PLEASANTVILLE, Iowa — Nine Panorama wrestlers competed Saturday in the Class 1A District 5 tourney, with two seniors and a sophomore advancing to the state tournament.
Cooper Andersen (220 pounds) and James Hein (195), both seniors, won their respective weight classes to reach Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, with sophomore Tage Monahan (113) winning a wrestle-back match to advance as a runner-up.
Andersen (35-2), ranked fifth by IA Wrestle, qualified with pins of Braydon Swietlik (24-16, Sr.) of Mt. Ayr and of Evan Foreman (32-10, Jr.) of Interstate-35. The first stick came in 1 minute, 13 seconds, the decisive fall in just 31 ticks.
Hein (23-7) pinned Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas freshman Trey Fisher (17-18) in 1:06 before nailing Ogden junior Aiden Kathman (34-15) in 43 seconds.
Monahan (13-9) opened with a pin, in 3:30, of Nodaway Valley freshman Eli Harris (18-14) before losing by fall to third-ranked Ogden sophomore Kolton Munson (44-1). Granted a wrestle-back, Monahan took full advantage, pinned SE/M-D sophomore Kael Caikoski (15-26) in 1:27.
Freshman 120-pounder Landon Kirtley (27-22) placed third for Panorama. He lost by technical fall, 15-0, in the first match but scored a 7-0 decision to force a wrestle back, which ended 9-2 with Kirtley on the short end.
Also third was sophomore 138-pounder Cayden Van Meet (34-13), who lost by fall and then won by pin in 2:46. Unfortunately, he was eliminated, no contest, when his first foe fell into a rematch and moved on by prior win.
Placing fourth, with each dropping both of their matches, was 106-pound freshman Lane Christe (23-16), 126-pound freshman Will Knapp (24-18), 160-pound senior Landon Goodenberger (13-13) and 285-pound sophomore Issac Monroy-Nunez (13-12).
The Panther trio will begin their quest for state tourney glory Thursday in Session 3 at 6 p.m. The 1A quarterfinals and second round consolation matches will be held in Session 5 at 2:30 p.m. Friday, with the semifinals in Session 6 Friday at 7:30 p.m.
