DES MOINES — Woodward-Granger sophomore Cody Fisher (56-2) stepped off the mat at the 2017 Class 2A State Tournament having just been defeated, 15-0, in a technical fall by then-junior Bryce Esmoil of West Liberty.
“I learned tonight that I have some work to do,” the Hawk freshman said at the time. “This was a great experience. I’m proud to have made it to the finals, but I want to win it, and I’m going to be working on doing that.”
W-G head coach Dave Smeltzer said the loss would motivate Fisher and that he fully expected his star grappler to return to the finals. He has.
“He is extremely motivated and, obviously, very talented,” Smeltzer said Friday evening. “Cody is very focused when he wrestles, but he never gets too worried or too worked up. A perfect example of that was earlier today. I was getting pretty worked up in his semifinal and he just turned to me — in the middle of the match — and said “relax.” I had to love it.”
Fisher dominated Gilbert senior Reldon Miller (47-7) with a 12-3 major decision in the quarterfinals. He went on to score a 9-4 win over Hampton-Dumont junior Dalton Chipp (35-12) in the semifinals to set up a rematch with Esmoil (52-0).
Esmoil said last year after his win in the title match that he was impressed Fisher had advanced to the final bout as a freshman and that “If I am blessed to make it back here next year it wouldn’t surprise me if I saw him again.”
Fellow Hawk Ryan Munoz (38-22) was not as fortunate Friday, dropping a 12-3 major decision to fourth-ranked sophomore Jack Thomsen (45-3) of LaPorte City Union. He was elminated one win from a spot on the podium.
“Ryan finished his final year very strong, and he can say he had a win at the state tournament,” Smeltzer said. “There are a whole lot of guys who wish they could say that.”
Both Hawks reached the 100-career win plateau at the state tourney. Fisher is now 102-8 in two years. The W-G school record of 157 wins is held by Tanner Vermaas.
