Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Graham Gambrall enjoys math. He has his eye on a studying engineering when he picks a college. His mind is always working.

To understand how Gambrall wrestles its important to comprehend how Gambrall thinks.

It’s the only way to explain how and why the West High junior was carefully calculating the odds of a maneuvers and scenarios against a top-ranked opponent in the biggest match of his career.

As with nearly every other decision Gamball has made this week at the Class 3A state tournament his careful analysis in the fourth quarter of his 145-pound state semifinal against top-ranked Deven Strief of North Scott proved to be spot on.

Gambrall (35-5) tilted Strief for two near fall points with five seconds left to earn a 9-7 win and advance to the 3A state title match.

“I felt like it was low risk, I didn’t think he was going to get out of it, so it was high reward,” Gambrall explained of the late tilt. “So why not?”

The win over Strief capped a stellar day for Gambrall, a two-time state medalist who won an opening-round match at state for the first time in three tries on Thursday.

Gambrall used a late takedown to edge three-time state finalist Ben Monroe of Ankeny Centennial in the quarterfinals Friday morning.

Not a bad eight hours for a wrestler that had never been past the first round before Friday.

“It’s been unreal,” Gambrall said. “I’ve been dreaming all my life to make it to state finals and wrestle on Saturday night it’s unreal.”

Gambrall allowed one takedown in each of the first two periods against Strief (44-4) falling into a 4-1 hole.

Trailing 4-1 with two minutes left Gambrall began calculating the odds.

He cut Strief loose to open the third period, going in a 5-1 hole and electing to work on his feet rather than attempting to turn the North Scott junior.

“Obviously I had to get takedowns and as soon as I get one takedown the other one’s come easier I feel,” Gambrall said. “I just had to put him back up on his feet and keep going, don’t let him rest.”

As quickly as he devised his plan Gambrall put it into action.

A takedown and an escape made it 6-3, another of the same sequence got Gambrall within 7-5 with under a minute remaining.

“I never really think I’m out of a match,” Gambrall said. “I’m always looking to score points. I’m always looking to win the match. Even if I’m down by 14 I’m still going to come at you. I never really thought the match was won by him. I just kept going.”

­Gambrall pulled even with a takedown at the edge of the mat with 22 seconds left.

Holding Strief to avoid a go-ahead escape Gambrall again calculated the odds.

Then he went for the match-winning move, tilting Strief long enough for two near fall points with five seconds left.

“I had him down and I didn’t think he was getting up I had his arm across real far and I was like ‘you know, I never really do this but why not just try it and get a cheap little tilt with five seconds left,” Gambrall said. “I just tried something and he tipped over, and it was a two count.”

The win sends Gambrall into the 3A state finals that open at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Gambrall will go for his third win over a top-four foe in two days when he faces No. 3 Sam Kallem (35-4) of Ankeny in the 145-pound final.

The win by Gambrall came after top-ranked sophomore Hunter Garvin held off Joel Jesuroga of Southeast Polk in the 132-pound semifinals and was part of a 3-for-3 semifinal round for West High which surged to fifth in the 3A team standings with 80.5 points.

“I was running over to my mat and in in the corner of my eye I was looking at Hunter’s match,” Gambrall said. “I don’t’ mean to I have to focus on my match but it just happens. He’s my teammate and I want the best for him.”

Class 3A State Meet

At Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines

Team scores (Top 10; area teams) – 1. 1. Waverly-Shell Rock 147; 2. Fort Dodge 104; 3. Southeast Polk 97; 4. Linn-Mar 86; 5. West High 80.5; 6. Ankeny 64; 6. Bettendorf 64; 8. Cedar Rapids Prairie 51; 9. Johnston 47.5; 10. Norwalk 43

Semifinal Round (Area Wrestlers Only)

132 – Hunter Garvin (West High) dec. Joel Jesuroga (Southeast Polk) 4-3

145 – Graham Gambrall (West High) dec. Deven Strief (North Scott) 9-7

182 – Will Hoeft (West High) dec. Blake Underwood (West Des Moines Valley) 6-2

Third Round Consolation

106 – Grant O’Dell (West High) dec. Nathan Canfield (Davenport Central) 8-0

170 – Ashton Barker (West High) dec. Zachary Campbell (North Scott) 12-6

Saturday’s Championship Matches

132 – No. 1 Hunter Garvin (32-3) Soph., West High vs. No. 3 Aiden Riggins (32-2) Soph., Waverly-Shell Rock

145 – No. 5 Graham Gambrall (35-5) Jr., West High vs. No. 3 Sam Kallem (35-4) Sr., Ankeny

182 – No. 2 Will Hoeft (22-1) Sr., West High vs. No. 6 Taner Harvey (41-4) Jr., Boone  

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