Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – With 15 career matches in four trips to the state wrestling tournament Cale Nash is among the more experienced wrestlers at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines this week.

The Clear Creek Amana senior will be in uncharted territory on Thursday morning and he couldn’t be more excited.

In his fourth and final trip to the state tournament Nash reached the state quarterfinals for the first time on Wednesday with a 5-1 win over eighth-ranked Hayden Hutt of Waukee Northwest in a Class 3A 132-pound second-round match.

“It feels amazing,” Nash said. “Last year I came so close and I was winning and I got thrown to my back. This year being in quarters it feels amazing, it’s a goal I’ve always wanted.”

The first four-time state qualifying in Clear Creek Amana history it’s been a steady state-meet climb for Noash.

He lost both matches in his state debut as a freshman and went 3-2 as a sophomore before getting a breakthrough with a 5-2 performance and seventh-place finish last season at 120 pounds.

Tenth-ranked Nash (37-6) used that past experience to get the second-round win he’d been seeking on Wednesday against Hutt (29-11).

“Wrestling smart is important, I knew that kid was good at cradles so I knew no matter what he got locked up I just had to fight,” Nash said. “Having that experience of winning great matches helps so much as you move on in this tournament so being able to tap into that is huge.”

Nash was in on a shot immediately to start the match and needed less than 50 seconds to finish off the opening takedown.

He added a second-period reversal in the 5-1 win.

“The first takedown is a tone setter,” Nash said. “Right off the whistle I am already looking for my single or my high crotch and when I get that and ride him the rest of the period it looks close but that takedown and ride out makes me feel like I’ve already won the match.”

Nash will face two-time state champion and second-ranked TJ Koester (39-1) of Bettendorf in the 132-pound quarterfinals on Thursday in a session that begins at 9 a.m.

Senior Nolan Howell joined Nash in the quarterfinals, with a second-round win at 144 pounds.

Sixth-ranked Howell (43-8) won a 16-4 major decision over Trenton Byers (35-9) of Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln to secure his first trip to the quarterfinals.

“It’s special,” Howell said. “I’ve put in the work and now it’s paying off.”

A three-time qualifier, Howell scored a pair of first-period takedowns to take a 7-4 lead in his match with Byers then used a takedown and four-point nearfall in the third period to secure the win.

Howell will face third-ranked Koy Davidson (35-2) of Fort Dodge in the 144-pound quarterfinals on Thursday.

“It really helps having the experience and knowing what to do here in this tournament when the time comes,” Howell said. “That experience was big for me.”

Clear Creek Amana senior 150-pounder Trace Robertson(33-20)  went 1-1 on Wednesday.

Robertson pinned Trent Eckard of Boone in 2:48 in the opening round before falling to fifth-ranked Parker Casey (27-2) of Johnston in the second round.

Class 3A State Tournament

At Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines

Team scores (Top 10; area teams) – 1. Southeast Polk 72.5; 2. Indianola 46; 3. Waukee Northwest 42; 4. Johnston 41.5; 5. Waverly-Shell Rock 39; 6. West Des Moines Dowling 37.5; 7. Ankeny Centennial 32.5; 8. Bettendorf 32; 9. Carlisle 30; 9. Fort Dodge 30; 14. West High 25; 27. Clear Creek Amana 13; 30. City High 12.5; 33. Liberty High 9.5

Individual Results

Opening Round (area athletes)

106 – Braydon Tranmer (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln) major dec. Cole Kasparek (Clear Creek Amana) 10-0

106 – Kent Montgomery (Newton) dec. Connor McGonegle (Liberty High) 12-6

120 – Karson Pulver (Pleasant Valley) dec. Jose Mendiata (Clear Creek Amana) 10-9

120 – Benjamin Rosen (Liberty High) tech. fall Max Panosh (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 17-2

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

126 – Elijah Hyet (Dubuque Hempstead) tech. fall Chase Williams (City High) 18-2

132 – Jack Foster (Cedar Rapids Xavier) dec. Rex Edmonds (Liberty High) 3-1

138 – Collin Frost (Davenport Central) tech. fall Jay Halverson (Clear Creek Amana) 17-2

138 – Isaiah Madison (Johnston) pinned Donovan Gipson (City High) 1:35

150 – Trace Robertson (Clear Creek Amana) pinned Trent Eckard (Boone) 2:48

150 – Wyatt Heying (Spencer) dec. Laith Alawneh (City High) 7-2

157 – Rylee Brown (Fort Dodge) pinned Ben Haughey (Clear Creek Amana) 1:41

165 – Marek McNamara (Cedar Rapids Xavier) pinned Aidan Schrock (Clear Creek Amana) 2:41

165 – AJ Pontier (Indianola) major dec. Marshall Sheldon (City High) 12-1

175 – Jesse Egli (Fort Dodge) tech. fall Clayton Isham (Clear Creek Amana) 17-1

175 – Mason Tilley (City High) dec. David Theisen (Western Dubuque) 12-7

190 – Victor Esparza (Norwalk) major dec. Dylan Schrock (Clear Creek Amana) 14-4

190 – Brayton Gipple (Bondurant-Farrar) pinned Blaine Heick (City High) 2:49

285 – Randale Kelly (West High) dec. Jaxen Hoag (LeMars) 3-1

Second Round  

113 – Alexander Pierce (West High) pinned Elliott Gnewuch (Cedar Rapids Xavier) 1:03

120 – Kendall Kurtz (City High) tech. fall Benjamin Rosen (Liberty High) 19-2

120 – Matthew Tran (West High) major dec. Sylvester Kotoe (Waterloo West) 17-5

132 – Cale Nash (Clear Creek Amana) dec. Hayden Hutt (Waukee Northwest) 5-1

138 – Cole Krutzfeldt (West High) pinned Camron Bennett (Des Moines East) 3:26

144 – Nolan Howell (Clear Creek Amana) major dec. Trenton Byers (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln) 16-4

150 – Justin Avila (West High) pinned Cole Hemmingsen (Dallas Center-Grimes) 2:36

150 – Parker Casey (Johnston) pinned Trace Robertson (Clear Creek Amana) 2:48

175 – Jacob Helgeson (Johnston) tech. fall Mason Tilley (City High) 16-1

175 – Landon Bell (Liberty High) pinned Mekyver Hagarty (Waverly-Shell Rock) 2:41

215 – Raphael Etuma (City High) major dec. Kade Krause (West Des Moines Dowling) 14-3

285 – Nick Darling (Johnston) dec. Kane Willey (City High) 7-3

285 – Brady Hagan (West Des Moines Dowling) pinned Randale Kelly (West High) 1:10

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