HUXLEY, Iowa — Woodward-Granger junior Peyton Nixon finished second at 132 pounds Saturday at the Class 2A District 1 tourney, thereby earning a return trip to the state tournament.
Nixon (14-7) was the only one of five Hawk district qualifiers to advance, with the other quartet all losing both of their matches to finish fourth at their respective weight class.
Nixon opened competition by scoring a 12-2 major decision over Humboldt junior Dusty Pate (27-13). ADM sophomore Aiden Flora (25-3), ranked No. 12 by IA Wrestle, topped Nixon with a 9-2 decision, but the Hawk matman bounced back to win a thrilling 7-6 decision against Ballard junior Luke Hartsook (24-13) to secure his invitation to Des Moines.
Senior Dustin Harney (25-8) dropped a 6-4 decision to No. 11 Hesston Johnson of Roland-Story (37-6, So.) before bowing out with a 7-4 loss to Harley Bryson (33-17, Sr.) of Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas.
Alex Evans (30-13, Sr.) came up short, 4-1, against 11th-rated Joe Larimore (34-5) of Gilbert and was eliminated after losing by fall to Reece Wrage (38-7, Sr.) of North Polk in the 220-pound bracket.
W-G sophomore Alex Saxton bowed out at 35-10 at 106 pounds. He was stopped, 10-0, by Humboldt freshman Cyler Cirks (31-11) and 11-9 by North Polk sophomore Dillon Freeman (20-9).
Also in action was 126-pound freshman James Dorrian (25-22). He suffered a loss by fall to both Jayden Gargano (31-9) of Humboldt, a junior, and by Kaden Holder (28-19) of Southeast Valley, a sophomore.
Nixon 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.
