HUXLEY, Iowa — Winning the 138-pound bracket at the Class 2A District 1 tourney Saturday has granted Perry senior Cole Nelson a return ticket to the biggest stage in prep grappling — the Iowa State Wrestling Tournament.
Sophomore Keegan Snyder was also in action for Perry, but dropped both of his matches at 182 pounds to be eliminated.
Nelson improved to 35-4 this season and is now 145-35 for his career. He qualified for state at 106 pounds as a freshman, then placed sixth at 113 as a sophomore before being stopped at the district tourney as a junior.
His senior trip to Wells Fargo Arena came after he scored a 3-2 win over Humboldt junior Jase Goodell (27-7) and then defeated 10th ranked Logan Powers (41-5), a Roland-Story sophomore, 8-2, in the finals.
Snyder (13-9) faced a brutal bracket featuring a pair of ranked foes. He lost by technical fall, 18-3, 5 minutes, 8 seconds to NO. 2 Fernando Villaescusa (35-1) in his first bout, then lost by fall to sixth-rated Reilly Hoven (39-7) of Winterset in 2:55. Both Villaescusa and Hoven are seniors.
Nelson will wrestle Thursday in Session 1 in Des Moines, which begins at 9 a.m. Should he advance, the 2A quarterfinals and second round consolation matches are Friday at 9 a.m.
