DES MOINES — The Beaver Creek/W-G-M youth wrestling club had 17 grapplers competing Saturday and Sunday at the AAU State Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.
The two girls who hit the mats Sunday both finished with 3-2 records and medals for seventh place. Kindergartner Gjoa Rowe claimed her first-ever state medal, with fourth-grader Poppy Malone also earning a medal.
Kyler Simons also came away with a seventh-place medal. The fourth-grader was 5-2 in the A74 bracket. The medal was the fourth he has won at AAU state tourneys.
Boys brackets are classified as A, B, or C, designating grades 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8, respectively.
Seven other youngsters competed in the A bracket for Beaver Creek/W-G-M. Ryker Bovy was 1-2 in A54, Liam Jennett 3-2 in A58 and Avery Van Zelderean 0-2 in A66, with Rush Jennett 2-2 in A70. Tanner Paustian (1-2, A74), Will Atkinson (0-2, A78) and Clay Noah (2-2, A105) were also on the mats.
Kane Moreno (2-2, B90), Max Dalton (3-2, B120), Terrin Lawrenson (1-2, B148) and Zach Teague (3-2, B160) competed as well, as did Peyton Nixon (1-2, C50), Alex Saxton (0-2, C80) and Brayden Simons (0-2, C135).
Young Arena in Waterloo will host the state Super Pee Wee tournament Mar. 2-3, with 18 K-2 excited youngsters expected to be in action for Beaver Creek/W-G-M.
Kindergartners slated to wrestle include Parker Adams, Charlie Brewer, Reed Bovy, Dylan Frost, Rylan Gohn, Gavin Grimm and Gjoa Rowe, with first graders Liam Brown, Logan Byriel, Oliver Herrold, Owen Kaszinski, Sage Steele and Eian Van Zelderen. The list also includes second graders Sam Berrier, Ryker Bovy, Cash Frey, Drew Teague and Chris Tolle.
Beaver Creek/W-G-M is coaches by Rick Sloss, Duane Harney, Quintin Moreno, Matt Brown, Tom Atkinson, Dr. Quentin Danner and Eddie Simons. Numerous others have volunteered their time throughout the season.
The size of the Beaver Creek/W-G-M club has grown greatly in recent years. While not all participate on a full-time level, the registration list seven years ago stood at 25, while 125 youngsters registered this season.
