Photo by Jeff Yoder / Click here to view 3A state wrestling photo gallery. 

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Hunter Garvin will leave his first trip to the state wrestling meet with some hardware.

The West High freshman made sure of that on Friday morning with an impressive 12-5 decision over Waukee senior Nick Miller in a 120-pound quarterfinal at Wells Fargo Arena.

However, Garvin is aiming for more than just any medal in his state meet debut he wants a state title.

No. 2 Garvin (38-3) will have a chance to earn a spot in the state title match on Friday evening when he takes on third-ranked Thomas Edwards of Johnston (39-4) in a Class 3A semifinal.

“It’s another match, it doesn’t matter it’s one match at a time,” Garvin said. “It doesn’t matter what match it is I just have to go out there and wrestle hard, tough and to the best of my ability and dominate.”

Garvin has certainly been dominant in the first two state meet matches of his career.

The freshman has rolled up 32 points in a pair of wins after his 12-5 decision over Miller (33-9) on Friday morning.

“No game plan I just to go out there and attack, attack and get to all my stuff,” Garvin said. “I don’t really have a game plan I just get to all my best stuff every match.”

The quarterfinal win was the 10th straight for Garvin who hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since December.

“Hunter went out and wrestled for six minutes hard and he came away with a win,” West High coach Nate Moore said. “He was real business like.”

Liberty High sophomore Ashton Barker also advanced to the semifinals when he received a medical forfeit victory over fourth-ranked Will Jefferson of Bettendorf.

The first state qualifier in Liberty High history, Barker will earn a medal in his debut trip.

Barker (19-4) will face second-ranked Logan Neils (37-2) of Ankeny Centennial in the 170-pound semifinals.

Three other West High wrestlers secured medals on Friday with consolation wins.

Eighth-ranked Graham Gambrall won his second consecutive consolation match at 138 pounds following a last second 3-1 loss in the opening round.

Gambrall (37-10) secured a state medal for the second year in a row with a 10-9 overtime win over James Edwards of Johnston.

Freshman 106-pounder Grant O’Dell (33-14) upset sixth-ranked Brandon O’Brien of Linn-Mar 2-1 in a consolation match to secure a medal and set up a rematch with third-ranked Ethan Wood-Finley of City High.

Landon Green and Will Hoeft each lost quarterfinal matches on Friday morning but responded with wins to stay alive and earn medals.

Hoeft (36-7) dropped a 7-5 decision to No. 4 Nic Leo of Ankeny Centennial in sudden victory but rebounded with a second-period pin of Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Logan Andeway.

Green (37-9) lost to Ames sophomore Gabriel Greenlee 7-3 in the quarterfinals and won a 7-2 decision over Cael Thorson on Waukee in the consolation round.

“The fight is there the effort is there it’s just a little bit of inexperience and mat time with both of those guys,” Moore said. “We have to be able to come wrestle for six minutes mentally and physically.”

City High had a pair of wrestlers remain alive in the consolation bracket as Wood-Finley and 285-pound senior Jacob Murry responded from quarterfinal losses with consolation wins.

Wood-Finley (34-4) fell to fifth-ranked Mason City freshman Jace Rhodes 6-2 in the quarterfinals and responded with a 6-1 win over Rheiner Stahlbaum of Johnston.

Murry (31-5) lost a top-five battle to Bettendorf sophomore Griffin Liddle in the quarterfinals but bounced back to pin Alex Kirton of West Des Moines Dowling in 1:45.

Clear Creek Amana senior Andrew Rohret (43-8) dropped a 3-1 decision to fifth-ranked Eric Owens of Ankeny Centennial in the quarterfinals but secured his first state medal with a 4-2 consolation win over Carroll’s Abraham Dirkx.

Class 3A State Meet

Team scores (Top 10; Area Teams) – 1. Waverly-Shell Rock 78; 2. Southeast Polk 57; 3. Ankeny Centennial 45; 3. Fort Dodge 45; 5. North Scott 43; 6. Bettendorf 40.5; 7. Johnston 40; 7. Cedar Rapids Prairie 40; 9. Waukee 38; 10. Des Moines East 35; 17. West High 26.5; 21. City High 16; 30. Clear Creek Amana 9; 35. Liberty High 8

Quarterfinals (Area Athletes Only)

106 – No. 5 Jace Rhodes (Mason City) dec. No. 3 Ethan Wood-Finley (City High) 6-2

120 – No. 2 Hunter Garvin (West High) dec. Nick Miller (Waukee) 12-5  

145 – No. 5 Eric Owens (Ankeny Centennial) dec. No. 7 Andrew Rohret (Clear Creek Amana) 3-1

152 – No. 5 Jake Matthaidess (North Scott) pinned No. 6 Kyle Hefley (City High) :54

170 – No. 8 Ashton Barker (Liberty High) medical forfeit No. 4 Will Jefferson (Bettendorf)

182 – No. 4 Nic Leo (Ankeny Centennial) dec. No. 7 Will Hoeft (West High) 7-5 SV-1

220 – Gabriel Greenlee (Ames) dec. No. 8 Landon Green (West High) 7-3

285 – No. 5 Griffin Liddle (Bettendorf) pinned No. 4 Jacob Murry (City High) 1:45

Second Round Consolations (Area Athletes Only)

106 – No. 3 Ethan Wood-Finley (City High) dec. Rheiner Stahlbaum (Johnston) 6-1

106 – Grant O’Dell (West High) dec. No. 6 Brandon O’Brien (Linn-Mar) 2-1

126 – Carson Murray (West Des Moines Dowling) major dec. Samual Stevens (Clear Creek Amana) 14-6

138 – No. 8 Graham Gambrall (West High) dec. James Edwards (Johnston) 10-9 TB-2

145 – No. 7 Andrew Rohret (Clear Creek Amana) dec. Abraham Dirkx (Carroll) 4-2

152 – No. 9 Elijah Demmer (Western Dubuque) pinned No. 6 Kyle Hefley (City High) 5:59

182 – No. 7 Will Hoeft (West High) pinned Logan Andeway (Cedar Rapids Prairie) 3:37

220 – No. 8 Landon Green (West High) dec. Cael Thorson (Waukee) 7-2

285 – No. 4 Jacob Murry (City High) pinned Alex Kirton (West Des Moines Dowling) 1:45

Friday’s Semifinals (Area Athletes Only)

120 – No. 2 Hunter Garvin (38-3) Fr., West High vs. No. 3 Thomas Edwards (39-4) Jr., Johnston

170 – No. 8 Ashton Barker (19-4) Soph. Liberty High vs. No. 2 Logan Neils (37-2) Jr., Ankeny Centennial

Class 1A State Meet

Team scores (Top 10; Area Teams) – 1. Don Bosco 77.5; 2. Denver 54; 3. Underwood 52.5; 4. Lisbon 48; 5. West Sioux 42; 6. MFL MarMac 24; 7. Missouri Valley 23; 7. Woodbury Central 23; 9. Interstate 35 21.5; 10. Logan-Magnolia 20.5

Quarterfinals (Area Athletes Only)

182 – No. 3 Tucker Kroeze (Belmond-Klemme) major dec. No. 5 Nick Milder (Regina) 15-7

Second Round Consolations (Area Athletes Only)

182 – Weiland Steffen (Sumner-Fredericksburg) dec. No. 5 Nick Milder (Regina) 4-0

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