Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Often times it is recalling the sting of defeat that motivates an athlete.

It’s actually sort of the opposite for West High sophomore Alexander Pierce who is motivated by the thought of reliving the excitement from last season.

A state champion last season at 106 pounds Pierce was dominant in his return to the Class 3A state tournament on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Top-ranked Pierce (33-1) needed just 41 seconds to pin No. 11 Kyler Simons of West Des Moines Dowling in a 113-pound second round match.

“It was really fun last year and I want to have that same feeling again,” Pierce said. “I know what I have to do.”

Last season Pierce became just the third freshman champion in West High history with his title at 106 pounds.

Pierce has been dominant all season, going unbeaten against in-state competition and continued that in his return to the state meet Wednesday.

He recorded a takedown just 11 seconds into the match and had Simons on his back just 30 seconds later.

“State is a weird tournament and anything can happen so I don’t want to mess around,” Pierce said. “I just want to get it done and get ready for tomorrow.”

Pierce will take on sixth-ranked Southeast Polk freshman Mat Prine (32-9) in a 3A quarterfinal on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

Prine won a 10-2 major decision over tenth-ranked Lucas Stearns of Marion in the second round on Wednesday.

“Last year was last year, it doesn’t really matter,” Pierce said. “Everyone wants to win this tournament and everyone has the same chance to win so I need to go out and do my job again.”

Pierce joined junior Justin Avila as West High wrestlers to reach the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Fourth-ranked Avila (34-3) pinned Clear Creek Amana senior Jack Stevens in 1:37 in a second-round match to reach the 150-pound quarterfinals.

Avila will face fifth-ranked Logan Trenary (32-5) of Southeast Polk in the quarterfinals.

Freshman Charles Barnhouse and Matthew Tran, sophomore Campbell Janis and senior Braden Doyle all won opening-round matches before dropping second-round contests to ranked opponents.

Barnhouse (26-14) fell to fifth-ranked Dylan Munson in a 106-pound second-round match and Tran (28-10) dropped a 14-6 major decision to No. 4 Cody Vandemark of Ankeny Centennial.

Fourth-ranked Cody Trevino of Bettendorf pinned Janis (21-17) in 2:47 in a 138-pound second-round match and second-ranked Maximus Dhabolt of Ankeny Centennial pinned Doyle (20-13) in 1:11 at 144.

At 175 pounds ninth-ranked Nic VanArkel of West Des Moines Valley scored a takedown in overtime to defeat seventh-ranked Kyler Scranton (33-6) 3-1.

Class 3A State Meet

Team scores (Top 20; area teams) – 1. Southeast Polk 58; 2. Ankeny Centennial 48.5; 3. Bettendorf 47.5; 4. Fort Dodge 37; 5. Bondurant-Farrar 35.5; 5. Indianola 35.5; 7. Johnston 33; 8. Linn-Mar 32; 9. Ankeny 31.5; 9. Dubuque Hempstead 31.5; 11. Waverly-Shell Rock 31; 12. Waukee Northwest 29.5; 13. Carlisle 29; 14. Ames 27; 15. City High 25; 16. West High 21; 17. Pella 10; 17. Cedar Rapids Prairie 17; 17. Waukee 20; 20. Fort Madison 18; 27. Clear Creek Amana 12

Opening round (area athletes)  

106 – Elijah Hyet (Dubuque Hempstead) tech. fall Elder Mendieta (Clear Creek Amana) 18-3

106 – Charles Barnhouse (West High) dec. Lucas Reeder (Pleasant Valley) 10-4

113 – Caleb Arroyo (Urbandale) dec. Jose Mendieta (Clear Creek Amana) 7-2

113 – Kendall Kurtz (City High) dec. Garrett Evans (Bettendorf) 1-0

120 – Matthew Tran (West High) dec. Stoney Wood (Indianola) 14-7

120 – Cale Nash (Clear Creek Amana) pinned Kaiden Rogers (Newton) 1:34

120 – Ajay Braddock (Boone) pinned Chris Davis (City High) 1:26

126 – Danny Cleveland (Sioux City East) pinned Edgar Mhoon-Lopez (City High) 1:23

126 – Rylan Hilton (Indianola) tech. fall Malachi Clement (Clear Creek Amana) 15-0

138 – Nolan Howell (Clear Creek Amana) pinned Jaxon Brewer (Council Bluffs Lewis Central) 1:43

138 – Campbell Janis (West High) dec. Tate Turner (Norwalk) 9-6

144 – Braden Doyle (West High) major dec. Rylee Brown (Fort Dodge) 11-3

144 – Adam Cook (Cedar Rapids Xavier) dec. Ryker Jones (Clear Creek Amana) 3-2

144 – Jake Mitchell (City High) tech. fall Will McDermott (North Scott) 17-2

150 – Jack Stevens (Clear Creek Amana) dec. Brady Jennings (Clinton) 8-7

157 – Nolan Riddle (Fort Madison) pinned Trace Robertson (Clear Creek Amana) 4:21

157 – Daniel Zeoh (Des Moines East) dec. Landon Bell (Liberty High) 5-3

175 – Gavin Benton (Liberty High) tech. fall Mason Tilley (City High) 18-3

190 – Wyatt Young (Cedar Rapids Washington) pinned Ethan Williams (Clear Creek Amana) 3:18

215 – Carson Nash (Clear Creek Amana) dec. Colin Woods (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) 4-3

285 – Cory Arnett (Fort Madison) pinned Vinnie Keller (Clear Creek Amana) 4:30

285 – Carlos Andrade (Council Bluffs Lewis Central) major dec. Ashton Honore (West High) 11-3

Second round (area athletes) 

106 – Dylan Munson (Cedar Rapids Prairie) injury default Charles Barnhouse (West High) 4:21

113 – Alexander Pierce (West High) pinned Kyler Simons (West Des Moines Dowling) :41

113 – Kendall Kurtz (City High) pinned Aiden Serrano (Carlisle) 4:36

120 – Cody Vandemark (Ankeny Centennial) major dec. Matthew Tran (West High) 14-6

120 – Reid Foster (Bondurant-Farrar) pinned Cale Nash (Clear Creek Amana) 5:09

132 – Cale Seaton (City High) tech. fall Carson Crigger (Waukee) 22-7

138 – Kael Kurtz (City High) dec. Zeb Fitzgerald (West Des Moines Dowling) 5-2

138 – Jabari Hinson (Ames) pinned Nolan Howell (Clear Creek Amana) 3:47

138 – Cody Trevino (Bettendorf) pinned Campbell Janis (West High) 2:47

144 – Maximus Dhabolt (Ankeny Centennial) pinned Braden Doyle (West High) 1:11

144 – JahKari Clark (West Des Moines Valley) major dec. Jake Mitchell (City High) 11-3

150 – Justin Avila (West High) pinned Jack Stevens (Clear Creek Amana) 1:37

157 – Kael Voinovich (City High) pinned Dominic Tigner (Norwalk) 3:06

175 – Asa Hemsted (Carlisle) pinned Gavin Benton (Liberty High) 1:56

175 – Nic VanArkel (West Des Moines Valley) dec. Kyler Scranton (West High) 3-1 SV-1

215 – Vincenzo Lima (Liberty High) dec. Carson Nash (Clear Creek Amana) 11-8

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