Wetzel earns state bid

Southwest Valley’s Gavin Wetzel finished second in his weight class at the Class 1A District Wrestling Meet at Riverside High School in Oakland Saturday to earn a spot in this week’s Iowa State Wrestling Tournament.
The host Bulldogs, with their seven state qualifiers, won the team title with 206.5 points to barely sneak by Logan-Magnolia’s 206 points.
The Timberwolves finished with 93 points for fifth place.
Wetzel finished as the runner up at 165-pounds at the district meet. The senior lost a tough final to Riverside’s Max Shanno in a wild 19-13 match. The top two place winners at each weight class qualify for state.
Wetzel (46-9) will face Belle Plaine’s Derek Kressley (36-11) in the Class 1A opening round at state beginning Thursday morning at 9 a.m. at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines.
Wetzel pinned his way into Saturday’s district finals with a quarterfinal win over CAM’s Jacob Gerlock and a semifinal victory over SCC’s Brandon Best.
The Timberwolves’ Ben Waddell (126), Wyatt Shires (132) and Carson Cooper (150) just missed out on joining Wetzel at state with third place finishes in Oakland.
East Mills finished ninth at Riverside. Landon Gibbs led the Wolverines’ with a third place finish at 138-pounds.