GUTHRIE CENTER — For the second consecutive year five grapplers representing Panorama will compete at “the Well” in the Class 1A State Wrestling Tournament. Three Panthers earned podium spots last year, and while two of those have since graduated, the current crop of Panorama standouts would no doubt dearly love to top their own school record for medal winners with a strong showing this year.
Senior Gunnar Grunsted — fifth last year at 170 pounds — will be making his third overall appearance on the state’s biggest stage, with fellow senior Dalton Holmes (195) returning for a second shot at a medal after being stopped short of the podium last season.
They will be joined by senior Danny Nordquist (126), freshman Wyatt Appleseth (132), and senior Trevor Carey (182), who will all be stepping onto the Wells Fargo Arena mats for the first time. Junior Noah Kirtley (138) and sophomore Emry Colby (145) also competed for Panorama, but were unable to secure spots in Des Moines.
All five who did advance did so as the runner-up finisher in their respective weight class. Only Appleseth had the easier of two paths for second-place finishers to move on, claiming a win by “prior” when the opponent he had beaten in the first round won his consolation match.
Appleseth — wrestling at 132, where older brother George placed sixth last years as a senior — opened with a pin over Woodbine’s Ryan Guy in 5 minutes, 24 seconds. A 13-4 major decision loss to third-ranked Joshua Tibbits of Martensdale-St. Marys in the finals by meant the Panther frosh automatically advanced by virtue of having already defeated Guy, who had won his consolation bout.
The other four Panthers had to bounce back from a loss in the finals to defeat an opponent who had won a consolation match over the wrestler the Panorama grappler had beaten earlier, to thus advance by claiming a winner-qualifies wrestle-back.
Sixth-ranked Grunsted (43-4) began his march with a pin, in four minutes, of Logan-Magnolia’s Chase Maguire, setting up a finals against No. 2 Nathan Haynes (52-3) of Missouri Valley, who had won his first match and thereby established a new Iowa all-time victory leader with 211 wins.
Haynes prevailed, 9-7, sending Grunsted into a wrestle-back. The Panther senior was a 3-1 winner over M-SM’s Steven Linn, earning a spot at the state meet in the process.
Nordquist (40-9) topped MV’s Quinten Vogel, 10-5, but dropped a tight 5-4 decision in the finals to eighth-ranked Wyatt Crocker of Lo-Ma. A 5-2 decision over Colfax-Mingo’s Cyden Fitch extended the final wrestling season for the Panther senior.
Carey (42-8) started with a 16-6 major decision against MV’s Nick Haynes, who entered with a ranking of seventh at 182. Top-ranked senior Logan Schumacher of M-SM pinned Carey in 64 seconds, but the Panther senior stopped WCV’s Carson Wadle, 9-2, to insure his prep career would end at the state tourney.
Holmes (39-6) reached the finals with a 4-2 win against Riley Algreen of WCV. Sixth-ranked Joey Wolf of Woodbine claimed a tight 8-7 win in the finals, forcing Holmes to beat eighth-ranked Blake Haub of Ogden, 4-3, to return to the big stage.
Kirtley (41-14) suffered a 17-4 major decision loss to sixth-ranked Connor Lange of MV in his opening tussle at 138, but he responded with a pin of Lo-Ma’s Bryce Hudnut in 1:48. Kirtley was eliminated by prior when Lange lost in the finals.
Colby (23-22) was bounced after losing by fall to fifth-rated Garrett Thompson of Lo-Ma and by fall to WCV’s Tye Joint.
The Class 1A State Wrestling Tournament begins Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
