Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – The Nate Moore era officially opened at West High on Thursday and it opened with a bang.

More specifically it opened with a pin. Four pins to be precise.

West High opened the match with four consecutive falls and rolled to a 48-22 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson as Moore won his head coaching debut.  

“I think they were pretty pumped up,” Moore said. “The adrenaline was flowing in the first home meet.”

Mason Sorge, Will Hoeft, Landon Green and Brett Pelfrey recorded consecutive pins to open the match as West High built an insurmountable 24-0 lead.

Sophomore Graham Gambrall and freshman Hunter Garvin added bonus point wins as West High won 10 of 14 matches in the debut of its new head coach.

Moore, a two-time state champion at West High under Mark Reiland, took over the program from his former head coach when Reiland stepped down in the spring.

In the first dual under their new coach the Trojans were as dominant as they were for much of Reiland’s 19-year tenure.

“There was a lot of energy tonight,” Gambrall said. “It’s not that much different than with coach Reiland because Nate wrestled for Reiland so he takes his philosophy and tries to do the same thing. It’s hard to live up to a legend like Reiland but there is a lot of energy right now.”

Sorge got West High off to a strong start when he pinned Ryne Chamberline just 17 seconds into the second period at 170 pounds.

Fifth-ranked junior Will Hoeft followed with a first-period pin of Jake Silbaugh at 182 pounds and senior Landon Green followed with a first-period fall at 195.

In his first match in more than a year after missing last season with an injury Green needed just 70 seconds to pin Preston Bruck to put West High up 18-0.

“It felt amazing to get back out there,” Green said. “I was a little nervous in the beginning but once we shook hands it was all gone and I was focused and ready for it.”

The most dramatic of the four consecutive match-opening pins came at 220 pounds.

West High freshman Brett Pelfrey trailed 6-4 in the third period when he took PJ Smith down and straight to his back.

The Pelfrey pin gave West High a 24-0 lead and brought the crowd to its feet.

“It was amazing way to start,” Green said. “It was really exciting to get that 220 win. The whole gym got out of their seats and just roared.”

Following a pin by Jefferson junior Dawson Sweet at 285 pounds West High rattled off three straight wins to push the lead to 38-6.

Freshman Hunter Garvin won a 19-4 tech fall over Dakota Tatro at 120 and fourth-ranked Gambrall added an impressive 18-5 major decision over Colton Woods at 138.

Half of the West High wins on Thursday came from freshman as Grant O’Dell (106), Parker McBride (113) and Mason Applegate (160) added wins.

“We have a lot of young guys and everybody looked really good tonight,” Gambrall said. “There seemed to be a lot of fight tonight.”

West High 48, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 22

106 – Grant O’Dell (ICW) dec. Austin Clifton 6-0

113 – Parker McBride (ICW) won by forfeit

120 – Hunter Garvin (ICW) tech. fall Dakota Tatro 19-4

126 – Nathan Lauterwasser (CRJ) pinned Mark Mueller 1:44

132 – Keaton Speicher (ICW) dec. Enyto Ahedo-Jiroutek 11-8

138 – Graham Gambrall (ICW) major dec. Colton Woods 18-5

145 – Cameron Burnell (CRJ) tech. fall Drake Davis 17-2

152 – Antonio Pagel (CRJ) tech. fall Noah Terwilleger 16-1

160 – Mason Applegate (ICW) Dallas Hartgrave 18-13

170 – Mason Sorge (ICW) pinned Ryne Chamberline 2:17

182 – Will Hoeft (ICW) pinned Jake Silbaugh 1:42

195 – Landon Green (ICW) pinned Preston Bruck 1:10

220 – Brett Pelfrey (ICW) pinned PJ Smith 4:41

285 – Dawson Sweet (CRJ) pinned Brock Pelfrey :37