Groom Brothers, Angle Nab State Berths
PLEASANTVILLE – District wrestling contains a variety of emotions. For some it is confetti flying for others it is watching the prize balloon bust. Confetti flew for three North Mahaska wrestlers Saturday as Aydan Groom, Ryan Groom and Chance Angle secured spots in this week’s state tournament.
North Mahaska placed third in the team race behind Alburnett with 271.5 and Iowa Valley with 122.5. The Warhawks scored 118.5 to finish ahead of Pleasantville with 104.5.
The Class 1A district was arguably one of the toughest in the state. North Mahaska coach Ryan Groom said they were probably more than 30 ranked wrestlers across the weight classes. Two of those were his sons Ryan (4th at 144) and Aydan (11th at 132).
“It’s a tough district with a lot of ranked wrestlers,” said coach Groom. “It’s tough to get through and then you see other districts with three and four man brackets. I am proud of the guys. Imagine if we had a healthy Joel DeJong. Ryan and Aydan did what they knew how to do and Chance worked hard to earn his spot.”
Aydan was the first to qualify. He took just 1 minute 8 seconds to dispose of Wapello’s Cade Lundvall in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Zach Luedtke of Cardinal was his victim in a 20-3 technical fall victory. In the finals, Groom pinned Alburnett’s JJ Callahan in 3:32 for the title.
The freshman (35-3) drew a bye in the first round and will face the winner of Woodbury Central’s Declan Munro (21-9) and Kaleb Kuhl of Logan-Magnolia (46-10).
“It is great to be successful for what I’ve worked for,” said Aydan. “I hope to get up there on the podium at state and show people what I can do.”
Groom said it was not an easy road to the top but he was able to overcome.
“The Cardinal kid (Luedtke), he’s pretty good,” said Groom. “I was kind of surprised, he got me down and rode me out in the first period. I came back and tech falled him.”
Groom said he will prepare for Wednesday’s opening.
“I’m excited and ready to go to get some wins and get on the podium at state,” said Groom.
Ryan Groom (46-1) entered the tourney as the top seed at 144 pounds and was rewarded with a bye. He took just 29 seconds to pin Iowa Valley’s Derek Sherman in the quarterfinals. He pinned Kurt Kuhnen of Pleasantville in 1:36 to reach the finals. Alburnett’s Cooper Franklin faced the junior and lost a 10-4 decision putting Ryan atop the podium.
Groom felt he was prepared for Saturday’s action.
“I felt pretty good and took it one match at a time,” said Groom. “I knew I was better and just had to go out and wrestle tough.”
Groom is ready to his brother at state. He has been there every year since his freshman year and hoes Aydan can too.
“Having my brother make it is pretty cool,” said Groom. “We work out with each other all the time. It shows in the room and on the mat. I will have to sharpen up my stuff and get ready for the tournament.”
Groom also has an opening round bye and will meet either Mark Gant of Hinton (28-4) or Shawn Brunsman of Dyersville Beckman in the first round.
Angle will be making his first trip to state at 215 pounds. He opened his day with a pin of Nathaniel Olivier from. Pleasantville in1:19. He decisioned Ian Smith of Iowa Valley in the semifinals. He faced Alburnett’s Eaghan Fleshman in the finals and lost a 19-4 tech fall.
Angle knew the road to state would be tough but he was able to get revenge for a match earlier this year.
“I knew it was going to be a tough day,” said Angle. “My first match, I really handled the kid and wrestled really well, and pinned him in the first period. In my second match I came across Zane Smith of Iowa Valley. I lost to him at home 7-5 so I knew it was going to be a dog fight. I out my head down and came out on top 6-1. My finals match was against the Alburnett kid and he is something special. I just tried to hang in there.”
Angle faces Nick Saxton of Emmetsburg in his opening match on Wednesday.
“I’m just really excited,” said Angle. “I’ve dreamt about this for a long time and I can’t wait to wrestle under the lights. I just have to put my head down and grind and fix what needs to be fixed.”
All three will begin their quest for a spot on Saturday’s podium at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
