Lisbon coach Aaron Helmrich has had a sneaking suspicion all season his team might be pretty darn good.
At the Class 1A District Meet on Saturday, Feb. 15, at Colfax-Mingo, the Lions certainly proved it.
Lisbon won the team title by a half-point over Jesup, the team that denied the Lions a trip to the State Duals on Feb. 4. The Lions also qualified eight wrestlers for the state tournament this week in Des Moines.
“It was amazing,’ Helmrich said. “We battled it out all day, and had 14 guys that wanted it more.”
Helmrich said other than an occasional “rumbling” he didn’t know how the team scores stacked up.
“I don’t look until all the guys are done wrestling,” Helmrich said. “If guys wrestle hard all day, then team scores will take care of itself.
“But when I saw the last Jesup guy was done, and we were up by 0.5 … the boys were happy.”
The wrestlers who were extra happy earned a trip to state – Jack Gogel (106), Cael Stricker (113), Wesley Sadler (120), Cade Happel (126), Tiernan Boots (150), Gage Holub (165), Caleb Brown (175), and Jacob Walerius (215).
Of those, Happel, Boots and Holub won district titles. (Only Boots got a high seed at state, third.)
“Cade had some really good wrestlers in his bracket,” Helmrich said. “If you wrestle it 10 times, it might be a different 1 to 4 every time. He took care of business.”
Happel beat Kimball Elliott of Lynnville-Sully in the semifinals, 12-11, then topped Cason Fitch of Colfax-Mingo for the title by technical fall, 17-2.
Boots had a pin in the semifinals and a 16-1 technical fall over Cael Weisskopf of HLV in the finals. Holub pinned Henry Adam of Pekin in 1:26 and then pinned Maxx Solie of Jesup in 2:19.
“Tiernan has a motor that doesn’t quit,” Helmrich said. “Gage upset the top seed to win the district.”
Not every path to state was straight. Stricker and Sadler each had to win a wrestle backs to qualify.
Ian Kelsey (157) and Gavin Carmer (190) won their third-place matches, but then lost a wrestle back to miss out.
“After you lose in the finals, it can be a real quick turn-around,” Helmrich said. “You can’t stub your toe. They showed they should be the guy going to state.”
“It was an overall great day for Lisbon wrestling, top to bottom.”