CRESTON — Second-ranked Wyatt Appleseth improved to 43-0 for the season in winning the 160-pound bracket in the Class 2A District 3 wrestling tourney Saturday.
The title sends senior standout Appleseth to his fourth state tournament, the first Panther grappler to do so. He is seeking to become the first state mat titleist in school history.
Also in action for Panorama were junior 220-pounder Cooper Andersen and 138-pound freshman Cayden Van Meer were also in action, but both were stopped shy of earning a trip to Des Moines.
Appleseth opened with an 18-0 technical fall against Zander Hayes (Glenwood, 30-12) before needing only 42 seconds to pin Zander Reed (Central Decatur, 42-9) and seize the top spot on the podium.
Andersen (36-4) entered ranked eighth and needed a flat 60 seconds to pin SW Iowa/Sidney’s Samuel Daly (23-21) before losing by fall to third-rated Crew Howard (44-1) of Clarinda in the finals. That set up a wrestle-back with Jake Smith (27-4) of Clarke, who surprised Andersen with a pin to deny a spot at state for the Panther standout.
Van Meer (18-22) gained valuable experience despite losing twice by fall. He fell to Clarinda’s Kale Downey (40-7) in the opening round, then to Creston’s Garon Wurster (21-7) in the consolation semifinals.
Class 2A action begins Thursday in Session 3 at 6 p.m.