Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – A bout with the flu limited Rowan Udell to a diet of chicken noodle soup and tea for most of last week.

Then a district final loss to top-ranked Cole Clark of Lisbon in the district final ended a 41-match winning streak for Udell.

The Regina senior followed up a week to forget with a day to remember on Thursday at the Class 1A state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo in Des Moines.

Udell earned a win in his first ever state tournament match advancing to the 195-pound quarterfinals with an 11-2 major decision over Caden Fontinel of HLV.

“I was definitely eager to get back to wrestling, get back to competing at 100 percent and get back to winning,” Udell said. “It felt good to back out there.”

Udell battled a flu bug that made its way through the Regal wrestling room last week.

He dropped his first match of the season to Clark via major decision in the District 8 title match.

On Thursday it was back to the same old Udell as he scored the final nine points of his win over Fontinel.

“The flu has been going around our team quite a bit and he was maybe 50 or 60 percent last week,” Regina coach Zach Ries said. “We got him all the chicken noodle soup and tea diets that we possibly could.”

Udell looked like his old self on Thursday as he snapped a 2-2 tie with Fontinel with a reversal ad a two-point near fall in the final 1:25 of the second period.

“It was good to see him get back in there and be aggressive and starting putting some offensive moves on top and be the hammer,” Ries said. “You could the other kid spirit kind of broke a little bit because he was just so persistent.”

The win sends Udell (42-1) into the 1A quarterfinals where he will face Damon Meyer (31-13) of South Winneshiek on Friday.

“I got caught listening to the outside noise because I’ve never been here before,” Udell said. “I just started using what I’ve been working on in practice and just sticking to what works for me and getting to those things and getting to my regular offense.”

Regina sent both of its qualifiers into the second day of the tournament as sophomore Aidan Udell bounced back from a 5-2 loss to sixth-ranked Blake McAlister of South Central Calhoun with a consolation win at 160 pounds. 

“I didn’t wrestle the match I should have wrestled that first match, I should have wrestled a lot harder. I should have made it my match and I didn’t do that,” Aidan Udell said. “I turned around and my brother kept asking me what I was going to do to make this match mine.”

Aidan Udell responded with a 9-1 major decision over Denver Pauley of AHSTW for his first ever state meet win.

He used a pair of takedowns and a 3-point nearfall to build a 7-0 lead and never let Pauley get to an attack.

“I was setting up the single and I saw this guy didn’t like to tie up,” Aidan Udell said. “I’m a big person to tie up if he doesn’t want to tie up and I want to tie up we are tying up.”

Class 1A State Meet

At Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines

Team scores (Top 10; area teams) – 1. Don Bosco 36; 2. Lisbon 26.5; 3. West Sioux 23.5; 4. Underwood 18; 4. West Hancock 18; 6. Logan-Magnolia 13; 7. Wilton 11.5; 8. Denver 10.5; 9.  Interstate 35 10; 9. Mount Ayr 10.

Opening Round (Regina Wrestlers Only)

160 – Blake McAlister (South Central Calhoun) dec. Aidan Udell 5-2

195 – Rowan Udell (Regina) dec. Caden Fontinel (HLV) 11-2

First Round Consolation

160 – Aidan Udell (Regina) major dec. Denver Pauley (AHSTW) 9-1

Friday’s Quarterfinal Matches

195 – No. 4 Rowan Udell (42-1) Sr., Regina vs. Damon Meyer (31-13) Jr., South Winneshiek

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