match on criteria.
Once again, the Comets find themselves on the 15/18 line. Dengler is the No. 18 seed facing off against Brody McKinley of Harlan Community. No. 2 Tate Slagle waits in the wings.
While the team celebrates its qualifiers, the other side of the coin is that 10 wrestlers had their season come to an end.
Lincoln Daufeldt (106) went 0-2 in Solon but ends his season with a 19-18 record.
Tully Griffith finished fourth at 120 and went 2-2 on the day with two decision wins. His final record is 27-16.
Also finishing fourth was Isaac Aragon at 126. Going 2-2 in the tournament, he recorded a first-period pin and a 13-2 major decision. His 2023-24 record is 32-15.
Landon Wainwright (138)’s lone win on Saturday was an 11-4 decision win against Central DeWitt’s Colton Penniston. He ends his season at 20-22.
Gable Underbakke ended his season with an 0-2 district tournament. His 31-18 record should give him plenty to build on entering next season.
One of Andre Puentes-Bueno’s two wins this season came at the district tournament. He defeated Dom Shively of Mid-Prairie via 5-2 decision.
At 175, Austin Pace-Wurr went 0-2 as his 1-12 season came to a close on Saturday.
Joe Akers opened his tournament with a 25-second pin, but did not place after two losses. He ends his year at 27-20.
It was the same story for Perry Lehman, who recorded a second-period pin in the quarterfinals. He concludes his season with a 24-22 record.
Lastly, Julio Flores went 0-2 in the heavyweight division. His season record stands at 7-29.
At the district meet, West Liberty finished fifth as a team out of eight schools. Mount Vernon topped the final standings with 209.5 team points followed by Solon with 171.5 and Central DeWitt with 149.5.
For the Comet state qualifiers, their journey to the podium will commence on Wednesday and carry through Thursday and Friday in the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s new four-day state wrestling tournament.
Below is the full state tournament schedule for 2024.
2024 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, February 14
Session One: Class 2A Championship first and second rounds and first round consolations, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Session Two: Class 3A Championship first and second rounds and first round consolations, 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Session Three: Class 1A Championship first and second rounds and first round consolations, 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 15
Session Four: Class 2A second round consolations, Championship quarterfinals and third round consolations, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Session Five: Class 3A second round consolations, Championship quarterfinals and third round consolations, 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Session Six: Class 1A second round consolations, Championship quarterfinals and third round consolations, 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Friday, February 16
Session Seven: Class 2A fourth round consolations, Championship semifinals and fifth round consolations, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Session Eight: Class 3A fourth round consolations, Championship semifinals and fifth round consolations, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Session Nine: Class 1A fourth round consolations, Championship semifinals and fifth round consolations, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, February 17
Session 10: 1A, 2A, 3A consolation semifinals and finals, 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Session 11: IWCOA, IHSADA and IHSAA Awards, 5:15 p.m. Grand March and Finals for all classes begin at approximately 5:30 p.m.
IHSAA 2A District 9 Results for West Liberty
106
Lincoln Daufeldt (19-18) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Lincoln Daufeldt (West Liberty) 19-18 received a bye () (Bye). Quarterfinal - Cale Johnson (Central DeWitt) 37-6 won by fall over Lincoln Daufeldt (West Liberty) 19-18 (Fall 2:58). Cons. Round 1 - Trevyn Riley (Mid-Prairie) 14-10 won by decision over Lincoln Daufeldt (West Liberty) 19-18 (Dec 0-0).
113
Ryan Cassady (30-13) placed 1st and scored 20.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Ryan Cassady (West Liberty) 30-13 received a bye () (Bye). Semifinal - Ryan Cassady (West Liberty) 30-13 won by fall over CJ Martin (Mount Vernon) 12-22 (Fall 3:23). 1st Place Match - Ryan Cassady (West Liberty) 30-13 won by decision over Jacob Nelson (Columbus/WMU) 40-9 (Dec 4-0).
120
Tully Griffith (27-16) placed 4th and scored 7.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Tully Griffith (West Liberty) 27-16 won
by decision over Jaxton Jones (Columbus/WMU) 11-11 (Dec 4-1). Semifinal - Jayson Johnson (Tipton) 36-7 won by fall over Tully Griffith (West Liberty) 27-16 (Fall 1:19). Cons. Semi - Tully Griffith (West Liberty) 27-16 won by decision over Austin Miller (Central DeWitt) 17-24 (Dec 11-7). 3rd Place Match - Kyler Steapp (Solon) 36-18 won by decision over Tully Griffith (West Liberty) 27-16 (Dec 9-2).
126
Isaac Aragon (32-15) placed 4th and scored 10.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Isaac Aragon (West Liberty) 32-15 won by fall over Colin O`Rourke (Mid-Prairie) 7-7 (Fall 1:22). Semifinal - Evan Burg (Solon) 28-23 won by major decision over Isaac Aragon (West Liberty) 32-15 (MD 9-0). Cons. Semi - Isaac Aragon (West Liberty) 32-15 won by major decision over Gavin Sorgenfrey (Tipton) 23-13 (MD 13-2). 3rd Place Match - Dolan Theisen (Central DeWitt) 30-16 won by tech fall over Isaac Aragon (West Liberty) 32-15 (TF-1.5 5:01 (18-1)).
132
Briggs Collins (38-13) placed 1st and scored 24.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Briggs Collins (West Liberty) 38-13 won by fall over Caleb Keegan (Mount Vernon) 16-22 (Fall 0:46). Semifinal - Briggs Collins (West Liberty) 38-13 won by fall over Max Howe (Mid-Prairie) 17-8 (Fall 1:41). 1st Place Match - Briggs Collins (West Liberty) 38-13 won by fall over Charlie Karam (Solon) 31-18 (Fall 0:55).
138
Landon Wainwright (20-22) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Landon Wainwright (West Liberty) 20-22 received a bye () (Bye). Quarterfinal - Jayden Krontz (Camanche) 19-21 won by decision over Landon Wainwright (West Liberty) 20-22 (Dec 11-7). Cons. Round 1 - Landon Wainwright (West Liberty) 20-22 won by decision over Colton Penniston (Central DeWitt) 3-6 (Dec 11-4). Cons. Semi - Tucker Miller (Mid-Prairie) 27-9 won by fall over Landon Wainwright (West Liberty) 20-22 (Fall 3:35).
144
Gable Underbakke (31-18) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Cael Phillips (Columbus/WMU) 23-15 won by decision over Gable Underbakke (West Liberty) 31-18 (Dec 8-2). Cons. Round 1 - Gable Underbakke (West Liberty) 31-18 received a bye () (Bye). Cons. Semi - Lawsin Sinnwell (Solon) 39-16 won by fall over Gable Underbakke (West Liberty) 31-18 (Fall 1:06).
150
Ryker Dengler (29-10) placed 2nd and scored 16.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Ryker Dengler (West Liberty) 29-10 received a bye () (Bye). Semifinal - Ryker Dengler (West Liberty) 29-10 won by fall over Carson Kidwell (Solon) 31-23 (Fall 4:32). 1st Place Match - Mikey Ryan (Mount Vernon) 40-2 won by major decision over Ryker Dengler (West Liberty) 29-10 (MD 11-3). 2nd Place Match - Ryker Dengler (West Liberty) 29-10 won by no contest over Carson Kidwell (Solon) 31-23 (NC).
157
Kaden Wiele (37-7) placed 1st and scored 18.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Kaden Wiele (West Liberty) 37-7 received a bye () (Bye). Semifinal - Kaden Wiele (West Liberty) 37-7 won by decision over Teague Williams (Solon) 25-17 (Dec 3-2). 1st Place Match - Kaden Wiele (West Liberty) 37-7 won by decision over Aiden Graves (Tipton) 37-11 (Dec 11-8).
165
Andre Puentes-Bueno (2-5) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Andre Puentes-Bueno (West Liberty) 2-5 received a bye () (Bye). Quarterfinal - Elston Lindner (Central DeWitt) 21-9 won by fall over Andre Puentes-Bueno (West Liberty) 2-5 (Fall 0:49). Cons. Round 1 - Andre Puentes-Bueno (West Liberty) 2-5 won by decision over Dom Shively (Mid-Prairie) 3-4 (Dec 5-2). Cons. Semi - Olyver Fuller (Camanche) 23-18 won by fall over Andre Puentes-Bueno (West Liberty) 2-5 (Fall 0:57).
175
Austin Pace-Wurr (1-12) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Austin Pace-Wurr (West Liberty) 1-12 received a bye () (Bye). Quarterfinal - Watson Krob (Mount Vernon) 28-13 won by fall over Austin Pace-Wurr (West Liberty) 1-12 (Fall 0:17). Cons. Round 1 - Jarron Thomas (Mid-Prairie) 21-14 won by fall over Austin Pace-Wurr (West Liberty) 1-12 (Fall 1:02).
190
Joe Akers (27-20) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Joe Akers (West Liberty) 27-20 won by fall over Brock Fisher (Mid-Prairie) 9-9 (Fall 0:25). Semifinal - Layton Slaymaker (Central DeWitt) 19-9 won by tech fall over Joe Akers (West Liberty) 27-20 (TF-1.5 6:00 (18-2)). Cons. Semi - Kyler Jensen (Solon) 29-20 won by fall over Joe Akers (West Liberty) 27-20 (Fall 0:43).
215
Perry Lehman (24-22) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Perry Lehman (West Liberty) 24-22 won by fall over Quinn Callahan (Mid-Prairie) 24-20 (Fall 2:38). Semifinal - Chris Wrage (Central DeWitt) 38-6 won by tech fall over Perry Lehman (West Liberty) 24-22 (TF-1.5 3:43 (20-5)). Cons. Semi - Kael Riniker (Mount Vernon) 18-24 won by fall over Perry Lehman (West Liberty) 24-22 (Fall 0:25).