Des Moines – The EBF boys’ wrestling squad was well represented at the Well in downtown Des Moines for State wrestling with eight wrestlers competing. Of the eight, four earned medals and three finished second in their respective brackets. By the time the tournament concluded, the Rockets compiled 107.5 points, finishing in second place in 2A while Burlington-Notre Dame took the title with 121 points.
Slater Thomas was one of the three wrestlers to place second, competing in the 106-pound bracket. Following a bye in the opening round, Thomas faced Brennan Jacobs of Greene County. Thomas took command early, earning three points for a takedown just 15 seconds into their match. Jacobs got on the board with an escape shortly after, but Thomas would respond with another takedown, leading to getting a pin late in the first. Thomas opened day two with a dominant performance against Rhyis Polenske of Davenport Assumption. Within 40 seconds, Thomas had a five-point lead and Polenske scored his first two points via reversal, followed by a reversal from Thomas and another nearfall for a 9-2 lead. The scoring picked up even more in the second period with Thomas earning another six points midway through. Polenske picked up another point via escape, but Thomas tacked on another five points to end the match via 20-3 technical fall.
Thomas came in as the third seed in the bracket and was favored his first two matches. Now just two matches away from a potential title, he faced second-seeded Charlie Boelman of North Polk. The trend continued with Thomas taking an early lead, earning the only points of the opening period with a three-point takedown. He earned one more point in the second via escape, but Boelman would cut the deficit to one point with a takedown in the third. Thomas didn’t relinquish his lead however, earning another point via escape and capping off the match with a late takedown for an 8-3 decision. Competing in his first Varsity State tournament, Thomas was one win away from claiming a title. Standing between him and gold was another freshman, Dylan Williamson of Van Meter. Williamson had won hist first two matches via 207 major decision and 19-3 technical fall, respectively, and also beat top seeded Coy Mehlert of Union with a dominant 17-2 technical fall.
In the title match, neither wrestler got on the board until the second period. Thomas faced his first deficit of the tournament after Williamson won a point for an escape midway through. That lead would remain until early in the third when Thomas also earned a point via escape. In the final minute of regulation, Willamson took the lead back with a three-point takedown which proved to be the difference for a 4-1 decision. For Thomas, it was only his second loss of the season compared to 43 wins. His counterpart, Williamson, won his 39th match compared to three losses.
Simon Bettis also finished second in the 113-pound bracket and ranked as the sixth seed. He faced 11th-seed Stratton Luke of Union, scoring six points in the first period. Bettis doubled his lead with another six points in the second and Luke got on the board with a takedown midway through the third. Bettis earned another seven points in the period to advance on via 19-4 technical fall. Up next was third-seed Quinn Arellano of Van Meter. Bettis earned a quick takedown against Arellano, who countered with an escape. The match wouldn’t last longer than the first two minutes as Bettis turned another takedown late in the period into the winning pin…