Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – The streak of consecutive seasons without a state tournament win for West Branch is over.

The wrestler responsible for stopping that streak didn’t even know it existed.

West Branch sophomore Logan Wright became the first Bear to win a match at state since 2016 with a 9-0 major decision over Lake Mills freshman Wyatt Hannah on Thursday in a Class 1A 220-pound opening round match at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“I honestly just found that out a couple of days ago,” Wright said of the winless streak at state. “I’m super excited to be one of those winners.”

West Branch hadn’t had a win at state, or even a state qualifier, since Drew Finnegan finished fourth in 2016.

On Thursday the Bears had a pair of wins from a pair of different wrestlers as fifth-ranked sophomore Lincoln Edwards remained alive in the 113-pound bracket with a pin in the consolation round.

“It’s a great feeling to get a couple wins,” West Branch coach Jake Slocum said. “The core of our team is so young and Logan and Lincoln are leading the way and showing that we have the talent we just have to put in the work.”

Prior to Thursday no one on the West Branch roster had appeared at the state tournament except Slocum and it had been a decade since he the Bears’ head coach had left the Wells Fargo mats.

That made a 2-1 mark on Thursday for the West Branch sophomores and their coach a little extra special.

“With Logan winning I kind of got butterflies again, I haven’t been back here since 10 years ago when I lost here,” Slocum said. “With them winning it gives me a purpose to be here and makes me so happy.”

Ninth-ranked Wright (45-6) controlled his match from the outset.

Wright scored a takedown 39 seconds into the match and led 2-0 after the opening period.

“It was very nerve wracking going out there but after I took him down the first time I felt in my element,” Wright said. “I just kept going.”

Wright added an escape, another takedown and a three-point nearfall in the second period on his way to the 9-0 win.

“It means a lot because I have seen a lot of hard workers really try to do this,” Wright said. “Finally, I got to come up here and work my butt off and get a win.”

Wright will face top-ranked Matthew Francis (53-0) of West Hancock in the 1A quarterfinals on Friday.

“We got kind of a rigid Logan Wright last year and we molded him into something and then Covid screwed his season up,” Slocum said. “This year it has been a snowball effect, he is just getting better every meet. His offense is coming along and he’s not done here he’s going to keep going.”

Edwards scored a takedown seven seconds into his opening-round match with tenth-ranked Lake Mills freshman Hayden Helgeson but Helgeson scored the final eight points.

Fifth-ranked Edwards responded by pinning Gage Burden of New London in 51 seconds in the consolation round.

Class 1A State Wrestling Tournament

At Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines

Team scores (Top 10; area teams) – 1. Don Bosco 36; 2. Lisbon 25; 3. Logan-Magnolia 21; 4. Nashua-Plainfield 19.5; 5. Underwood 18.5; 25. Regina 6; 25. West Branch 6

Opening round (Area wrestlers)

113 – Hayden Helgeson (Lake Mills) dec. Lincoln Edwards (West Branch) 8-2

160 – Karter Decker (MFL Mar-Mac) maj. dec. Sam Aitchison (Regina) 12-0

170 – Aidan Udell (Regina) pinned Cade Shirk (Emmetsburg) 3:04

195 – Ronan Poynton (Regina) dec. Chase Wickwire (Belle Plaine) 9-2

220 – Logan Wright (West Branch) maj. dec. Wyatt Hannah (Lake Mills) 9-0

First round consolation

113 – Lincoln Edwards (West Branch) pinned Gage Burden (New London) :51

160 – Garrison Gettler (AHSTW) maj. dec. Sam Aitchison (Regina) 13-4

Friday’s Quarterfinal Matches

170 – No. 6 Aidan Udell (34-3), Sr., Regina vs. MaKade Bloker (33-6), Soph., North Butler

195 – No. 9 Ronan Poynton (35-5), Jr., Regina vs. No. 5 Owen Huehnergarth (33-8), Sr., Dyersville Beckman

220 – No. 9 Logan Wright (45-6), Soph., West Branch vs. No. 1 Matthew Francis (53-0), Sr., West Hancock

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